Johnston County man accused of killing four of his kids to face death penalty

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Johnston County father accused of murdering four of his kids over a several-month span earlier this year will face the death penalty.

Wellington Dickens III, who called 911 in October and confessed to the killings, appeared in court in Smithfield for a pretrial conference on Thursday during which prosecutors laid out the facts of the case and whether or not they intended to seek the death penalty.

Dickens is accused of killing three biological children as well as his stepson between May and October of this year.

"We do believe there are aggravating circumstances in this case, and your honor, based on that the State would declare this case capital and seek the death penalty against Mr. Dickens," said Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller.

Dickens was accompanied in court Thursday by his lawyer, but never spoke. Waller told the court there were several aggravating circumstances contributing to his office's decision to seek the death penalty in the case.

"The number of victims, the nature in which this homicide was carried out, and the sequence which the homicides were carried out," Waller said.

A judge allowed prosecutors to move forward with the capital charges and set Dickens' next court date for March 27, 2026, though it's unclear if Dickens will be physically present in court on that date.