Update: Released on Work Release July 29, 2025
David Brom, the Minnesota man convicted of brutally murdering his parents and two younger siblings with an ax in 1988, has been released early from prison under a controversial law supported by Governor Tim Walz. The 2023 legislation, which ended life sentences for individuals convicted as juveniles, made Brom eligible for supervised release decades before his original parole date.
Brom, now 53, was just 16 when he killed his father Bernard, mother Paulette, sister Diane, and brother Richard in their Rochester home. Investigators described the scene as horrific, with each victim suffering multiple gaping wounds to the head and upper body from an ax. The murders shocked Minnesota and made national headlines at the time.
After pleading not guilty by reason of mental illness, Brom was found guilty by a jury and sentenced in 1989 to three consecutive life terms, plus an additional concurrent life sentence. He would not have been eligible for parole until 2037—after serving 52 years behind bars.
However, that changed with the passage of a juvenile sentencing reform bill in 2023, which Governor Walz signed into law. The legislation retroactively permits juvenile offenders to appear before a Supervised Release Board after serving 15, 20, or 30 years, depending on the severity of their crimes. Brom became eligible as early as 2018 under the new guidelines.
In January 2025, the Supervised Release Board voted 5-1 in favor of granting Brom supervised work release. As of July 29, Brom was officially placed on work release and transferred to a halfway house in the Twin Cities. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, he will remain under GPS monitoring and supervision.
This early release has reignited debate over criminal justice reform and juvenile sentencing, particularly in cases involving extreme violence. Critics argue that some crimes are too heinous to warrant second chances, regardless of the offender’s age at the time. Supporters of the law maintain that children convicted of crimes—even violent ones—deserve a path to rehabilitation and reintegration, especially after decades behind bars.
Governor Walz, who supported the reform as part of a broader public safety bill in 2023, has not commented on Brom’s release. The law was passed during his second term as governor, following his failed vice-presidential bid alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Brom's case will be reviewed again by the Supervised Release Board in January 2026.
Funeral services for the Brom family were held on February 21, 1988, in Rochester, marking a dark chapter in Minnesota's history. Their deaths and David Brom’s release continue to stir strong emotions nearly four decades later.
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