David Brom, Murdered His Entire Family With an Ax

[chris]

This case was rather hard to research, I'm guessing because it happened in the 1980's, before the internet really took off, so a lot of information that would normally be made available, has not been done in this case. For instance, I was not even able to find any pictures of his family, the actual victims. Through my research though, this is what I have been able to find.

On February 18, 1988 two deputies went to make sure everything was alright at a home on Rochester's Northwest side. High School Principal Denny Nigon had heard from kids that one of his students, 16-year-old David Brom, may have hurt his parents. He asked the police to check it out. Torgerson says, "I can recall the smell. It was very quiet in the house. I've got it all right here." Originally Torgerson thought the Brom home had been burglarized, but as he went upstairs:

"I could see that there were two people there and it turns out that was where Paulette and Diane, the sister, were laying basically entwined." Both had been cut by the blade of an ax. Further down the hallway was Bernard Brom, dead in his bedroom and 11-year-old Richard Brom, killed in his own bed. Torgerson says, "Shocking injuries, I can't describe it any worse than that. It was just amazing." "I don't remember much. I'm pretty sure Mike just said we need to get more help and I'm going yeah, let's go."

In the basement investigators found the murder weapon, a 15 to 20 inch ax covered in blood. Olmsted County Attorney Ray Schmitz got a call that night. "The big issue was obviously who is loose in the community and what's the danger to people at large." Before long the search was on for 16-year-old David. Brom had actually gone to school that morning and according to police interviews told at least one friend what he had done. He and the friend skipped school and spent the morning driving around Rochester, ending up at the Barlow Parking Lot. That's where he gave her details about the brutal murders, details she told police she was hoping weren't true. After leaving the girl at her home, Brom avoided the crime scene and police, spending a night sleeping outside. Brom was arrested the next morning when someone saw him making a phone call at the Post Office.

The following brief summary was pulled from the case file of one of his appeals.

In the early evening of February 18, 1988, Olmsted County sheriff's deputies discovered the bodies of Paulette, Bernard, Diane, and Richard Brom on the second floor of the Brom family home. All four individuals had sustained numerous gashes in the head and upper body. Police subsequently found a blood-stained ax in the basement that forensic tests indicated was used to kill all four victims. Tests also revealed the ax handle bore appellant's palm and finger prints.

On February 19, 1988, Rochester police officers arrested appellant in connection with the deaths of his parents and siblings. Because he was 16 years old at the time, appellant was initially charged in the juvenile justice system. After a much-publicized reference hearing and appeal, however, appellant was referred for prosecution as an adult.

Wikipedia Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brom

Minnesota Department of Corrections:
https://coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicV...asp?OID=146854

Last known prison address:

David Brom 146854
Minnesota Corr. Facility
St. Cloud, MN 56304

[vagabond]

I sure hope he dies in prison; not eligible for parole, I hope!

[souris]

jerk

[Broadjumper]

Now you've done it - gone and spoiled the next season of "Fargo"

[luton loyal]

[Azimuth]

Originally Posted by vagabond

I sure hope he dies in prison; not eligible for parole, I hope!

He is eligible for parole in 2041, when he is 70.


From Murderpedia: (just a little bit of additional interesting info)

David Brom

On October 3, 1989, a Rochester, Minnesota, jury gave David Brom an unwelcome 18th birthday present: it convicted him of four counts of first-degree murder. A week later, the same jury rejected Brom’s claim that he was insane when he used a 56 blows with an axe to murder his father, mother, and two siblings.

He was subsequently sentenced to three consecutive life terms (and one concurrent life term) and will be eligible for parole when he turns 70. After his sentencing, the judge reportedly retired to her chambers and wept over the tragedy of the crimes and David’s wasted life.

While extremely violent, David’s crime is not that extraordinary. What is interesting is the dual legal issues that he raised: that crimes committed by a 16-year-old do not deserve to tried in an adult court, and that Minnesota’s M’Naghten-based insanity defense is out-of-touch with reality and unfair to defendants who are mentally ill when they commit their crimes.

Medical records and testimony at his trial indicated that David was severely depressed at the time of his crime. A Catholic prep school sophomore, David had twice attempted suicide (the last attempt was just a few months prior to the murders), and friends reported that he talked for six months about killing his family.

For reasons never fully explained, that time came on February 18, 1988. In a gruesome crime scene, Cascade Township police who had been summoned to the home found bodies of Bernard Brom, 41, his wife, Paullette, about 40, and children Diane, 14, and Rick, 9, all in their nightclothes. The four were believed to have been slaughtered early that morning. A bloody axe was found in the basement of the home. Authorities theorized that Bernard and Rick had been attacked first, and the women coming to investigate were subsequently struck down.

The only member of the household not killed — there was another brother who did not live at home — was David Brom and he was nowhere to be found.

The elder brother had an alibi, and David’s palm prints were lifted from the murder weapon.

David was arrested the next day while telephoning a friend from a pay phone at a post office. He admitted the crimes and explained that he was “having trouble with his father” over a music tape.

MarkGribben.com

[vagabond]

^ Thanks for the extra info!

[Gizzywizzy]

I live right across the park and through a wooded area from the Brom house (It's still quite a topic here in Rochester). These are not verifiable facts but I have heard from folks that the blood flow from the mother and daughter at the top of the stairwell saturated through the floor, insulation and through the drywall below creating a puddle on the first floor through the ceiling. Very disturbing place - local news did a story about how there have been multiple intruder calls from those who live there with no one found. Link to that article below:
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/loc....html?mode=jqm

[Susan]

David Brom as a 16 yr old.

The house where it all happened, photographed in 2009.

The weirdo laughing in one of his prison photos.

[Susan]

The parent's grave.

The brother and sister's grave.