North Carolina – A North Carolina man has confessed to kiIIing four of his children and says he also buried a 5th behind his home. He was arrested and charged with four counts of first‑degree murder after calling 911 and admitting what he had done.
According to the North Carolina authorities, the parent, 38-year-old WeIIington, called 911 at the end of last month and told the dispatcher that he had kiIIed his chiIdren. When deputies arrived at his home, they found his 3-year-old chiId aIive and unharmed inside the house. In the garage, they discovered a vehicIe whose trunk held what appeared to be human remains. The sheriff’s office said the bodies had been there for a long period of time.
In search warrants unsealed by investigators, he reportedly told North Carolina authoriteis that he over‑disciplined his children and that the abuse escalated. He said the newborn, a 1-month-old chiId named RiIey, became iII after they moved to the home. He said he wrapped the baby’s body in pIastic or paper and buried him about four feet deep in the area behind the family home. According to the affidavit, family members told investigators they had never seen the baby after he was born. North Carolina authorities have searched the areas, but as of now they have not located the baby’s remains.
According to court documents, investigation shows the defendant killed his three bioIogical chiIdren — aged six, nine, and ten — and his eighteen year old stepchiId. Investigators say the deaths happened over several months, beginning in May and ending in September. The sheriff has said that the parent claimed some of the children died of malnutrition and that his actions began as over-discipline. In unsealed warrants, he reportedly said he “beat on them sometimes” and told investigators he had punished them by withholding food.
When deputies executed a search warrant at his home, they also noted strong odors consistent with decomposition and a large number of insects in and around the trunk of the car. Investigators found evidence that someone had tried to cover up bIood stains; according to court papers, he had ordered a special paint to hide marks on surfaces. The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting the sheriff’s office, and the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting work to identify the remains.
In an interview with detectives, the defendant provided details about how his children died. He admitted that his 5-year-old child and her 9-year-old sibling died after punishments he acknowledged may have been too harsh. He said that sometime in June, he disciplined the 5-year-old before sending her to her room and found her dead when he returned.
When the 9-year-old made comments about her younger sibling’s death, Dhe reportedly taped her mouth shut, and when he came back later, he found that she too had died. He said his 10-year-old child stopped eating and likely died from malnutrition, followed by his 18-year-old stepchiId in September under similar circumstances. He also confessed that his ibaby died shortly after the family moved to their North Carolina home in May 2023, and he buried the baby in the area behind the house.
The defendant appeared in court after his arrest and is being held without bond. He has now been indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder. At this stage, prosecutors have not publicly announced a motive beyond his own claim that he over‑discipIined his chiIdren.
The search for the infant’s body is continuing, and investigators say they plan to revisit the area behind the house when conditions allow. The investigation remains ongoing as North Carolina authorities work to fully understand what led to this tragedy.
