On August 27, 2019, three members of a Keeling, Virginia family were found shot to death at a residence: 24-year-old Emily Marie Bernard Bivens, her 14-month-old son Cullen Micah Bivens, and Emily’s 62-year-old mother Joan Jefferson Bernard. A neighbor heard gunshots and found Joan Bernard’s body in the driveway; Emily and the child were located inside the home.

Police focused on a family member, Emily’s younger brother Matthew Thomas Bernard, then 18, and launched a large manhunt that prompted local school lockdowns. Bernard was later taken into custody after emerging from woods naked and unarmed, fleeing officers on camera, briefly confronting a church caretaker, and being subdued with mace and a baton. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Court records show Bernard was repeatedly found mentally incompetent and ordered to undergo treatment, with diagnoses including schizophrenia. In the summer of 2024 a judge found his competency restored and a grand jury returned an indictment in August 2024. If anyone knew Emily, Joan, or Cullen or has information about that night in Keeling, please come forward.