DANVILLE, Va. (AP) - Authorities in Virginia have rescheduled a competency hearing for a man who police say killed the wife, son and mother-in-law of a minor league baseball pitcher.
The Danville Register & Bee reports that Matthew Bernard, 19, was set to have his competency review and determination hearing on Wednesday. It would have helped authorities decide whether Bernard understands the first-degree murder charges against him.
The hearing was rescheduled for May so that Bernard could seek further review of treatment. Defense attorney James C. Martin had filed a motion last year for Bernard to get a competence and sanity evaluation.
Authorities say Bernard killed his sister, Emily Marie Bivens, and her 1-year-old son Cullen Bivens, and his mother, Joan Bernard, in late August. He was captured naked during a manhunt in a tiny southern Virginia community about four hours after the killings, running past TV cameras to a church parking lot, where he was recorded trying to choke a church caretaker.
Emily Bivens was married to Blake Bivens, a pitcher for the Montgomery Biscuits in Alabama. They are an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
When the news broke about the killings, a scheduled doubleheader between the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Montgomery Biscuits at AT&T Field was canceled.
This photo made available by the Pittsylvania County Sheriff shows Matthew Bernard on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. Authorities said Bernard is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor indicated he's related to the victims. (Pittsylvania County Sheriff Office via AP)