David Francis Brom

Overview

David Francis Brom (born October 3, 1971) killed his parents, brother, and sister with an axe in February 1988 in Rochester, Minnesota. He was sixteen at the time of the killings and was sentenced to life in prison.

Timeline

• February 1988 — David Francis Brom killed his parents, brother, and sister with an axe at the family’s rural home in Rochester, Minnesota.
• February 20, 1988 — The authorities arrested David Brom, 16, in the ax murders of his parents, a brother, and a sister.
• October 3, 1989 — A Rochester, Minnesota, jury convicted David Brom of four counts of first-degree murder.
• October 17, 1989 — Judge Ancy Morse of Olmsted County District Court sentenced David Brom to three consecutive life terms (and one concurrent life term); he was ordered to undergo psychiatric examinations and would be eligible for parole when he turned 70.
• October 18, 1989 — A report stated that a teen-ager had been sentenced to life in prison for killing his parents, brother, and sister with an ax.
• 2041 — He would be eligible for parole when he turned 70.

The offence

In February 1988, authorities found the bodies of David Brom’s family members at the family home in suburban Cascade Township, described as a quiet well-to-do area just outside southeastern Minnesota city of 60,000. The four were found in their nightclothes.

• Bernard Brom, 41 years old
• Paulette Brom, about 40
• Diane Brom, 14
• Rick Brom, 9

Authorities believed the four were slain early Thursday morning, and they found a bloody axe 2 to 3 feet long in the basement of the home.

The only member of the household not killed was David Brom, and he was not found at the scene. Authorities theorized that Bernard and Rick were attacked first, and that the women coming to investigate were subsequently struck down.

Investigation

Cascade Township police were summoned to the home and found the bodies in the nightclothes. Authorities lifted David Brom’s palm prints from the murder weapon.

Arrest

Authorities arrested David Brom the next day while he was telephoning a friend from a pay phone at a post office. He was taken into custody at the main Rochester Post Office.

A person had called Sheriff Charles Von Wald of Olmsted County to report seeing someone fitting David Brom’s description in a telephone booth near the post office.

Officer Bill Verdick said: “The officers who took him into custody said he was quite nervous and frightened.”

Friends of the suspect reported that he was having trouble with his parents. Sheriff Von Wald said: “He indicated he was having some trouble with his parents.” He also said: “One student said he was having trouble with his dad because of a tape he had bought and he didn't want him listening to it.”

Trial

David Brom appeared calm at a 15-minute arraignment in which he was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and eight counts of second-degree murder. The charges contained different degrees of premeditation or intent. He did not enter a plea.

Raymong Schmitz, the Olmsted County Attorney, said the boy was ordered to undergo psychiatric examinaton and was being held under a 24-hour watch at the county jail.

According to the charges, David told a friend on Wednesday that he was going to kill his parents that night, and another person indicated that he told her on Thursday that he had killed his parents.

A Catholic prep school sophomore, David was at Lourdes Roman Catholic High School Thursday morning. Friends at the school said he had dyed his hair black, shaved the hair from the sides of his head, and spiked the hair on the back of his head.

In 1989, David Brom pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. He was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder on October 3, 1989, and 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.

Medical records and testimony at his trial indicated that David was severely depressed at the time of his crime. Friends reported that he had talked for six months about killing his family. They also reported that he had twice attempted suicide, with the last attempt occurring just a few months prior to the murders.

Sentencing

On October 17, 1989, Judge Ancy Morse of Olmsted County District Court imposed a sentence of three consecutive life terms (and one concurrent life term). She described the case as an “extreme and monumental tragedy” caused by a “pathetically sick, depressed mind.”

After his sentencing, it was stated that Judge Ancy Morse reportedly retired to her chambers and wept over the tragedy of the crimes and David’s wasted life.

David Brom was ordered to undergo psychiatric examinations, and he would not be eligible for parole until 2041 (when he turned 70).

He will not be eligible for parole for 52 1/2 years.

Outcome

David Brom was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to three consecutive life terms (and one concurrent life term) on October 17, 1989.

Other details

David Brom had a fight with his father over the songs he listened to, which possibly resulted in the deed.