Man who killed family with an axe as a teen set to be released from prison

ROCHESTER, Minn. (WCCO) – A convicted Axe murderer will be released from prison after serving decades in prison for killing his family in Rochester.

David Brom killed his parents, brother, and sister with an axe at the family’s home. The evening of February 18, 1988, Olmsted County sheriff’s deputies discovered the bodies of Bernard (43), Paulette (42), Diane (13), and Richard (11) Brom.

At the time, David Brom was 16 years old. Police found the blood-stained axe in the basement. Brom was eventually found after friends told police he admitted to the murders.  

Now, Brom says he’s changed and is ready to be released.

“I’ve kind of spent my time the best that I can to change the things about my life that led me to the despair, and the decisions that I made, and the actions that I took. The crimes that I committed,” Brom said.

Brom went before the parole board to make his case for supervised releases.

“I’m a good example of what a transformation can look like in a person’s life through the Department of Corrections,” Brom said. “I think that I’ve demonstrated consistency in that progress and in that maturing and growth. And I believe that I’m ready for parole.”

After the murders, Brom – now 53 – told authorities he had ‘gotten into a fight’ with his father and then attacked him, his mother, and two siblings. 

“I struggled with depression for some time and it had clouded my thoughts and it clouded my ability to process things,” Brom said. “And I’ve grown to a short-sighted view that I couldn’t – I thought these things were gonna last forever. And I knew I couldn’t live that way forever.”

On October 16, 1989, Brom was convicted of first degree murder and was given three consecutive and one concurrent life terms with 52 years and 6 months to serve before becoming eligible for parole. In 2023, Brom’s minimum term was reduced to make him immediately eligible for parole under a new state law restricting life terms for juveniles in Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Brom is to be given supervised release on July 29.