Lino Lakes, MN (KROC-AM News) - David Brom has transitioned out of state prison.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections website indicates the former Rochester man was assigned to a work release program today. A spokesperson for the department earlier indicated that Brom would be transferred from the Lino Lakes State Prison to a halfway house facility at an undisclosed location in the Twin Cities to participate in the work release program, which, if successful, could result in a full release on parole in the future.

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Brom was sent to prison in 1989 after he was convicted for the ax murders of his parents and two of his younger siblings at their home in northwest Rochester in February 1988. He was 16 years old at the time of the murders.

For a time, it appeared that Brom's prosecution would be handled in the juvenile court system, which would have likely meant commitment to a treatment facility, but the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that he should face the charges as an adult. That led to a trial and his conviction for multiple first-degree murder charges after an Olmsted County jury rejected his mental illness defense.

Brom was given three consecutive life prison sentences that, under state law at the time, would have kept him behind bars for a minimum of 51 years. That changed two years ago when the Democrat majority of the Minnesota Legislature changed a law involving juvenile offenders convicted of serious violent crimes that made Brom immediately eligible for parole.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections has indicated that his next hearing before the Supervised Release Board will be held next January.

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