In a harrowing development out of North Carolina, recently filed court documents have shed light on the disturbing case of a father accused of murdering his four children and hiding their bodies in the trunk of his car. The revelations have added a grim layer to an already tragic story.

Prosecutors have outlined in recent filings that Wellington Delano Dickens III, the father in question, allegedly invited individuals he met through the Grindr app to his residence, the very place where the children’s bodies were later found. This occurred during the period when the murders are suspected to have taken place, according to the filings.

As part of their investigation, authorities obtained warrants to search a computer and two cell phones owned by Dickens, as reported by WCNC, a CBS affiliate. One particular warrant was aimed at accessing Dickens’ Grindr account. Grindr is a popular location-based dating application widely used by individuals identifying as gay, bisexual, and queer.

Investigators found a series of text exchanges on Dickens’ phone, where he introduced himself to various contacts as someone they had interacted with on Grindr. These messages reveal that several men visited Dickens’ home during the timeframe when the alleged murders occurred. This chilling detail suggests that while Dickens was entertaining these guests, the bodies of at least some of his children were decomposing in the trunk of his car parked in the garage.

Authorities are now seeking additional data from the Grindr app, including geolocation and media information, as they continue to piece together this unsettling case.

In another document filed last week, prosecutors claim that Dickens told a Johnston County Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatcher that four of his kids were dead.

“I killed my children. It’s a lot to explain, but in a nutshell, it’s all my fault,” Dickens reportedly said during the October 2025 call, per WCNC.

As Law&Crime previously reported, at about 10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, Dickens called 911 and told the emergency dispatcher that he had “killed his children.” After identifying himself, Dickens allegedly told the dispatcher his address in the 100 block of Springtooth Drive in Zebulon, North Carolina. The home is about 175 miles east of Charlotte.

“Mr. Dickens stated to deputies that his 3-year-old son was inside the house alive and four of his other children were deceased inside the trunk of a vehicle in the garage of the residence,” the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a prior news release.

Upon arriving at the address, first responders said they located Dickens’ 3-year-old son “unharmed in the residence.” But deputies said they soon discovered “what were believed to be multiple bodies in the trunk of a vehicle in the garage.”

After investigating, deputies determined that the human remains from the trunk “had been there for a long period of time.”

In an interview with detectives, Dickens said the deaths of his 5-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old sister resulted from punishments he admitted may have been too harsh, Charlotte CBS affiliate WBTV reported.

Dickens reportedly said that sometime in June, he had disciplined the 5-year-old before sending her to her room. He claimed that when he went back to the room to check on her, she was dead. When the 9-year-old made comments to Dickens about her younger sister’s death, Dickens reportedly taped the child’s mouth shut. When he came back to check on the 9-year-old, he claimed she too had died.

Dickens said the 10-year-old, whom he had been teaching to box, had stopped eating and was the third to die, likely due to malnutrition, Raleigh NBC affiliate WRAL reported.

The 18-year-old was the last to perish. Dickens said the teen died in September, also likely from malnutrition.

Dickens also revealed that shortly after moving to the Zebulon home in May 2023, his newborn son Riley’s health deteriorated, Raleigh CBS affiliate WNCN reported. He claimed the boy was about 1 month old when he died. After wrapping Riley’s body in paper and plastic materials, Dickens said he brought the baby’s body into the woods behind his home and buried him in a grave about 4 feet deep.

Deputies have reportedly been unable to find the boy’s body.

The sheriff’s office told WNCN that there was not sufficient evidence for additional charges against Dickens, but emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing. Dickens’ 3-year-old son was placed in the custody of the state’s Department of Social Services.

Dickens’ neighbor, Josalyn Tabron, told WNCN that the community never knew Riley existed.

“This is crazy. The whole situation is really crazy,” Tabron said in an interview with the station. “The whole situation is really devastating because it’s like, you know, how could somebody actually do this to their kids? But it’s just crazy.”

Dickens is in custody at Raleigh Central Prison, where he is being held without bond. Prosecutors last month filed a court document stating they planned to seek the death penalty against Dickens. He is currently scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing on March 27.