DSS got two reports in 2024 about Zebulon man accused of killing his four kids
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Johnston County DSS received two 2024 reports on Dickens; both screened out.
- Reports lacked evidence of abuse, neglect or dependency; no services were provided.
- Prosecutor seeks death penalty after warrants claim Dickens killed children over months.
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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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The Zebulon man accused of killing four of his children had two reports from the Johnston County Department of Social Services in 2024, according to a document obtained by The News & Observer.
Wellington Dickens III was charged in October with the murder of four of his children — 6-year-old Leah, 9-year-old Zoe, 10-year-old Wellington IV and 18-year-old Sean Brasfield, Dickens’ stepson.
Dickens was arrested after calling 911 and telling dispatchers he killed the children. Authorities found the children’s bodies in the trunk of his car.
The N&O obtained a written summary from Johnston County DSS of actions taken or services rendered after receiving information that a child might be in need of protection. The N&O filed a records request on Nov. 3.
Johnston County DSS said it did not release the summary at the time because, after consulting with District Attorney Jason Waller, the agency determined releasing the summary would “undermine an ongoing or future criminal investigation.” The N&O obtained the summary on Friday.
DSS received two child protective services reports concerning the Dickens family, on April 21, 2024, and June 14, 2024, according to the summary. April 21 was the day Dickens’ wife died from complications of a miscarriage, The N&O previously reported.
DSS did not provide any services in either case because the reports did not meet the legal definitions of abuse, neglect or dependency “and were, thus, screened out,” the summary states.
Details from the summary suggest that the April 21 report stemmed from Wellington Dickens leaving the home to get food, leaving his children unsupervised with Stephanie Dickens’ body still in the home.
But the report had no information to suggest that the children could not be left home unsupervised while Wellington Dickens left to get food, according to the summary. The report also had no information about “how the children’s safety or wellbeing were impacted by being in the home after their mother passed away.”
The events that led to the June 14 report are unclear from the summary. That report had no mention of action or inaction from Dickens that harmed his children or information that suggested Dickens wasn’t meeting his children’s basic needs or that the children needed medical care, according to the summary.
Though there were concerns about Dickens’ lack of information or explanation about a prior child’s death, there was no information in the report to suggest the child’s death was a result of abuse, neglect or maltreatment, according to the summary.
The summary does not name the child mentioned. The N&O previously reported that Dickens told deputies he had a fifth child, Riley, who died shortly after his family moved to their Zebulon home in 2023, according to search warrants.
Dickens told deputies he wrapped Riley’s body in paper or plastic materials and buried him in the woods behind his house, according to the warrants. Riley’s death was never reported to medical or law enforcement officials.
Dickens told deputies he killed his four children over four months — the children died because of malnutrition or he over-disciplined them, according to the warrants.
Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller is seeking the death penalty for Dickens.
This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM.
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