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Teen To Be Charged As Adult In Broken Arrow Murders

16-year-old Michael Bever (left), and his brother, 18-year-old Robert Bever (right)
Tulsa County Jail
16-year-old Michael Bever (left), and his brother, 18-year-old Robert Bever (right)

A 16-year old from Broken Arrow charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents and three siblings will be tried as an adult.

Special judge Martha Rupp Carter rejected a request from Michael Bever’s attorney to certify him as a juvenile delinquent or youthful offender. District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said he has no latitude in these matters under state law.

“If you’re 15, 16 or 17 and I charge you with murder in the first degree, you’re going to be charged as an adult, and so that’s not anything that I can say, ‘Well, today I choose to do something different,’” Kunzweiler said.

Public Defender Rob Nigh said he is hoping for a hearing to assess whether Michael Bever could be rehabilitated through Oklahoma’s juvenile system.

“The statute as it presently reads prevents us from seeking even a hearing, and that’s the part we believe to be unconstitutional,” Nigh said.

Nigh is focusing on brain development, which continues well into a person’s twenties.

“The clear evidence from the medical community is that the frontal lobe is not fully developed in a 16-year-old,” Nigh said. “There are significant brain differences between a child and an adult.”

His attorneys say Michael Bever suffers from mental illness.

Bever has a preliminary hearing January 22nd. His 18-year-old brother, Robert, is due in court the same day. Both have pleaded not guilty.

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Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.
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