On August 27, 2019, three members of the same family were killed at a residence on Keeling Drive in Keeling, Virginia. One-year-old Cullen Micah Bivens was found dead along with his mother, 24-year-old Emily Marie Bernard Bivens, and his grandmother, 62-year-old Joan Jefferson Bernard. A neighbor reported hearing gunshots and discovered Joan Bernard’s body in the driveway, which prompted a large police response and a manhunt.

Authorities identified 18-year-old Matthew Thomas Bernard, Joan Bernard’s son and Emily Bivens’ brother, as the suspect and described him as armed and dangerous. Schools in the area were briefly locked down while about 100 officers conducted the search. Officers later observed a naked Matthew Bernard running erratically and choking a man at a local church before he was taken into custody; he reportedly banged his head against the police car’s cage and was placed on suicide watch.

Bernard was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial until a later determination that he had been treated for schizophrenia and was competent. The motive for the killings has not been disclosed. Does anyone have information about the family or the events that night that could help clarify what happened?