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Music scholarship set up in honor of local murder victim

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. – A special tribute after a horrific tragedy.

Emily Bivins was a victim of a triple homicide that happened in Pittsylvania County in 2019 that left the Southside shaken.

Emily’s brother, Matthew Bernard was charged with brutally murdering her, her one-year-old son, and their mother.

Later that year, Bernard was found incompetent to stand trial.

Emily was the wife of Blake Bivens, a major league baseball pitching prospect, who said his life was destroyed after the incident.

“Your love and kindness changed countless lives, including mine,” Blake wrote about Emily in a social post.

Three years later, Emily has surely not been forgotten.

A music scholarship has been set up in her memory and will cover the costs of youth piano lessons – a scholarship that could change lives and make a lot of people smile, just like Blake said that Emily did years ago.

Marco Harmon

I was born and raised in Roanoke, VA. I studied Communications Studies at Roanoke College, and I’ve been part of the news industry ever since. Visiting my favorite downtown Roanoke bars and restaurants with my friends is how I spend most of my free time when I'm not at the desk.

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