Father charged with murder after children’s bodies found in car trunk in Johnston County, sheriff says

ZEBULON, N.C. (WNCN) – A man is charged with murder after deputies said “multiple bodies” were found in the trunk of a car at a home in Zebulon, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office stated 911 operators received a call on Monday around 10:09 p.m. from a man who told them that he had killed his children.

Deputies then responded to the caller’s home on the 100 block of Springtooth Drive in Zebulon. They located the man, who was identified as Wellington Delano Dickens III.

“Mr. Dickens stated to deputies his 3-year-old son was inside the house alive and four of his other children were deceased inside the trunk of a vehicle in the garage of the residence,” the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.

The sheriff’s office said that deputies found “what was believed to be human remains” in the trunk, and the bodies had “been there for a long period of time.” The 3-year-old child was located and found unharmed in the residence, deputies said.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators said they believe that Dickens killed three of his biological children – ages 6, 9, and 10 – along with his 18-year-old stepchild.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office was contacted and responded to the scene, while crime scene investigators with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are also assisting deputies at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

As of Tuesday morning, Dickens has been charged with one count of murder in connection with the death of his juvenile child, and is now being held in the Johnston County Jail without bond, the sheriff’s office said.

“This is an active investigation with multiple additional charges anticipated as the investigation unfolds,” the news release stated. “Additional details will be released when available and appropriate to do so.”