A North Carolina father has been charged with the murders of his four children after he called 911 to chillingly confess the killings.
Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was arrested Tuesday at his home in Zebulon — about 20 miles outside of Raleigh — after he allegedly told 911 operators that he had killed his children, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Deputies arrived at the home around 10 p.m., where Dickens informed them that the children were dead inside the trunk of a car in the garage.
Inside, officers discovered “what were believed to be multiple bodies” in the trunk of a two-door Honda sedan parked in the garage, authorities said.
The victims were identified as Dickens’ biological children — Leah Dickens, 6, Zoe Dickens, 9, and Wellington Dickens, 10 — along with his 18-year-old stepchild, Sean Brassfield.
Deputies also found Dickens’ 3-year-old son alive and unharmed inside the home.
During the preliminary investigation, the sheriff’s office said the remains appeared to have been there for an extended period.
Authorities believe the four children have been dead since May 1, according to court records obtained by USA Today.
Dickens was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and charged with first-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Johnston County Jail without bond.
Records show Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, died in April 2024 — leaving behind five children who continued living in the family’s Zebulon home.
An obituary said Jones Dickens “passed away suddenly at her home,” according to an online obituary.
Her death came about a year after Dickens’ father died in a box-truck collision in Lee County, USA Today reported.
Dickens’ great-uncle, Charles Moore, told WRAL-TV that the Iraq War veteran “seemed fine” when he last saw him about a year ago.
“Like anybody else I was just shocked,” Moore told the outlet. “You hear it, talk about it happening to other people. You just wouldn’t think it would happen to one of your own.”
However, Moore acknowledged that the alleged child murder wasn’t the same after serving in the military.
“We know he had a little problem,” Moore said. “He was in the service, and he had a problem ever since he came back, I think.”
Next-door neighbor Debra Riley also said she’s struggling to piece together what happened.
“My heart just breaks for the children, and for the 3-year-old that’s left because he has no parents or siblings left,” Rily said.
Neighbor Fran Majkowski said the gruesome discovery has shocked the neighborhood.
“I walk by that house almost every single day,” Majkowski told the outlet.
While Majkowski had no personal relationship with Dickens or his family, she did remember when they moved into the neighborhood.
“I never saw a child outside playing. I never saw him mowing a lawn,” she said.
“The only time I ever saw them was the day they moved in and like I said … it was very … you just get the feeling someone is to themselves.”
However, Majkowski said she and other neighbors reached out to support Dickens in 2024 following his wife’s passing.
“It’s a pretty new neighborhood,” Majkowski said. “I’ve been here three years, most others just a year or two — and everyone came together. There was an outpouring of support.”
Riley added that Dickens “started keeping to himself” and became more of a recluse after his wife passed away.
Dickens is due back in court on Wednesday.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.
