LANCASTER – The parents of a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl who were found decapitated at the family’s home in Lancaster were convicted Monday of murdering the two children nearly five years ago.
Jurors found Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the Nov. 29, 2020, stabbings and decapitations of their 12-year-old son, Maurice, and 13-year-old daughter, Maliaka, along with finding true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Taylor and Brothwell were also convicted of two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which noted that prosecutors had proven that the couple forced their younger sons — who were then ages 8 and 9 — to view their siblings’ bodies and to remain confined in their bedrooms without food for several days.
The two defendants are facing life prison terms without the possibility of parole, with sentencing set Jan. 13 at the Lancaster courthouse, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The victims’ bodies were still inside the family’s home in the 45000 block of Century Circle when authorities arrived five days later.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said soon afterward that the county fire department received a call about a possible gas leak and immediately notified sheriff’s deputies after finding the two children dead inside the home. Authorities said two adults — one male and one female — were found at the location, along with the other two children.
Some of Taylor’s clients from a Santa Monica physical therapy and fitness center contacted authorities to check on the family after becoming concerned that he did not send out a Zoom link for a scheduled session during the COVID-19 pandemic and that he could not be reached, the Los Angeles Times reported soon after the children’s bodies were discovered.
Taylor has remained behind bars since he was arrested Dec. 4, 2020, by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Criminal proceedings against Taylor were temporarily suspended after a doubt was declared about his mental competency, but were subsequently reinstated.
Brothwell was taken into custody in Tucson, Arizona, in September 2021 and subsequently returned to Los Angeles County the following month. She has also remained behind bars since then, jail records show.