A man from Minnesota once found guilty of using an ax to murder his parents and younger siblings when he was a teenager in 1988 has been released earlier than expected under legislation supported by Governor Tim Walz.

David Brom, now 53, had been assigned to work release as of July 29, according to online records from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

When Brom was 16, he committed the murder of his mother Paulette, father Bernard, sister Diane, and brother Richard at their home in Rochester, Minnesota. Investigators discovered that each of the four had sustained multiple severe wounds to their heads and upper bodies inflicted by an ax.

Although Brom pleaded not guilty due to claims of mental illness, a jury convicted him of the murders. He received three consecutive life sentences and a concurrent life sentence, originally becoming eligible for parole after 52 years in 2037.

However, changes made Brom eligible for release retroactively as of 2018. In January, FOX9 Minneapolis reported that a vote by the Supervised Release Board, concluded with a 5-1 outcome, approving a plan for Brom’s work release.

According to a spokesperson from the department of corrections, Brom will now be moved to a halfway house in the Twin Cities, where he will continue to be supervised and monitored via GPS.

The Supervised Release Board will review Brom’s case again in January.