Jury convicts Lancaster couple of killing, decapitating two of their children

• Maurice Jewel Taylor, 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, of Lancaster were convicted of two counts of murder with special circumstances and two counts of child abuse after killing and decapitating their 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son in November 2020.
• They could face life in prison without the possibility of parole and a consecutive sentence of six years and four months in state prison.

A Lancaster couple who stabbed and decapitated their son and daughter before showing the remains to their two surviving children were convicted of murder Wednesday in the Antelope Valley Courthouse.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found personal trainer Maurice Jewel Taylor, 39, and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, 48, guilty of two felony counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances and two felony counts of child abuse.

The couple face life in state prison without the possibility of parole, as well as a consecutive sentence of six years and four months, when they are sentenced Jan. 13.

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

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-11-18/la-county-parents-who-decapitated-children-convicted-of-murder

There are real monsters out there.