Authorities arrested a North Carolina man Monday after he allegedly called 911 and confessed to murdering four of his children.
Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, allegedly told a 911 dispatcher that he killed his children, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) said.
“I killed my children,” Dickens said, according to a recording of the 911 call released by the JCSO and obtained by WRAL. “It’s a lot to explain, but in a nutshell, it’s probably my fault … I’m not even going … It’s my fault. It’s bad … It just started as me over-disciplining.”
The dispatcher pressed the suspect on his alleged confession.
“I beat on them sometimes. They didn’t want to eat. I didn’t force them to eat. I’ve told them it was a punishment not to eat. I did a bunch of different little things … I’m trying to just do the right thing,” Dickens said, according to the recording.
The remains of the four children were found Monday in the trunk of a car at Dickens’ home in Zebulon, according to the JCSO. An investigation allegedly determined that 6-year-old Leah Dickens was killed in May 2025, followed by 9-year-old Zoe Dickens in August, Wellington Dickens IV in late August or early September and 18-year-old Sean Brasfield in September, WRAL reported. Brasfield is Dickens’ stepson.
Authorities arrested and charged Dickens with four counts of murder. He remains at the Johnston County Jail without bond. An official cause of death has not yet been determined for each of the children.
The JCSO said the children range in age from 6 to 18 years old, NBC News reported. Dickens’ 3-year-old son was found unharmed in his home, authorities said. (RELATED: ‘Target Of Opportunity’: Over 1,000 Museum Artifacts Stolen in ‘Brazen Nighttime Heist)
The JCSO said deputies determined the bodies had been in the trunk “for a long period of time.”
JCSO Sheriff Steve Bizzell said Tuesday that investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the alleged crime, according to WRAL. Dickens was widowed in 2024 and left to care for the children, the outlet reported.
The Daily Caller contacted the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.
