‘My heart aches’ – Olympian Simon Biles speaks out for first time about brother’s triple homicide arrest

Simon Biles has kept a dignified silence for some time now; perhaps, she was yet to come to terms with the news that her brother was part of an incident which led to the deaths of three and injuries to two others.

But given that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles has publicly communicated on her brother being charged for murder via her Twitter account.

Simon Biles said her “heart aches for everyone involved” after her brother, who serves in the U.S. Army, was charged with murdering three people.

Last week, the brother of the Olympic-champion gymnast was arrested on charges related to a triple homicide in Cleveland. Tevin Biles-Thomas, 24, is a suspect in a shooting on New Year’s Eve that left three dead.

Cleveland police say Biles-Thomas was present at a New Year’s Eve party at an Airbnb above a pizzeria where a fight broke out after a group of men showed up uninvited and were asked to leave.

Gunfire ensued, and Devaughn Gibson, 23; DelVaunte Johnson, 19, and Toshaun Banks, 21, died after they were each shot multiple times. Two others were wounded but survived.

A joint statement by police and prosecutors said Biles-Thomas was “a shooter in the incident”.

It is unclear if other gunmen were involved. Biles-Thomas, who holds the rank of specialist and is a cannon crewmember assigned to 3rd Infantry Division, was detained on Thursday at a jail in Hinesville, Ga., according to jail records. He is on hold to be transferred to Ohio and face arraignment on September 13.

He joined the army in 2014 and was deployed to Korea in 2018 as part of a rotational deployment.

The arrest came in the same month as his 22-year-old sister made history at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship when she became the first woman to complete a “triple-double” during the floor exercise competition.

Biles-Thomas is being held in Georgia charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury.

The gymnast and her brother were among several siblings raised by different family members after their biological mother, who struggled with drug abuse, gave up custody when they were young children.

Biles-Thomas is one of four siblings of Simon Biles; their mother, Shanon, was addicted to drugs and alcohol when they were children, and they were in foster care before being taken in by Shanon’s father, Ronald.

Ronald Biles officially adopted Simone and her sister Adria, the two youngest children, and Ronald’s sister Harriet adopted Tevin and the eldest sister, Ashley.

Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast and considered to be one of the greatest in her field of all time. Last month, Biles clinched a record-tying sixth title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, where she landed two history-making flips.