A Lancaster, California couple have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of their two children, a case that authorities described as an act of extreme cruelty. Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. And Natalie Sumiko Brothwell were sentenced on Monday, , for the deaths of their 13-year-old daughter, Maliaka T., and their 12-year-old son, Maurice T.
The crimes occurred on , inside the family’s Lancaster home, where the couple fatally stabbed and decapitated their children. Following the murders, Taylor and Brothwell forced their two younger sons, aged 8 and 9 at the time, to view their siblings’ bodies and confined them to their bedrooms without food for several days, according to prosecutors.
The discovery of the bodies came after Los Angeles County Fire Department crews responded to a gas leak on Century Circle in Lancaster. Upon arrival, deputies found the remains of Maliaka and Maurice T. In separate bedrooms, each having sustained sharp-force trauma consistent with stabbing and decapitation.
Authorities apprehended Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. Days after the discovery. Natalie Sumiko Brothwell was taken into custody nearly a year later, in Tucson, Arizona, after an arrest warrant was issued.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced the guilty verdicts in , with both defendants convicted of two felony counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders, and two felony counts of child abuse likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, speaking after the conviction, called the case “a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family.” He added, “Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror. The jury’s verdict delivers justice for these victims and sends a powerful message: Those who commit such evil acts will be held fully accountable.”
During Monday’s sentencing, a judge described the crime as “monstrous.” Despite a statement from Brothwell in court, where she maintained her innocence and claimed she attempted to save her children, the judge found no evidence of genuine remorse, stating there was “silence where accountability should be.”
The court has issued a 10-year protective order for the two surviving sons, who are now in the care of others. The couple faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole, plus a consecutive sentence of six years and four months in state prison.
Sentencing was scheduled for , in Department A18 of the Antelope Valley Courthouse. The case has drawn significant attention, with one family friend, identified as Ellen, expressing the lasting impact of the tragedy outside the courthouse, stating, “How do you put into words that two children were beheaded? This stays with all of us. This is never going to wash off.”
