HOUSTON _ The wife, son and mother-in-law of Rays minor-league pitcher Blake Bivens were killed Tuesday morning in their Virginia hometown and police apprehended and charged a relative in their murder.
Word of a "a tragedy" involving the family of a Rays player had been circulating Tuesday, and ESPN was the first to report the connection to Bivens, and that the suspect was the 18-year-old brother of Bivens' wife.
The Rays then issued a statement saying Bivens "suffered a terrible family tragedy in southern Virginia. Our hearts are broken for Blake. We are grieving with him and will support him any way we can. We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the Bivens family and the Biscuits family during this extremely difficult time."
The Biscuits canceled a scheduled doubleheader and returned to Montgomery, where they are slated to open a homestand Thursday.
Bivens, 24, was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft from George Washington High in Danville, Va., who was working his way slowly through the system, reaching Double-A last year and returning there this season.
Without connecting Bivens to the incident, the Danville (Va.) Register & Bee reported on the triple homicide and said that the police apprehended 18-year-old Matthew Bernard unarmed and naked shortly after noon Tuesday in Keeling, Va.
