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Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said Tuesday that Wellington Delano Dickens III, who is charged with killing three of his children and a stepson, committed the crimes over a period of months.


Sheriff: 4 children killed over course of months at Johnston County home. Father charged with murder

<p>Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for being with us this morning. Uh, I'm Steve Biso. I'm the sheriff here in Johnston County. Uh, our district attorney Jason Waller is on the left. Chief Deputy Jeff, uh, Caldwell is on the right, and, uh, the CID, uh, investigator and the captain of the CID division, Don, uh, is also on the left here. Uh, we just want to give him a recap of the situation we've been on dealing with this week. On Monday, uh, October 27th, just, uh, at around 10:09, we received a call in the communication of an individual that identified himself as Wellington Delano Dicker the Third who was living at 101 Spring Toth Drive in Zeblelin. Ah Mr. Dickens stated he had killed 4 of his children and uh pretty much they were in the trunk of his vehicle there in the garage at the home and that his 3 year old son was there with Mr. Dicker in the home at that time. Deputies responded, located uh Dickens and the 3 year old son at the residence. DSS uh was called the 3 year old son was alive. And DSS uh took the son for medical evaluation and I can uh share with you that he is safe. A preliminary investigation believed to be what was human bodies in the trunk of the vehicle located in the garage as Dickens had earlier said. The victim appeared to have been deceased and in the trunk of that vehicle for some time. Detectives were Called and a search warrant was obtained. Our investigation folks determined that six year old Leah Dickers was the first child killed by her own father. And that death was believed to have occurred in May of 2025. Zoe Dickens, the 2nd victim, was 9 years of age and is estimated that her death occurred in August of this year also. Wellington Dick is the 4th was his father's 3rd victim being killed in late August or early September. The 4th victim was Dickens's stepson Sean Brasfield, who was killed sometime in September as well. All the children in the home were apparently home schooled. Investigators with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the State Bureau of Investigation, and State Medical Examiner's office are continuing this investigation. The body were removed from the trunk yesterday and are at the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. Wellington Delano Dickers the 3rd is charged with 4 counts of murder in the death of his daughter Leah, his daughter Zoe, his son Wellington Dickers the 4th, and the murder of his stepson Sean Brasfield. He is currently in a detention center without bond. Investigators also learned that Wellington's wife had died in April on April 21st of 2024. On this date, uh, uh, deputies arrived at the same address to assist EMS in a call there. Deputy determined that 37-year-old Stephanie Ray Jones was found deceased by Wellington Delano Dickers III. It was learned Ms. Jones was 3 months pregnant and had experienced excessive bleeding the night prior but refused to go for medical treatment. Investigators respond, uh, responded that night, uh, to the scene, continued the investigation, and it was determined Ms. Jones died from the complications from a miscarriage and doctors ruled her death as natural. This is an active and angle and ongoing investigation with the possibility of additional charges being filed. Additional information will be released uh to y'all at a uh time that is appropriate as this investigation, you know, continues. Folks, there's no known motive at this point why Mr. Dickens murdered these, uh, children. But as the sheriff, as a father and as a grandfather, I can stand here and say there's no reason for a father to murder his children. I do want to thank everyone that has assisted us on this case. FBI director, uh, was on the scene yesterday morning uh himself. He assigned investigators at our request to assist us with the crime scene, which was uh tough. SBI agents were there, the crime scene investigators were there. Our detectives were there. Our district attorney was on the scene also as well as myself. Uh, the captain and the chief deputy. The medical examiner's office, always great to work with it, but especially in this case involving the death of 4 children. DSS I want to thank them. I want to thank the colonel of the highway patrol that reached out anything you need the director of ALE reached out to me. Anything y'all need the FBI reached out and for the director of the FBI to go to the scene himself speaks volumes about the relationship and the partnerships that we all share in any investigation. But especially in an investigation involving the death of 4 children, I would tell you I was on the scene yesterday. Uh, and I saw our investigators, the FBI agents, uh, the captain, the chief deputy, the district attorney, all standing out in the rain under a tent, but we were there for a purpose. And that was to investigate and to put this man behind bars. I would tell you it was tough on our investigators. We have young investigators that were on the scene yesterday. They're young, they've got young families, they got uh children of their own. I've got children and grandchildren and so does everybody that's standing up here with me today. I will tell you, uh, I asked for you in the public's prayers not only for these victims but also for other uh family members but also for the law enforcement officer to come to work every day. And to do what I witnessed yesterday, yes, that is what we do and yes, that's what we get paid to do, but folks, we're human too, and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I talked to several of the detectives this morning and they didn't either. I do want to thank, uh, the public for the outpouring of support for prayers and their text and their phone calls. Say thank y'all for what you do. Uh, it is tough. Thank y'all for being here today. I'm gonna turn it over now to our district attorney Jason Waller. I Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for being here. Just before midnight on Monday, I got a call from Captain Donate to the sheriff's office, and he said words that no district attorney ever wants to hear. That we have a death investigation involving children. Under the rules of professional conduct, I am limited in what I can share with you about this ongoing investigation. However, I want to speak to you today not only is the district attorney of Johnston County. But as a father and a member of this community. My heart breaks for these children. Who have been subject to violence and murder and for everyone who loves them. Over the past two days I have worked closely with Sheriff Bisle, Chief Deputy Jeff Caldwell, and Captain Pate, and the men and women of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office along with Director Chip Hawley and the dedicated agents of the State Bureau of Investigation. Their tireless work in the face of such tragedy reflects the very best of law enforcement and the strength of interagency partnerships. Together they are conducting a thorough and professional investigation to uncover the truth and to ensure accountability through the justice system. Thank you, Sheriff for your work. Thank you for putting the children first and our community first. As we continue to move forward. I joined our entire community in mourning the loss of 4 innocent lives. The outpouring of love and support for these children has been overwhelming. And I want to assure you that those expressions of care. And your calls for justice have been heard. At this stage, the investigation remains active and ongoing. When the investigation is complete, my office will review the evidence and carefully proceed in accordance with the law and the facts. As a career prosecutor who has prosecuted both capital and non-capital murders, I understand the importance of patience and precision in this process. Justice is not achieved through haste, but through diligence, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the truth. The loss we face is unimaginable. The responsibility before us is great. And I can promise you this, I recognize the horror you're all experiencing hearing about this crime. And my office will honor the memory of these children by pursuing justice with strength, compassion, and the respect for the rule of law. Thank you again for being here. We're gonna take a few uh uh other questions if you've got some as was both said by myself and the DA. This is an active ongoing investigation and uh we're kindly reluctant to say more than we've already said if you got a few questions, if we can assist you, we will. Are there any plans to exhume Mr. Dickens' wife's remains? Not, not at this point. I don't wanna hold our WTVD, uh, you mentioned just the separation of dates for the deaths of these children. Uh, were they all believed to be in the trunk at the time of their deaths and with their bodies intact? I would tell you due to the ongoing investigation that's a good question, but, uh, I would tell you, uh, we're gonna, we're gonna be able to holding that right now. Just more about the timing, was that information that you learned from Mr. Dickens? That is information that we that we uh received from interviews, yes. And based on the preliminary investigation, do you know the cause of death at this point, how he's accused of medical examiner's office is going to assist us with that, and, um, and they have been great to work with too. And we understand Mr. Dickens did call 911. Do we know what led him to call 911? We're hearing reports that maybe he was being blackmailed the sorcer. No, I think, um, my, my personal opinion is something got to him and he was just ready to give it up, ready to turn himself in and pretty much called and said I'm here. I'm here with my little 3 year old son. I killed my 4 children. Their bodies were in the trunk of the car. I'll be glad to go outside and wait for deputies. I'm not armed. I'm just ready to do what's right. And was that interaction pretty? I mean, we all showed up to the scene to be up here to be cooperative or abs. I know you mentioned that the children were homeschooled, but have you learned about anybody else trying to reach out to them since they started going missing? Um, there was, uh, uh, a call made by family members in the past, but, uh, that apparently went and, you know, returned we did, uh, canvass the neighborhood yesterday detectives went from house to house, talked to everyone, got any information we could get. Uh, it appeared they want a lot of activity at the house in the past. They, uh, you were home schooled. The mother had died, uh, and I guess the father and the kids were living in the house and, um, they're in conditions that are unimaginable. Yes, the father of the 18 year old, have he reached out to you guys? Have you talked to him a lot? Has he been trying to reach out to his son to talk with him? No, um, we're still in the process, um, with obtaining that. He was, he is in the military and we're still trying to get records for that at this point. Could you tell us more about that call, um, that was made by the family members? I'm sorry, yeah, could you tell us more about that call that was made by? I would tell you, uh, after the district attorney and staff gets a chance to review uh the call in detail, uh, we were discussing releasing that, uh, call in a timely manner. Have you ever seen a case like this before? Uh, not exactly like this, uh, uh, we had the case, uh, the Warren children outside of the town of, uh, Princeton back, uh, in the early, uh, 2000s, and that one still sticks in my mind, uh, today, but you know, even that case, uh, there was the death of, uh, three children in this case you got the death of 4 children. That was conducted by the father and the stepfather of one of the kids so you know I mean what father wants to kill their own kids, you know, just a sad day. And you mentioned the the conditions of the home as well just as a father, as a grandfather when detectives first arrived to that home, how did it feel? What was your reaction to seeing that? Donna let you speak to that. Um, upon arriving, um, there is an odor, uh, there that was obvious of decay when we, um, arrived. The conditions of the home were, um, not well kept, but it wasn't, um, too bad inside there. So that's kind of what we saw, um, when we arrived. You can tell that some activities, criminal activities happen inside the residence, not at the vehicle. What about the, the trunk when you saw that? Um, we weren't able to tell a whole lot there just from time and um just the process of death. So that's part we're just having to. Find out from the medical examiner through their assistance. Can you explain what you mean by there's evidence of criminal activity? Um, we've just had evidence where scenes have been attempted to be cleaned up inside. What happens now to the surviving child? Um, DSS will have a process and uh they will determine that. That will be something they they will have in their control. Any any idea as to how the deaths were able to be consumed for so long and if DSS had any involvement with his family prior to just the other day with his youngest child. I can't speak to any process that DSS has been. I'm not aware of that, um, but I think they were just very secluded. They just stayed inside, uh, everybody we talked to the family. Um, was not allowed, extended family were not allowed to come and see the children and the neighbors said they never saw them come outside. I just, and they were homeschooled, so they were just confined to the house. Jason, anything else you gotta add? Again, thank y'all for being with us today. I know your hearts are broken like ours, uh. Yesterday was a sad day, uh, at least there's a closure and, um, thank you all again for being here today. Thank you for all you do. Thank you</p>

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