Charlotte prosecutors say man accused of killing woman, children won’t face death penalty
Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Benjamin Joseph Taylor, the man accused of murdering Markayla Johnson and her two children, according to a court record filed Thursday.
Police and court records say Taylor killed Johnson and the young children then camped out in Slab City — an off-the-grid desert community near California’s Salton Sea. California sheriff’s deputies and the FBI arrested him.
He faces a slew of charges that include three counts of first-degree murder, and now a maximum sentence of life in prison. Court documents don’t make clear why the state chose not to seek the death penalty.
Mike Stolp, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment because the case is pending.
The last time local prosecutors sought the death penalty was in 2014, when Justin Hurd was on trial, also for a triple homicide. Jurors gave him life in prison instead.
Deaths from fentanyl poisoning
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police began their investigation in March. They found Johnson and her children in the trunk of a car and in a storage container after a wellness check at her apartment, according to search warrants.
All three died from fentanyl poisoning, a medical examiner concluded recently.
Johnson and Taylor met online in 2023, an autopsy report said. She then moved with her kids from South Carolina to Charlotte.
Taylor is next scheduled for an administrative hearing on Nov. 7.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 2:27 PM.