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The Way We Were, Or Death, Man Said

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By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

Updated: 12/15/2007 11:11 pm

Oliver Bernsdorff threatened to kill his ex-wife, their children and himself if he couldn't have their family back the way it used to be, Largo police Lt. Mike Loux said in a statement Saturday.

Bernsdorff, 36, made these statements, detectives say, within earshot of others before Friday. That's when authorities think he killed his ex-wife, Jennifer Davis, 27, and her partner, Andrea Pisanello, 53, at their apartment in Largo, as well as his and Davis' two small children at his house in Clearwater.

Loux said that Largo detectives attended autopsies Saturday for Davis and Pisanello, who were found dead of gunshot wounds at Monterey Lakes Apartments.

"It is believed that the firearm was a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun," Loux said. "The number of shots, where the victims were shot and where they were in the apartment is not going to be released."

After the bodies were discovered Friday, Clearwater police went to Bernsdorff's home to check on the children, whose bodies were found in a bedroom. Investigators won't say how the children died. Olivia Bernsdorff, 4, and Magnus Bernsdorff, 2, were positively identified through photos.

"Investigators are obviously working under the assumption that Mr. Bernsdorff committed the homicides in our city and also in Clearwater," Loux said. "It is not known which pair of homicides was committed first. This information will not be available any time soon."

Authorities are operating under the assumption that Bernsdorff is the man who shot himself during an attempted traffic stop on the Sunshine Skyway because it was his colorful van that ran off the road as it proceeded off the bridge into a thicket of mangroves. Because of the circumstances involved in the suicide, positive identification might have to be determined by DNA testing, Loux said.

Davis' family, through the Largo Police Department, said Saturday that members are devastated.

"Words do not even begin to describe the pain and heartbreak we are experiencing," the statement said. Family members thanked all who had helped them get through their ordeal so far.

"We can't explain why this has happened, we can barely believe that it has happened."

Outside the Bernsdorff house on Powderhorn Drive in Clearwater, the neighborhood was quiet Saturday. Neighbors kept to themselves, declining to speak with a reporter or simply not answering their front doors.

"You don't see the kids out here playing; they're all inside today," said Tammy Pleasant, 41, who lives across the street.

She said many children on the street played at the Bernsdorff house, where toys, bicycles and tricycles were still in the front yard and driveway.

"That's why everybody's not saying much," Pleasant said. "Because they were always out playing."

Reporter Carlos Moncada contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at mwells@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7839.

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