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Lancaster Parents Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Murders of Two Children

The court also imposed a decade-long protective order for the surviving children.

Overview

  • Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa M. Strassner ordered two consecutive life-without-parole terms for Maurice Jewel Taylor Sr. and Natalie Sumiko Brothwell, plus six years in prison.
  • The judge said the slain siblings were helpless and found no genuine remorse, while rejecting a defense motion for a new trial.
  • A jury in November 2025 convicted the couple of two counts of first-degree murder with a multiple-murder special circumstance and two counts of child abuse.
  • Prosecutors said the parents forced their younger sons to view the bodies and kept them confined in bedrooms without food for several days.
  • Authorities discovered the victims at the Century Circle home after fire crews responded to a reported gas leak five days after the killings, and the court issued a 10-year protective order for the surviving children.