February 18, 1988
Rochester, Minnesota
16-year-old David Brom murders his parents, his 13-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother with an axe

The attack was allegedly premeditated according to Brom’s friends whom he had told of his plans before the murders. The Brom family were devout Catholics and the father of the household disagreed with a music cassette David had purchased, allegedly sparking the intent to kill. According to the friend, Brom waiting until the family had gone to bed then attacked his father in his bed. He then hit his mother, killed his brother in his room, and found his sister and injured mother in a hallway then killed both. All 4 suffered from multiple wounds to their heads and upper bodies.

Brom was sentenced to 3 consecutive life terms and one concurrent life term. He’ll be eligible for parole when he is 70.

A band called Escape the Noise cancelled an upcoming tour and released a fake press release claiming they were under house arrest until investigations could determine if their song “Christianity is Stupid” had any impact on the murders. News outlets desperate for any information on this sensationalized murder reported the fake press release, including one source who published the release verbatim, leading more respected media organizations to scold the ones running the story for their lack of fact checking.