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Okla. Couple Killed 6 Kids in Murder-Suicide; Family Struggled with Debts, Father's Head Injury
Authorities in Oklahoma identified the deceased suspects as parents Brian Nelson, 34, and Brittney Nelson, 32, according to reports.
Family members allege the parents accused of killing their six children in an apparent murder-suicide may have been facing mounting financial pressures prior to their deaths.
Authorities in Oklahoma identified the deceased suspects as parents Brian Nelson, 34, and Brittney Nelson, 32, according to reports.
Speaking with Tulsa World, Brian's parents, Danny and Marilyn Nelson, confirmed their grandchildren — Brian II, 13; Brantley, 9; Vegeta, 7; Ragnar, 5; Kurgan, 2; and Britannica, 1 — were the six juvenile victims in Thursday's incident.
The evening they were killed, Danny and Marilyn said they had plans to babysit the kids, according to the outlet. Brian and Brittney were supposed to drop them off to their grandparents.
"Five came and went, then it was 6. I texted them — no responses," Danny told the paper. "I turned on the 6 o'clock news, and they said there had been a fire near Hickory and Galveston in Broken Arrow. That's where my son lives."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(479x179:481x181):format(webp)/nelson-family-oklahoma-110122jpg-51080d1fd5c74ad8a4a81972e5b35e23.jpg "From left, Brian Anthony Nelson II, Kurgan Nelson, Ragnar Nelson, Brantley Nelson and Vegeta Nelson are seen in a framed photograph in their grandparents apartment in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.")
The Nelson Family. ANDREA EGER/TULSA WORLD VIA AP
Danny suspects the family of eight's mountain of money troubles and a head injury Brian reportedly sustained in the workplace may have been motivation for him and his wife to kill their family, the outlet reports.
8 Dead, Including 6 Kids, in Okla. House Fire — and Cops Say It Was a Murder-Suicide with 2 Adults Responsible
Brian and Brittney reportedly filed for bankruptcy in December 2020. The pair listed $138,000 in liabilities and nearly $9,000 in assets, including nine guns, according to records obtained by the paper.
The couple was unemployed at the time of the filing and receiving financial assistance from the government, the outlet reports.
"I think the stress was what got to them — trying to figure out how to make it from one month, to one month, to one month," Danny told the outlet.
"Then, every time one of those headaches came around, he just would lose it because it was so excruciating," Marilyn added.
"I want people to know that at one time he had all his brain together," she said. "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."
Firefighters allegedly discovered the bodies of Brian and Brittney in the front of their blazing Broken Arrow, Okla., home Thursday, while the bodies of their six children were discovered in a rear bedroom, where the majority of the fire was contained, authorities said.
Authorities said the causes of death for the family members are still pending, however they do not believe their deaths were related to the fire.
Firearms were also recovered from the scene.
The investigation remains ongoing.
