LOS ANGELES, CA – A husband and wife out of Lancaster learned their fate in court earlier in February regarding the brutal murders of their two eldest children that occurred back in 2020, with prosecutors saying the couple made their younger children observe the slain bodies of their siblings.
On February 2nd, 39-year-old Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. and 49-year-old Natalie Sumiko Brothwell were handed down two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole regarding the November 2020 murders of their 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son.
According to prosecutors, three days after Thanksgiving in 2020, Taylor and Brothwell brutally murdered their two eldest children, Malika and Maurice Jr., inside their Lancaster home, reportedly decapitating the two children. Adding onto the brutal nature of the crime, prosecutors say the couple then forced their two younger children, ages 8 and 9, to observe the murdered bodies of their older siblings.
After traumatizing the two surviving children inside the household, Taylor and Brothwell reportedly confined the two young boys to their room, depriving them of food for several days. Authorities learned of the horrific murders after responding to a gas leak at the residence, placing Taylor in custody on December 4th, 2020. Brothwell was arrested in September 2021 at a residence in Tucson, Arizona, after investigators gathered enough evidence to charge her regarding the brutal killings.
During the ensuing trial which seemingly suffered delays amidst the fallout of the pandemic, Brothwell asserted in court that she “did not murder” her children, claiming that she instead tried to save them. The judge in the case was not moved by Brothwell’s claims of innocence, saying there was no “genuine remorse” to be seen and was instead overshadowed by “silence where accountability should be.”
Following the convictions of Taylor and Brothwell this past November, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated, “This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family. Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror.”
Hochman further emphasized, “The jury’s verdict delivers justice for these victims and sends a powerful message: Those who commit such evil acts will be held fully accountable.”
In tandem with the life sentences handed down to Taylor and Brothwell, the court also issued a 10-year protective order for the surviving children, both of which are teenaged currently.
On February 2nd, 39-year-old Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. and 49-year-old Natalie Sumiko Brothwell were handed down two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole regarding the November 2020 murders of their 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son.
According to prosecutors, three days after Thanksgiving in 2020, Taylor and Brothwell brutally murdered their two eldest children, Malika and Maurice Jr., inside their Lancaster home, reportedly decapitating the two children. Adding onto the brutal nature of the crime, prosecutors say the couple then forced their two younger children, ages 8 and 9, to observe the murdered bodies of their older siblings.
After traumatizing the two surviving children inside the household, Taylor and Brothwell reportedly confined the two young boys to their room, depriving them of food for several days. Authorities learned of the horrific murders after responding to a gas leak at the residence, placing Taylor in custody on December 4th, 2020. Brothwell was arrested in September 2021 at a residence in Tucson, Arizona, after investigators gathered enough evidence to charge her regarding the brutal killings.
During the ensuing trial which seemingly suffered delays amidst the fallout of the pandemic, Brothwell asserted in court that she “did not murder” her children, claiming that she instead tried to save them. The judge in the case was not moved by Brothwell’s claims of innocence, saying there was no “genuine remorse” to be seen and was instead overshadowed by “silence where accountability should be.”
Following the convictions of Taylor and Brothwell this past November, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated, “This was a monstrous act of cruelty that shattered an entire family. Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror.”
Hochman further emphasized, “The jury’s verdict delivers justice for these victims and sends a powerful message: Those who commit such evil acts will be held fully accountable.”
In tandem with the life sentences handed down to Taylor and Brothwell, the court also issued a 10-year protective order for the surviving children, both of which are teenaged currently.
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments