Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A Zebulon man was arrested after confessing to the deaths of his four children.
- Deputies found one child alive; the remains of four others were in a vehicle trunk.
- The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office expects additional charges to come.
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4 children killed in Johnston County
A man in Zebulon, NC, is charged with four counts of murder after he confessed to killing four of his children, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said Oct. 28, 2025. Here is ongoing coverage.
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For updates on this breaking news, see this story.
A Zebulon man is charged with four counts of murder after he confessed to killing four of his children, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. Monday, according to a news release. When deputies arrived at his Springtooth Drive home in eastern Johnston County, Dickens reportedly said his 3-year-old son was alive inside the house, while four of his other children were dead inside the trunk of a vehicle in the garage.
The 3-year-old was found alive and unharmed inside, while “multiple bodies” were found in the trunk as Dickens described, the release said. The remains appeared to have been in the trunk “for a long period of time,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Officials identified the victims as Leah Dickens, 6; Zoe Dickens, 9; Wellington Dickens, 10; and Sean Brasfield, 18, in a Tuesday afternoon update. Brasfield was Dickens’ stepson, according to the update.
Dickens is charged with four counts of murder, according to the sheriff’s office. He is being held without bail at the Johnston County jail.
The children may have been dead as long as almost six months, according to the arrest warrants, which list the date of the offense as May 1. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to follow-up questions from The News & Observer.
Zebulon, which lies partly in Johnston County, is about 24 miles east of Raleigh, mostly in eastern Wake County.
The children’s mother, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, “passed away suddenly at her home” in April 2024, according to her obituary. Stephanie Dickens and Wellington Dickens III married in August 2015 and purchased their Zebulon home in May 2023, public records show.
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Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says."
