An L.A. County couple decapitated their two eldest children in what prosecutors called a “monstrous” act of violence that left their community stunned. On Monday, the pair were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lancaster residents Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and his wife, Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 49, were found guilty of two felony counts of first-degree murder in November.
Taylor and Brothwell were each sentenced to six years in prison plus two consecutive terms of life without parole, according to Venusse D. Dunn, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.
The couple’s two surviving children were placed under a 10-year protective order by the court.
Taylor was a personal trainer in Santa Monica, and his clients described him as “mellow” and “reliable” shortly after his arrest in December 2020.
When he didn’t dial in to Zoom meetings with his clients, they became concerned and called authorities.
Deputies arrived and found the children’s bodies in separate bedrooms in the home, Lt. Brandon Dean said. The two children were identified by sheriff’s officials as a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
At trial, a jury found the parents guilty of stabbing and decapitating the children.
“They then forced their two younger sons, ages 8 and 9, to view their siblings’ bodies and remain confined in their bedrooms without food for several days,” the district attorney’s office said.
The crime shocked the community in Lancaster and those who knew the family.
“This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said. “Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror.”
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