Parents deny ‘decapitating kids, 12 and 13, and leaving bodies with surviving siblings before neighbors noticed stench’

THE parents of two kids who were found decapitated have pleaded not guilty to their murder.

Maurice Taylor Sr, 35, and Natalie Brothwell, 45, are currently facing murder charges over the gruesome killing of their son Maurice Jr, 12, and daughter Maliaka, 13, who allegedly had both been beheaded and left with their surviving siblings for days.

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Maurice Taylor, Sr, is said to have previously requested to represent himself at his trial[/caption]

Pima County Sheriff’s

Natalie Brothwell was initially not considered a suspect in the gruesome murders[/caption]

The pair are also facing child abuse charges connected with their two sons, aged 8 and 9, who were shown the mutilated bodies of their siblings and locked in a room without food, prosecutors have claimed.

Taylor, a personal trainer in Santa Monica, California, had been holding virtual sessions with clients from his home in Lancaster due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of his clients alerted cops to a possible gas leak after having not heard from him for days.

According to KTLA, a neighbour called cops after smelling “an intense stench” and hearing “loud screams” coming from the home.

Los Angeles County firefighters found the headless bodies of the two children on November 29, 2020.

Cops arrested Taylor and prosecutors later accused him of decapitating the kids and then forcing his two younger kids to live in view of their remains for five days.

In December 2020, Taylor told a court he wanted to represent himself at his trial.

That decision led to an LA County judge to order a mental competency examination, according to Law and Crime.

“I’ve taken criminal justice classes, and I know my rights,” Taylor said in court, after citing religious reasons for wanting to represent himself. “I’ve been seriously abused in prison. There’s a hit out for me right now that I have proof for. I literally have proof on that, and there’s a lot of foul play going on, and I would prefer to represent myself because I think that that’s the best way to go in this matter.”

Initially, Brothwell wasn’t considered a suspect by the authorities but she was arrested in 2021 and is facing the same charges.

Brothwell had been living in Arizona when she was arrested.

Both of the accused remain behind bars with bail set at $4.2million and are due back in court on February 15, according to Fox 11.

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Maliaka, left, and Maurice Jr. were found decapitated five days after their alleged murder[/caption]