Autopsy: Zebulon man accused of killing 4 kids sat with wife’s body for hours
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- Wellington Dickens is accused of killing four of his children.
- His wife died from a miscarriage at their home last year.
- Her autopsy reports her husband sat with her body for hours before calling 911.
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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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A Zebulon man accused of killing four of his children reportedly sat with his wife’s body for hours before calling 911 when she died from a miscarriage, according to documents reviewed by The News & Observer.
Wellington Delano Dickens III, 39, is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of 6-year-old Leah, 9-year-old Zoe, 10-year-old Wellington IV and his 18-year-old stepson Sean Brasfield. Johnston County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Zebulon home Oct. 27 after Dickens called 911, stating he’d killed the children and hidden their bodies in the trunk of a car.
Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, his wife, died at home at age 37 on April 21, 2024, from complications of a miscarriage, according to her death certificate. Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said last week there’s no suspicion of Wellington Dickens causing her death.
Newly released documents from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which investigated Stephanie Dickens’ death, show that Wellington Dickens didn’t report his wife’s death for hours.
What the autopsy showed
Stephanie Dickens’ autopsy confirmed she died from a miscarriage, according to a report obtained by The N&O. She was about three months pregnant when she began bleeding heavily about 3 a.m. April 21, 2024, an investigative report by a medical examiner states.
Investigators learned Stephanie Dickens did “not believe in doctors,” had “not been to a doctor in years” and never sought prenatal care, according to the report. She birthed her three youngest children at home without complications, the report states.
Wellington and Stephanie Dickens’ eldest daughter, Zoe, was born at WakeMed Raleigh in August 2016, The N&O previously reported. Wake County Child Welfare workers investigated the family after Zoe was jaundiced at birth and the family declined treatment and blood draws, stating such interventions went against their religious beliefs.
Wellington Dickens was briefly jailed on a charge of contempt of court related to the investigation after he and Stephanie reportedly refused to let workers see Zoe or enter the home; he was released after Stephanie Dickens took their daughter to a county health clinic for examination, according to court documents. Stephanie Dickens allegedly also did not receive prenatal care while pregnant with Zoe, the documents state.
A medical examiner found Stephanie Dickens was suffering from gestational trophoblastic disease, which occurs in about one of every 1,000 pregnancies when an abnormal fetus triggers the overproduction of trophoblasts, specialized cells meant to protect the embryo. That overproduction causes tumors to form, the autopsy states.
“These are usually benign but can sometimes cause heavy vaginal bleeding and anemia, high blood pressure and preeclampsia, and develop into cancer (choriocarcinoma),” the medical examiner wrote.
Stephanie Dickens apparently experienced a rare complication where the trophoblastic tissue shed into her bloodstream, “causing respiratory distress and lung tissue damage,” her autopsy states.
There are some known risk factors for gestational trophoblastic disease, including pregnancies in women over 35 and prior miscarriages, according to the autopsy. Stephanie Dickens was 37 and reportedly experienced a miscarriage two years before her death, investigators wrote.
When his wife began bleeding that morning, Wellington Dickens helped her clean up in the shower, and she went to bed around 6 a.m., the autopsy states. Wellington woke up around 9 a.m. when he heard Stephanie collapse on the bedroom floor.
“He places her supine and provides chest compressions and ventilations without response,” the medical examiner wrote. “He states he is medically trained and believes she is dead.”
Available public records don’t indicate Wellington Dickens was formally trained in medicine or worked in the medical field.
Delay in calling 911
Despite believing his wife was dead around 9 a.m., Wellington Dickens didn’t call 911 for several hours, records show. Stephanie Dickens was pronounced dead by EMTs at 1:38 p.m., according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s investigative report.
In the hours before calling 911, Wellington Dickens reportedly:
- Moved his wife’s body back into their bed and lay with her “to mourn.”
- Went into town to get food for their children.
- Ate a meal with the children and told them their mother was dead.
- Allowed the children to visit with Stephanie’s body.
It’s not clear exactly when Wellington Dickens called 911. First responders found Stephanie Dickens on her back on the bedroom floor .
Law enforcement told the medical examiner they didn’t suspect foul play, the autopsy states.
It’s also not clear if law enforcement contacted child welfare workers after Stephanie Dickens’ death. Leah, the couple’s youngest daughter, would be killed just over a year later, according to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, which estimated the 6-year-old died sometime in May of this year.
Wellington Dickens remained in Central Prison, where he was transferred this week for his safety, without bail as of Thursday afternoon. His next court appearance is set for Dec. 4.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 1:48 PM.
