Tampa Bay Rays prospect Blake Bivens opened up about the day he clicked on Facebook and found out his wife, one-year-old son and mother-in-law were killed.
“First headline I see is two females and a small child were gone,” Bivens shared over the weekend during a service in his Virginia church about what happened on Aug. 27, 2019. The comments were noted by the “Today” show in a piece published Tuesday.
“I immediately knew that was them,” he added. “I found out my family was gone over a Facebook headline, and I just immediately began to scream in the middle of the airport.”(RELATED: Country Stars Remember Las Vegas Victims During CMT Awards)
View this post on Instagram
Bivens continued, “Immediately, as soon as I clicked on Facebook, I just saw a headline, and the headline was just they were looking for my brother-in-law. So I just knew then there was something going on, so I immediately called my parents. They were trying to figure out everything that was going on also.”
“So at that point I knew I needed to get my stuff together. I needed to probably get an airplane trip home, not knowing the extent of anything going on,” the pitcher shared. (RELATED: Man Dies After Taco-Eating Contest At Minor League Baseball Game)
It all comes after Bivens’ wife, Emily, his mother-in-law, Joan Bernard, and son, Cullen, were killed in what was labeled by police at the time as a triple homicide. Blakes’ brother-in-law, 19-year-old Matthew Thomas Bernard, was later charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
“That morning for me, it was complete chaos in my mind, but I had people there that did care and that knew Cullen and Emily, and I’m grateful for that,” the pitcher explained. “I vividly remember a lot of the details from that day. I look back, and I’m extremely grateful for the people that were there at the time. It could’ve been a whole lot worse for me if I didn’t have anyone there.”
“The only thing I really remember from the whole plane ride is I just kinda went through periods, I just stared at the back of the seat the whole time, trying to get my mind to wrap around what I’m hearing,” he added. “It’s almost kind of like, ‘This isn’t really happening.’ I was just more in a state of shock.”
Many of his family members turned out and were waiting for him at the airport.
“We hugged, and we cried for 30 minutes,” Blake shared. “It’s unbelievable how much I can vividly remember from the day. It’s kind of unbelievable to see how far things have come from that day, also.”
Blake also credits his faith with helping him get through the tragedy.
“I think the greatest comfort for me has been knowing without a shadow of a doubt where my family is,” Bivens shared. “I know they’re in the arms of Jesus, and they’re waiting for me to be there with them.”
Bivens and Emily were married for three years.