Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, confessed to having killed four of his children and hid the bodies in the trunk of a vehicle inside his garagein the town of Zebulon, east of Raleigh, in North Carolina.
According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, Dickens called 911 on Monday night to report what happened. Upon arriving at the home, the agents found their youngest son, aged three, alive, and discovered human remains in an advanced state of decomposition inside the vehicle.
The children had been dead for months
Authorities believe the victims are Dickens’ three biological children, ages 6, 9 and 10, and his 18-year-old stepson. Police indicated that the bodies could have been there for months, although official confirmation is still awaited from the State Medical Examiner, in charge of identifications.
The arrest warrant indicates that one of the victims was murdered on May 1, suggesting that the crime was committed almost six months ago.
Accused of murder and detained without bail
Dickens was formally charged with murder and held without bail in the county jail. Multiple additional charges are expected as the investigation progresses.
He appeared before a judge for the first time Tuesday afternoon and will be assigned a court-appointed attorney, according to court records. His next hearing is set for November 13.
Johnston County, a rural area in eastern North Carolina, woke up to dismay after learning of the case. Neighbors in the Zebulon area, a small town of less than 7,000 residents, said they were shocked by the news.
“We never imagined something like this. He was a quiet man, but there was nothing to suggest that he would commit an atrocity like this,” one resident told the Raleigh News & Observer.
Authorities have not revealed the possible motives for the crime, but confirmed that the surviving child is in the custody of the Department of Social Services and is receiving medical and psychological care.
“One of the worst cases we have seen”
County Sheriff Steve Bizzell called the discovery “one of the most horrendous cases” in his decades of service.
“Our agents have seen terrible things, but nothing can prepare you for finding several lifeless children, victims of their own father,” he said in a statement.
The case remains under investigation, and authorities are working to reconstruct the timeline of the murders and determine when and how the children died.
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