Decapitating children: A California family’s horrifying true crime story
There are true crime cases so horrifying that you have to wonder about humanity as a whole. These cases usually follow the senseless deaths and/or abuse of children. From the abuse that led to the murder-suicide in the case of 10-year-old Judith Barsi to the Hart family deaths, where a couple drove themselves and their six adopted children off a cliff, these cases horrify and disturb us to our very core.
Any case involving violence against children are some of the worst cases in true crime. It boggles the mind, turns the stomach, and makes people doubt in the goodness in humanity. Children need love, guidance, and support. They need to grow and be in an environment that would nurture them. In these cases, children see the worst of people and directed at them.
Out in California, one of those horrible true crimes cases is unfolding in front of our horrified eyes. Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr, 34-years-old, of Lancaster, California has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of child abuse, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office announced on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The details of the case against Taylor are chilling.
Prosecutors allege that Taylor, a personal trainer, killed his two eldest children, 12-year-old Maurice Jewel Taylor Jr and 13-year-old Maliaka, by fatally stabbing them the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Taylor then, allegedly, decapitated their bodies and showed the remains to their two younger brothers, ages eight and nine. Oh, that’s not the only horrific thing those two little boys went through.
In addition to being shown the bodies of their slain siblings, the two younger children were locked into their bedrooms and denied food. On Friday, Dec. 4, the horrific scene inside was discovered by firefighters, who were responding to calls about a possible gas leak. That means that the house was like this for five whole days. Taylor’s clients, who he has been meeting with over Zoom, phoned in their concerns when he missed sessions.
The children’s mother, who has not been named, was in the home at the time. Police said that she’s not considered a suspect in the crime. Lt. Brandon Dean of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau told the L.A. Times that she is in contact with investigators and has been questioned as well.
The most shocking thing about the case, outside of the gruesome details, is that the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services has never had any previous involvement with the family. There have not been any recent calls to the home regarding any sort of domestic disturbances. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said there was a call to the home years ago for a minor disturbance. But that’s it.
Granted, you can never know what’s going on behind closed doors. After all, the Watts family looked like a normal, happy family until Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife and children. No calls are not an indicator for a brutal crime that takes place within a home. In available news sources, the condition of the young living children are not known at this time.
Taylor currently remains in custody under a $4.2 million USD bond. His arraignment has been postponed until Dec. 21. Taylor’s case is also the first high profile murder under new L.A. District Attorney George Gascón, who has made the pledge not to seek the death penalty in any new cases. If convicted, then Taylor faces a maximum sentence of 57 years to life in prison.
As the case develops, we’ll be certain to keep an eye on it and let you know any updates.
