Brock Mater, the Surprise, Arizona, father accused of murdering his two children in May 2024, had posted on Facebook over a year earlier about enjoying Father’s Day in church and being recognized with a spear.
The most visible post on Mater’s Facebook page is a video of the church service. He wrote, “Very great Father’s Day at church. On top of the pleasant accolades, I received a spear! There was a fantastic sermon on 2 Samuel 23:20-23 and Benaiah (who was formidable with a spear) that before this, so check it out on Radiant Church.”
The role was from June 2023.
Brock’s estranged wife, Hope Mater, updated her Facebook profile picture with one of her children and her relationship status to a widower. On May 23, 2024, she wrote “My angels” and included a photo of the children.
“I am proud of my husband, Brock Mater, who was honored today at church! “Happy Father’s Day,” she had earlier stated in a June 2023 Facebook post.
Please pray for my family and Hope Mater. “My brother Brock Mater and his children will be mourned and missed,” Larissa Mater posted on Facebook on May 22, 2024. In a press release, Surprise, Arizona, police stated that on May 20, 2024, shortly after 12:30 p.m., “officers from the Surprise Police Department responded to the area of Bell and Litchfield roads for a welfare check on a father and two children.”
The female caller “reported she was going through a divorce, and her children were visiting their father, her estranged husband, over the weekend,” according to the release. “The mother became concerned when the children’s school called to report an unexplained absence.” The mother told detectives that she had tried calling the children’s father several times without success.
According to a police press release, the mother “then went to his residence and knocked on the door multiple times without receiving a response.” The mother called the Surprise Police Department after seeing the father’s vehicle at the house.”
Surprise officers “arrived and discovered the residence secured.” “They attempted multiple knocks, announcements, and phone calls without success,” according to the release. “Officers entered the residence to do a welfare check because they were concerned about the well-being of all parties. Sadly, both children and their father were discovered dead inside the house. All three were found with gunshot wounds to the head, indicating a murder-suicide.
According to the announcement, officers discovered a rifle on the father’s lap. The father was identified as Brock Mater, 34. The youngsters in question were a 7-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. Investigators discovered that Brock Mater was actively receiving mental health therapy.