Report: Wife, child of Rays pitching prospect Blake Bivens murdered in Virginia
The wife and child of Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Blake Bivens were killed in a triple homicide in Pittsylvania County, Virginia on Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
Bivens’s wife’s 18-year-old brother Matthew Thomas Bernard, of Keeling, Virginia, has been charged in all three murders, according to the report. The identity of the third victim was not noted in the report.
Rays: ‘Our hearts are broken’
The Rays acknowledged the tragedy with a statement on Twitter Tuesday evening.
We're with you, Blake. pic.twitter.com/gJqdUCIf7p
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 28, 2019
“Our hearts are broken for Blake,” the statement reads. “We are grieving with him and will support him any way we can.”
Bivens, 24, plays for the Montgomery Biscuits in Alabama. The Biscuits canceled their scheduled double-header against the Chattanooga lookouts citing a “tragic event within the Biscuits family.”
Team CEO Lou Di Bella later released a statement on Bivens.
“Earlier today, we learned that one of our players, Blake Bivens, suffered unimaginable loss,” De Bella wrote. “First and foremost, the Biscuits’ thoughts and prayers are with Blake and all those who have been impacted by this tragedy.”
Suspect arrested after manhunt
Police have not named the victims in the murders and did not speculate on motivation. Authorities arrested Bernard, who was nude at the time, after a manhunt and a short foot chase, according to the report.
The Rays selected Bivens in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft out of high school. He’s 4-0 with a 3.95 ERA and one save while working primarily as a relief pitcher this season.
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