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Rays prospect Blake Bivens says he learned of family's murders on Facebook

Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Blake Bivens spoke publicly for the first time since he lost his wife, toddler and mother-in-law last August to a triple-homicide in Virginia.

Bivens, 24, shared the details of how he learned of his family’s death on Facebook during a live conversation with The River Church (Danville, Virginia) interim senior pastor Travis Gore.

His wife, Emily, 14-month-old son Cullen and mother-in-law, Joan Bernard, were killed Aug. 28. His brother-in-law, Matthew Bernard, was arrested and is awaiting trial.

Bivens learned of family’s death on Facebook

Bivens, who was playing with the Double-A team in Montgomery, Alabama, at the time, said he knew something was wrong when he didn’t wake up to his standard text message from Emily.