Family of Oklahoma killer-suicide faces financial pressure | WGN 720 Radio

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma couple believed to be the “prime suspects” in the slayings of their six children last week faced mounting financial pressures while the husband was in recurring pain from a workplace head injury, family members said and.

Eight people were found dead Thursday in a burning home in suburban Tulsa in what authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide. The Broken Arrow Police Department on Sunday identified the two adults as Brian and Brittney Nelson, but did not release new information about whether the two adults were involved in the slayings of the children, ages 1 to 13.

Brian Nelson’s parents, Danny and Marilyn Nelson, told the Tulsa World that their son asked if they could babysit their grandchildren at 5 p.m. Thursday, the day of the fire.

“Five came and went. Then it was 6. I texted them – no response,” Danny Nelson said. “I turned on the 6 o’clock news and they said there was a fire near Hickory and Galveston in Broken Arrow. My son lives there.”

Police have not released the names of the dead children, but the Nelsons identified them as grandson Brian II, 13; granddaughter Brantley, 9; grandchildren Vegeta, 7, Ragnar, 5, and Kurgan, 2; and granddaughter Britannica, 1.

All six children were found dead in a burning back bedroom, while two adults were found in the front of the house. Authorities said the cause of death is still under investigation, but they do not believe anyone died in the fire.

Brian and Britney Nelson filed for bankruptcy in 2020, listing $8,803 in assets against nearly $138,000 in liabilities, most of which were unpaid student loans, the newspaper reported. Both indicated they were unemployed at the time, the statement said.

The bankruptcy filing also listed nine guns as assets.

Brian Nelson suffered a concussion several years ago while stocking the dairy coolers at a major retail chain and has suffered from severe headaches ever since, his parents said.

“I want people to know that he had a whole brain at one time,” Marilyn Nelson said. “I just don’t understand why they did what they did. I just don’t understand why he ended up in this situation. I talk to God all the time – and I just don’t understand.”