Johnston man accused of killing children claims God influenced him in 911 call
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Zebulon man confessed in a 911 call, claiming God influenced four killings.
- Authorities charged him with four counts; victims aged 6 to 18 died May–September.
- Officials released the under 8-minute 911 call; suspect jailed, no bail.
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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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Note: This story contains graphic references to violence that may be upsetting to some readers.
The Zebulon man accused of killing four of his children claimed God influenced him to do it in a 911 call released Wednesday.
Wellington Dickens III, 38, is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of 6-year-old Leah Dickens, 9-year-old Zoe Dickens, 10-year-old Wellington Dickens IV and his 18-year-old stepson, Sean Brasfield.
The children are believed to have been killed during a four-month period stretching from May to September, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said in a news conference Wednesday.
Recordings released to The News & Observer on Wednesday indicate Dickens originally called and spoke with a 911 operator, then was transferred to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
Speaking to the initial operator, Dickens confessed to killing the four children and said he accidentally caused the first death, of 6-year-old Leah, by hitting her “excessively.”
“It’s horrible,” he says.
He says he is not a threat, has his young son on the bed with him and that he will cooperate with authorities.
The operator asks Dickens for his address and what’s going on.
“Man, I murdered my, uh, children, a couple of my children, a couple months ago,” Dickens says. “They’re in my garage now.”
“It was my fault. It was my fault for everything,” he says.
“I was just out of my mind. Nobody made me do nothing, it was all me,” he continues. “I was just [expletive] from the first one, and I lost my mind, wasn’t thinking right, I was on the drugs. ... Everything, mushrooms, I was on a lot of stuff.”
When asked by the Sheriff’s Office later in the call why he killed the children, Dickens says: “It wasn’t up to me. Like I had — God just influenced me.”
“It wasn’t me cuz I got nervous and didn’t do it when I was supposed to and I was being a coward,” he continues. “It just spiraled. It just got worse and worse and worse and worse. And I just can’t take it no more.”
At Wednesday’s news conference, Bizzell said a medical examiner will determine how the children died.
In the 911 call, Dickens is asked how he killed the children and states: “I beat on them sometimes. If they didn’t want to eat, I didn’t force them to eat. I told them it was a punishment not to eat. I did a bunch of different little things.”
Dickens tells the operator he doesn’t have any weapons on him, though there are some knives at the scene; he states earlier in the call that he didn’t use knives to kill his children.
When asked if he’s consumed any drugs or alcohol, he replies that he smoked something and had a “sip of champagne.”
Dickens remained in the Johnston County jail Wednesday afternoon without bail. More charges could be filed against him as the investigation into the children’s deaths continues, Bizzell said.
Zebulon, which lies partly in Johnston County, is about 24 miles east of Raleigh, mostly in eastern Wake County.
Reporter Twumasi Duah-Mensah contributed to this story.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM.
