Suspect in 2019 Pittsylvania County triple murder has charges certified

Matthew Bernard had been ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial in Nov. 2019

(WSLS)

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – Charges have been certified against a suspect in the 2019 triple murder case in Pittsylvania County, according to court documents.

10 News has learned that 23-year-old Matthew Bernard had his three counts of aggravated murder, and three counts of use of a firearm in felony certified Wednesday.

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As previously reported, Bernard was ruled mentally incompetent in Pittsylvania County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in November 2019.

Bernard is accused of killing his 62-year-old mother Joan Bernard; his sister, 25 year old Emily Bivens; and his 14-month old nephew, Cullen Bivens.

You can find more stories about the incident here.


About the Author

Duncan Weigand joined WSLS 10’s digital team in June 2024, weeks after graduating from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s in communication studying multimedia journalism and a cognate in marketing.

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