Authorities in Arizona arrested 44-year-old Natalie Brothwell on Tuesday in her Tucson home on two counts of murder and two counts of felony child endangerment. The charges stem from the November 2020 killings of her 12-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter in Lancaster, California, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Law enforcement officials did not go into detail about Brothwell’s alleged involvement in the crimes, but she is the second individual to be arrested in connection to them. The children’s father, 35-year-old Maurice Taylor Sr., was charged with each of their murders as well as endangering their younger siblings.
Taylor is accused of fatally stabbing his children Maurice and Maliaka on November 29, 2020, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. He allegedly kept the children’s bodies in the home for at least five days and forced their little brothers, 8- and 9-year-old boys, to stare at the bodies, according to police.
Both victims were decapitated, and Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris described the incident as being “pretty brutal.” Prosecutors also allege that the younger children were forced to stay in their rooms for days without food.
Some of Taylor’s physical therapy clients also reported that he could not be reached for scheduled Zoom appointments in the week leading up to the discovery and contacted authorities, according to The Antelope Valley Times.
Deputies were called to the family’s home on December 4, 2020, after a reported gas leak when they found the children. According to Lt. Brandon Dean, the children suffered “some type of sharp trauma” from “either a stabbing or slicing device.”
Both Taylor and Brothwell as well as the other children were found in the home and questioned by police, but only Taylor was arrested. He has an arraignment scheduled for November 10.
Brothwell will remain in custody at the Pima County Jail in Arizona pending extradition to California, the sheriff’s department said. She is being held on $1 million bond.
If convicted, Taylor faces 57 years to life in prison, however he is not eligible for the death penalty. He’s being held on $4.2 million bail. It is not clear if Brothwell would face a similar sentence. The case remains under investigation.
Newsweek reached out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.