The state will seek the death penalty against a Zebulon father charged with killing three of his children and a stepson.
Wellington Dickens III, 38, is facing four counts of first-degree murder. He was arrested in October, after calling 911 and telling the dispatcher he’d killed the children through a combination of neglect and over-discipline.
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Remains of the four children were found in the trunk of a car at the Dickens home.
State prosecutors said the case qualified as a capital murder case, which allows the death penalty to be sought if there are aggravating factors proven. State prosecutors said they believed there were at least two aggravating factors.
Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller explained why prosecutors are pursuing capital punishment against Dickens. Waller said it includes the number of victims, the nature in which the homicides were carried out and the sequence in which they were carried out.
"[We] believe there are aggravating circumstances," Waller said.
It marks the first capital punishment case in Johnston County since Jonathan Richardson was convicted in 2014.
The next court date for Dickens is scheduled for March 27, 2026.
While a motive for the killings has not been released, authorities have said the children were killed over a period of several months.
Investigators determined that Leah Dickens, 6, was killed first, sometime in May 2025.
Zoe Dickens, 9, was killed in August 2025.
Wellington Dickens IV, was killed in late August or early September.
Sean Brasfield, Dickens' 18-year-old stepson, died last, sometime in September, authorities said.
A 3-year-old child was found alive in the home.
Dickens has been being held without bond at the Johnston County jail since his arrest at the end of October.