California personal trainer accused of decapitating two oldest children and abusing others

A California personal trainer is accused of decapitating his two oldest children.

Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr., of Lancaster, has been charged with two felony counts each of murder and child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, reported KCBS-TV.

Deputies were called to the family's home Dec. 4 after some of Taylor's clients alerted authorities out of concern after he failed to show up for their scheduled appointments, and investigators found the children's mutilated bodies.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office identified the children as 12-year-old Maurice Taylor Jr. and 13-year-old Malaka Taylor, and the district attorney's office confirmed they had been decapitated.

A woman and two other boys, ages 8 and 9 years old, were at the home and questioned by homicide detectives, and deputies said the child abuse charges were related to them.

Taylor worked at a physical therapy center in Santa Monica but had been conducting training sessions over Zoom during the pandemic, and his clients became worried when he failed to log on for their appointments.

He was held on $4.2 million bond ahead of a Dec. 21 court appearance, and could face more than 57 years in prison if convicted.