Tampa Bay Rays minor league player’s wife and child murdered in Pittsylvania County, reports say

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC/WFXR/WFLA) — An 18-year-old was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in Pittsylvania County after the deaths of two women and a child.

Reports said the teen is the brother of the wife of Tampa Bay Rays minor league player Blave Bivens. Bivens’ wife and child were among the three killed according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

WSET reported that officers responded to a home on Keeling Drive at around 8 a.m. and found three people — two females and a child — dead inside. The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office named 19-year-old Matthew Bernard as a suspect.

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WSET reported around 12:20 p.m. that Bernard ran past reporters near a media staging area and attacked a church groundskeeper before authorities used mace and a stun gun to detain him.

The Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said a suspect had been taken into custody though he never named Bernard as the suspect during a press conference.

Photos captured by the Chatham Star-Tribune show Bernard naked and unarmed when he was captured after attacking a groundskeeper at Keeley Baptist Church. Bernard was reportedly naked at the time.

“We won’t go into the whys because we don’t know yet,” Taylor told reporters. “We are trying to figure that out ourselves.”

A motive is not yet known for the murders and Taylor would not release names of the victims.

He said officers were on the scene about 10 to 12 minutes after the first call to 911. More than 100 officers responded to the scene from numerous agencies.

Source: https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/manhunt-underway-for-armed-very-dangerous-19-year-old-wanted-for-killing-3-people-in-pittsylvania-county/