Family found dead in suspected murder-suicide in Broken Arrow

Deceased couple are now considered the primary suspects in the death of their six children after the whole family was discovered dead in their burning home

Authorities found eight people dead in a burning house in the Tulsa-area suburb Broken Arrow on Oct. 27 and are currently investigating it as a murder suicide. The two suspects were identified by Broken Arrow police as Brian and Brittney Nelson. The child victims’ ages ranged from one to 13. While the authorities refrained from releasing the names of the children, their grandfather identified them as: grandson Brian II, age 13; granddaughter Brantley, nine; grandsons Vegeta, seven, Ragnar, five, and Kurgan, two; and granddaughter Britannica, one.

According to suspect Brian’s father, that day his son had asked him and his wife to babysit his children at 5 p.m.When five came though, they were unable to reach Brian about babysitting. Only an hour later, news came of the fire. Brian’s father Danny Nelson stated in regards to the events of that Thursday “Five came and went. Then it was six. I texted them — no responses, I turned on the six o’clock news, and they said there had been a fire near Hickory and Galveston in Broken Arrow. That’s where my son lives.”

The six children were found dead in a back bedroom of the burning house. The parents were found in the front of the house.

The cause of death is still yet to be reported, but authorities have said they do not believe it was a result of the fire.

Neighbors of the Nelson’s reported watching samaritans attempt to save the victims of the fire, only to pull out their dead bodies.

Shawna Chiles, who lives in the next neighborhood, drove to the house to see what was going on and arrived even before the fire trucks.

According to her statements, “There were two guys there, one of them had already gone into the house and pulled out the woman. She was face down. So she’s laying there, and I was trying to see if she was alive. You could see her back moving, she was breathing.”

Chiles claims she was told the two men were neighbors.

“Then I see the guy drag the father out. He had blood all over his shirt. The guy said the man was dead, but the woman wasn’t going to make it,” Chiles said that she had been shot in the head.

According to the most recent reports, Brian and Brittney Nelson had filed for bankruptcy in 2020. They listed $8,803 in assets, and nearly $138,000 in liabilities. The liabilities were primarily made of unpaid student loans. At the time they were also both listed as unemployed.

Part of the bankruptcy filing also listed nine guns as assets.

Also according to his parents, Brian had suffered a head injury years prior. While stocking dairy refrigerators at a large retail chain, he experienced a concussion. Since then he had been plagued by severe headaches.

Brian’s mother, Mary Nelson, had to say “I want people to know that at one time he had all his brain together, I just don’t understand why they did what they did. I just don’t understand why he ended up in that situation. I talk to God all the time — and I just don’t understand.”

Post Author: Aurora Stewart