California personal trainer arrested after children found decapitated in his home

A personal trainer was arrested after authorities found his son and daughter decapitated in separate bedrooms inside his California home.

First responders with the Los Angeles County Fire Department made the gruesome discovery on Friday while investigating reports of a possible gas leak at the Lancaster residence. Authorities arrested Maurice Taylor Sr. on the scene on suspicion of killing the 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.

He’s being held on a $2 million bond.

One of Taylor’s clients told the Los Angeles Times she became worried when he failed to send a Zoom link for a scheduled training session, prompting her to call the authorities and requested that they check on Taylor.

“I knew they weren’t out of town,” the client said. “They didn’t have money to travel.”

The mayor of Lancaster, R. Rex Parris, confirmed that both victims were decapitated. He speculated that the economy, the closure of schools and public places amid the coronavirus pandemic, paired with close living quarters sparked a stressful environment for the family.

“The social fabric of the country and the world has been shredded, and we are starting to see the aftermath,” Parris said. “What I’m seeing is more and more people feeling desperate, and that can only have one result.”

The incident remains under investigation.