Lancaster parents convicted of decapitating their two children

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- A father and mother have been convicted of murdering their two children, ages 12 and 13, who were stabbed and decapitated inside their Lancaster home nearly five years ago, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Jurors found Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the Nov. 29, 2020, stabbings and decapitations of their 12-year-old son, Maurice, and 13-year-old daughter, Maliaka, along with finding true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said the parents forced their two younger sons, ages 8 and 9, to view their siblings' bodies and remain confined in their bedrooms without food for several days.

"This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family," L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. "Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror."

Taylor and Brothwell were also convicted of two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death, the DA's office said in a news release.

The parents face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus a consecutive sentence of six years and four months in state prison, the news release said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.

City News Service contributed to this report.