Friday, April 20th 2018, 1:59 pm
The Bever sister who survived when five other members of her family were killed took the stand against her brother, Michael Bever, Friday afternoon.
Michael is accused of murdering his two parents and his three siblings - the youngest of whom was just five years old.
Because of the trauma the surviving sister went through, and to avoid being in the same room as her brother, she testified in a different courtroom with the judge and attorneys. That testimony was shown in a TV screen in the courtroom with the jury.
During the testimony, the now 16-year-old girl recalled that night saying her family went bowling then came home and had dinner. She said she remembers walking in on her brothers and hearing one of them say "are we gonna do this now?"
She said that's when her brother Robert slit her throat and stomach, then stabbed her multiple times in the chest, arms and neck.
The girl, 13 at the time, said she tried to scream and run out of the house, but she collapsed and was brought back in the home.
She said she remembers fading in and out, but heard a knock at the door and realized it was a police officer. She said the next thing she remembers is waking up in a hospital.
During her testimony, the girl got emotional recalling hearing the screams coming from the home.
It also appeared that Michael Bever got emotional and cried during that part of the testimony.
Before the surviving sister took the stand, the jury also heard a 911 call that came from the house. You can hear a child whispering for help, saying his brother is attacking the family. You hear the child say "please don't murder me." Then, another voice comes on the line, says "hello" then disconnects.
Testimony started after opening statements were given.
Prosecutor Sarah McAmis started off by reading the names of every individual victim in the case but really focused on the surviving sister, telling the jury how horribly she was injured and how she had to fight for her life.
4/19/2018 Related Story: Jury For Bever Murder Trial Warned Of Gruesome Evidence
The judge ruled Friday that prosecutors would be able to use Michael's confession and his personal journal he kept in jail as evidence.
In court so far, Michael has been very quiet, rarely speaks and rarely looks up.
Jurors hear about home life of Michael Bever, who is on trial for killing his parents, 3 siblings, trying to kill another sister. Prosecutors say his parents were religious, tried to shield children from outside world.@newson6 pic.twitter.com/d21CrjWzzf
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says scene was gruesome with blood everywhere, on floors, walls, doors, that seasoned first responders were deeply impacted.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says Michael Bever told his surviving sister a year earlier, he and brother Robert planned to kill whole family, asked her to help. Looking back now, chilling.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says surviving sister had her throat cut, slashed across stomach so badly, her internal organs had to be surgically replaced inside her.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says when 12 year old Daniel called 911; he can be heard saying, “Don’t Murder me. “ with screams in background, then Michael Bever hung up the phone.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says Michael tricked younger siblings who had locked themselves in bathroom, to open the door, then he stabbed them.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says DNA analysis of knives, victims, suspects will prove Michael was involved in crimes, not just his brother Robert.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense attorney says Michael’s first words to police were, I hope they’re alright. That he also said Robert was going to do the killings so he might as well help or be killed too & wanted fame.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says Robert was Michael’s only friend, whole world and when Robert became obsessed with killing and violent fantasies, Michael didn’t know how to process it.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says parents knew older boys were buying body armor and knives, that didn’t express concern, that no one in family took it seriously.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says father so controlling, he had 4 cameras in the house and some of that evidence was not collected, is missing so don’t know what it contained.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Court resumes shortly with rest of defense opening statements and 911 call then surviving sister to testify by closed circuit tv.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says scene was gruesome with blood everywhere, on floors, walls, doors, that seasoned first responders were deeply impacted.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says Michael Bever told his surviving sister a year earlier, he and brother Robert planned to kill whole family, asked her to help. Looking back now, chilling.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says surviving sister had her throat cut, slashed across stomach so badly, her internal organs had to be surgically replaced inside her.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says when 12 year old Daniel called 911; he can be heard saying, “Don’t Murder me. “ with screams in background, then Michael Bever hung up the phone.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says Michael tricked younger siblings who had locked themselves in bathroom, to open the door, then he stabbed them.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
DA says DNA analysis of knives, victims, suspects will prove Michael was involved in crimes, not just his brother Robert.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense attorney says Michael’s first words to police were, I hope they’re alright. That he also said Robert was going to do the killings so he might as well help or be killed too & wanted fame.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says Robert was Michael’s only friend, whole world and when Robert became obsessed with killing and violent fantasies, Michael didn’t know how to process it.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says parents knew older boys were buying body armor and knives, that didn’t express concern, that no one in family took it seriously.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Defense says father so controlling, he had 4 cameras in the house and some of that evidence was not collected, is missing so don’t know what it contained.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
Court resumes shortly with rest of defense opening statements and 911 call then surviving sister to testify by closed circuit tv.
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) April 20, 2018
The Bever sister who survived when five other members of her family were killed took the stand against her brother, Michael Bever, Friday afternoon.
","affiliate":{"_id":"5c784a0c4961cb23ad330098","callSign":"kotv","origin":"https://www.newson6.com"},"contentClass":"crime","createdAt":"2020-02-01T17:27:05.224Z","updatedAt":"2022-03-31T18:50:22.486Z","__v":23,"breakingNews":[],"entities":[{"_id":"62421fe16880e45323ac0220","text":"Michael Bever","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"6245f7ee6880e45323ce5553","text":"Sarah McAmis","type":"PERSON","__v":0},{"_id":"62391cbb6880e45323f5676e","text":"Lori Fullbright","type":"PERSON","__v":0}],"hasBeenCheckedForEntities":true,"openInNewWindow":false,"show":true,"link":"/story/5e35b4e9777a5668671be291/surviving-bever-sister-testifies-in-brothers-murder-trial","hasSchedule":false,"id":"5e35b4e9777a5668671be291"};April 20th, 2018
May 30th, 2018
May 18th, 2018
November 25th, 2024
November 25th, 2024
November 25th, 2024
November 25th, 2024