Two brothers charged with murdering five family members inside their home in suburban Broken Arrow made their first appearance in Tulsa District Court Monday morning.
18-year-old Robert Bever and 16-year-old Michael Bever didn’t attend the hearing, but appeared via a video hookup. Their attorney, public defender Rob Nigh, who has represented high-profile clients in the past, including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, was in the courtroom.
Neither public defender (Cheryl Ramsey, rob nigh) had comment following arraignment
— Dylan Goforth (@DGoforth918) August 3, 2015
Special Judge Deborrah Ludi-Leitch ordered a not guilty plea for the teens, and then set an October 28 preliminary hearing date for the pair. They were charged late Friday afternoon with five counts of first-degree murder in the July 22 stabbing deaths of their parents and three siblings – two brothers and a sister.
They were also charged with attempting to kill a 13-year-old sister, who remains hospitalized. Neither suspect had a criminal history, according to The Tulsa World:
Because Michael Bever is charged with first-degree murder, Oklahoma law stipulates he will be treated as an adult and is not subject to provisions of the Youthful Offender Act or the Juvenile Code for certification as a juvenile. Although capital punishment is a legal punishment in Oklahoma for a first-degree murder conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 2005 Roper v. Simmons case that sentencing a defendant younger than 18 to the death penalty is unconstitutional because it equates to cruel and unusual punishment.
Officials speculate the boys planned to kill their family and then carry out other attacks in the area.
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