Authorities in North Carolina have released more details about the slayings of a woman and her two children found dead last month.
Markayla Johnson, 22, and her children Miracle, 4, and Messiah, 7-month-old, were killed in a gruesome way, allegedly at the hands of the mother’s boyfriend, Benjamin Joseph Taylor.
The 34-year-old was arrested in Imperial County, California near the border with Mexico late Saturday.
A missing persons alert for the mother and her two children was issued on March 8 after they stopped communicating with relatives.
On March 15, after a search of Johnson’s apartment and car, detectives found the three victims’ bodies.
The woman’s body was found “in a plastic container with cords around her.”
“Detectives also located multiple used air fresheners and candles. Multiple fans were turned on and the AC unit was turned down to approximately 62 degrees,” police said.
The children’s bodies were discovered in their mother’s car, also wrapped in plastic bags. Little Miracle had diapers wrapped around her face and neck.
Taylor now faces three counts of murder and one count of concealment of death.
