When society no longer respects the sanctity of life

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A Calif. couple has been convicted of stabbing their two children to death and decapitating their bodies.

Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, were found guilty of two felony counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and two felony counts of child abuse, according to a Nov. 18 news release from Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s office.

A jury found that on Nov. 29, 2020, Taylor and Brothwell stabbed and decapitated their daughter, Maliaka, 13, and son Maurice Jr., 12, in the family’s home in Lancaster, Calif.

The parents then forced their two younger sons, who were 8 and 9 years old at the time, to view the bodies of the deceased siblings. After, they confined their surviving children to their bedrooms without food for "several days," the release said.


Neighbors, too, had begun reporting a smell coming from the family’s Lancaster home. The killings occurred in late November 2020, a moment when schools were closed, jobs were unstable, and millions of households were being pushed to their limits. Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris suggested those pressures “created a stressful environment in the home,” though prosecutors were clear: stress does not explain or excuse murder.

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The baby’s mother told investigators that Lee picked their baby up while she was running errands in town. She said Lee got mad at her and said he was taking the baby back to her house.

The child’s mom said she told Lee several times that she was not home and that she would call the police if he left the baby at her residence.

When she arrived home, she found the infant in his car seat placed on the ground in front of the door," the affidavit reads. "The child had vomited on himself and was crying. She estimated that the infant had been left outside alone for approximately 30 minutes."

Prior to the little boy's predicament, his parents had been arguing about something on the phone, according to law enforcement.

The exact nature of that argument, however, is currently unclear.

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