‘My heart breaks for these children’: North Carolina father killed 4 children separately over period of months, sheriff says

ZEBULON, N.C. (WNCN) — Day two of a murder investigation in Johnston County is underway after deputies said four children were found inside the trunk of a car this week, and their father confessed to killing them.

The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office held an update on the investigation at its headquarters in Smithfield on Wednesday morning. Sheriff Steve Bizzell posed a harrowing question while giving some more details about the investigation to the press: “What would make a father want to kill their own kids?”

The father, who authorities identified as 38-year-old Wellington Delano Dickens III of Zebulon, is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon for three of the four murder charges filed during the preliminary investigation. He made his first appearance on Tuesday.

The call to deputies

On Tuesday, deputies with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office told CBS 17 that they received a call around 10 p.m. Monday that four kids were killed on the 100 block of Springtooth Drive in southeast Zebulon.

According to deputies, Dickens told Johnston County dispatch that his 3-year-old son was inside the house alive, but four of his other children were deceased inside the trunk of a vehicle in the garage of the residence.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Sheriff Bizzell said the Department of Social Services has custody of the child, and after a medical evaluation, DSS said the 3-year-old is safe.

The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office charged Dickens with four counts of murder. He appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon for one of the four counts, as the murder charge for each child rolled in throughout the day while deputies investigated the home.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office was at the scene on Tuesday morning, along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which assisted investigating deputies.

Findings after searching the home

After obtaining a search warrant on Tuesday, investigators said they believe Dickens killed three of his biological children — six-year-old Leah Dickens, nine-year-old Zoe Dickens, and 10-year-old Wellington Dickens — and his 18-year-old stepchild Sean Brasfield.

During the press conference, a timeline was revealed that each child was killed at different times between May and September, hence the different sets of charges.

Bizzell said through interviews, deputies learned that Leah was killed in May 2025, and Zoe, Wellington the IV, and Brasfield were killed months later, between August and September.

Deputies said all four children were homeschooled before the timeframe of the murders. The sheriff also said that family members attempted to contact the Dickens children in the past, but their calls were not returned. Authorities are still working to contact the biological father of Brasfield, who is currently serving in the military.

Investigators told CBS 17 during the press conference on Wednesday that the home was not well-kept, and there was evidence that some sort of cleanup had been attempted. They noted the obvious odor of decomposition.

A previous call was made to the home last year as the Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones, died in April 2024. Jones was three months pregnant at the time of her death, according to the sheriff’s office.

She started bleeding excessively the previous night, but she initially refused to seek professional medical care before emergency crews were called to the home the next day, officials said.

Sheriff Bizzell said they ruled Jones’ cause of death as a result of complications from a miscarriage.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Dickens remains in Johnston County custody with no bond given by the judge. If found guilty on all charges, Dickens could be given the death penalty.

The cause, as well as other circumstances behind the deaths of the four kids, is still being determined by deputies. The possibility of additional charges, according to Sheriff Bizzell, is pending.