LANCASTER, Calif. (TCN) — A mother and father have been convicted of first-degree murder in the 2020 stabbing and decapitation of two of their four children.
On Nov. 18, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release that Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, were found guilty of two felony counts of first-degree murder, as well as two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said, “Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror,” per the release.
On Nov. 20, 2020, Taylor and Brothwell fatally stabbed and then decapitated their 12-year-old son, Maurice, and their 13-year-old daughter, Maliaka. They then forced their younger sons, ages 8 and 9, to look at the bodies. The surviving boys were confined to their rooms for several days without access to food, according to the release.
It took five days for the bodies to be discovered, KTLA reported at the time. Neighbors called the authorities to report a foul odor, and the bodies were found Dec. 4, 2020, when they arrived to investigate a possible gas leak.
Taylor was arrested that day, KTLA reports, and charged with murder and child abuse four days later. Brothwell was apprehended Sept. 28, 2021, at her home in Tucson, Arizona, a day after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Taylor and Brothwell face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, plus a consecutive sentence of six years and four months in state prison, the district attorney’s office said. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.
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