A father has been arrested on suspicion of killing his two children, who were found dead and decapitated in a Lancaster home.
The suspect, Maurice Taylor, Sr., 34, is now in police custody and being held on a $2 million bail.
Firefighters arrived at the single-story house around 7:30 a.m. Friday after reports of a gas leak. They then discovered the bodies of a 12-year old boy and 13-year old girl, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Homicide detectives were summoned and “learned that the deceased male and female both appeared to suffer from lacerations and stab wounds.”
Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris confirmed that the two victims were also decapitated.
It doesn’t seem to be that the cause of death from the two people inside have anything to do with a gas leak,” LASD Lt. Brandon Dean told reporters outside the residence earlier in the day.
Taylor was described as a “mellow” personal trainer who virtually taught his clients from home because of the pandemic.
One of Taylor’s clients told the Los Angeles Times she knew something was wrong when he failed to send a Zoom link for a scheduled session.
“I knew they weren’t out of town,” the client said. “They didn’t have money to travel.”
Parris believes the economy, school closures and being stuck at home may have created a stressful environment for the family.
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“The social fabric of the country and the world has been shredded, and we are starting to see the aftermath,” Parris told the Times.
A property owner in the area told the Times he thought only two children lived in the home.
He said the home environment ‘looked strange’ with the family keeps to themselves, and the windows were often ‘blacked out’ in a neighborhood where most others would stop and chat outside.
According to ABC 7, a Fire Department dispatched revealed that one person was transported to a hospital in unknown condition.
According to authorities, investigators were questioning a man, a woman and two other children who were also at the home.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
