Johnston County man charged with killing his four children says a fifth child is also dead: Warrants

ZEBULON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Disturbing new details emerged Monday from recently unsealed search warrants in the case of Wellington Dickens III. He was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder in late October after he called 911 and said he killed his three biological children and his stepson.

The deaths happened between May and September at Dickens' home in Zebulon. He confessed to killing the four after telling law enforcement officers that he overdisciplined his children.

In newly unsealed search warrants, Dickens told investigators that his 1-month-old son, Riley, died shortly after the family moved into the Zebulon home. According to warrants, Dickens also told investigators he buried the young child about four feet into the ground in the woods behind the house.

Dickens also said he wrapped the child's body in paper or plastic material.

Peggy Inserra's backyard butts up against the woods where Dickens said he buried the infant.

"It's horrible. It's very sad and very upsetting and very distressing that the view from my house is looking into woods where he supposedly buried that child," Inserra told ABC11. "Anybody can be somebody we don't think they are."

She said she got up recently and saw cadaver dogs in the woods.

"Yeah, that makes sense because it's probably about two years ago. So I mean, it's not like he snapped one day. This is something that progressively went on," she said.

The news also caught next-door-neighbor Josalyn Tabron by surprise.

"We never knew (of the 1-month-old). This is crazy. The whole situation is really crazy," Tabron said. "(The sheriff's office has) been coming back and forth, you know, but other than that, they just come, they go. They come, they go. But they never really told the full details of what happened.

The warrants continue to read that investigators interviewed family members, who told them they never saw Riley after he was born. Documents also attest that law enforcement investigators have yet to discover the infant's remains.

After Dickens' wife, Stephanie Jones, died after a miscarriage, Inserra said she would take food to the family, but she had no idea what was going on next door.

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"And I just thought, oh, my God, there's a monster living two doors down from me," she said. "And I never realized it. And I interacted with him. And like my family said, thank God he never went in his house. Or maybe he would have hurt you or something. I'm like, I guess God protected me."

A search of the home also showed there were several bugs atop the Honda Civic, where Dickens said he put the bodies of his four children. Details in the warrant allege that the home smelled of an odor consistent with decomposition, and there were obvious attempts to clean up evidence.

According to Dickens' search history on Amazon, a package of Zinnser Covers Up Stain Sealing Paint was delivered to the residence in early September. Investigators were able to use a chemical that traces blood at crime scenes after they've been covered up with paint.

The day following the arrest, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell reacted to the murders.

"Folks, there is no motive at this point why Mr. Dickens murdered these children," said Bizzell. "But as the sheriff, as a father, and as a grandfather, I can stand here and say there is no reason for a father to murder his children."

The documents go on to say that one of Dickens' daughters died after he went back to her room to check on her. The warrants continue to read that Dickens' 9-year-old daughter began to make comments about her sister passing away, and he allegedly taped her mouth shut as a form of discipline. When he returned to check on her, she, too, had died. Documents also say Dickens' 10-year-old son stopped eating, and he believes the boy died from malnutrition. His stepson, 18-year-old Sean Brasfield, is believed to have also died from malnutrition.

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Dickens has since been transferred out of Johnston County Jail to Central Prison in Raleigh for his safety.

"The whole situation is really devastating because it's like, you know, how could somebody actually do this to their kids?" Tabron said. "But it's just crazy."