Man accused of killing woman and children rejects plea, opts for Charlotte trial
Benjamin Joseph Taylor, charged with killing a Charlotte woman and her two children in March of last year, is heading to trial.
At an arraignment Thursday afternoon in Mecklenburg Superior Court, Taylor, 35, rejected a plea deal that would’ve landed him in prison for 38 years to nearly 47 years.
Taylor faces charges including three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Markayla Johnson, 22, and her children, four-year-old Miracle and seven-month-old Messiah. Autopsy reports found that Johnson and her children died from fentanyl poisoning.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported Johnson and her two children missing in early March 2024. Within two weeks, CMPD officers had discovered Johnson’s and her children’s bodies near their home and declared Taylor, who had been dating Johnson, their murder suspect.
California police found Taylor squatting in Slab City, a far-flung desert community bordering Mexico, on March 16, 2024. He was later extradited to North Carolina and indicted by a Mecklenburg County grand jury.
Mecklenburg prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Taylor, according to a court record filed in August of last year.
A trial date has not been set.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
