Mom charged with murder almost a year after her 2 kids were decapitated

LANCASTER, Calif. (TCD) -- A mother was arrested in Arizona for allegedly endangering and murdering her two children who were found decapitated in Lancaster in December 2020.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, 44-year-old Natalie Brothwell was charged on Monday, Sept. 27, with two counts of murder and two counts of felony child endangerment of her 12-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reports that officers obtained a search warrant and arrested Brothwell on Tuesday at her residence in Tucson, Arizona.

The sheriff’s office announced in the initial press release that the children’s bodies were discovered when Los Angeles County Fire personnel received a gas leak call from the 45000 block of Century Circle in Lancaster on December 4, 2020. Fire personnel reportedly arrived at the scene and found two kids deceased and decapitated. They appeared to be suffering from lacerations and stab wounds.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office identified the victims as 13-year-old Maliaka and Maurice, 12.

Brothwell and the children’s father, Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., were allegedly present at the Lancaster residence, along with two additional children who were questioned by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide investigators.

According to a December statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Taylor, 35, was suspected of stabbing the children to death on Nov. 29, 2020. Taylor allegedly forced his two younger sons to look at their siblings’ dead bodies. He also reportedly kept his other two children in their bedrooms for several days without food.

Taylor was charged with two counts of murder and child abuse. He is still in custody, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Brothwell is being held at Pima County Jail pending extradition to California. Her bail was set at $1 million. The investigation remains ongoing.

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