On Monday, a California couple received multiple life sentences for the horrific crime of decapitating their two children and forcing their other children to witness the aftermath. Their harrowing actions shocked the Lancaster community and beyond.
Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., aged 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 49, were convicted in November of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. They brutally ended the lives of their daughter, Maliaka, 13, and son, Maurice, 12, at their home on November 29, 2020.
In a gruesome turn, the couple compelled their younger sons, aged 8 and 9, to look at the remains and kept them locked in their rooms without food for several days, adding to the trauma.
Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. faced the court on November 18, 2025, where he was found guilty of additional charges, including two counts of child abuse.
The tragic discovery of Maliaka and Maurice’s bodies occurred five days after their deaths, when firefighters arrived at the scene responding to a suspected gas leak, as reported by FOX11 Los Angeles.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Taylor and Brothwell were sentenced to the maximum penalty available—two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional six years in state prison, as noted by the Los Angeles Times.
Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, was convicted of two felony counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and two felony counts of child abuse on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Pima County Sheriff’s Office)
The two younger children were placed under a 10-year protective order, according to a report from KTLA.
Following the couple’s conviction, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman called the killings a “monstrous act of cruelty.”
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman called the killings “monstrous.” (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Two innocent children were brutally murdered, and their young brothers were left to live through unimaginable horror,” Hochman wrote in a statement.
Lancaster, Calif., is about 70 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
