A personal trainer described as “mellow” and “reliable” was arrested last Friday in connection with the deaths of his two children, who were found decapitated in the family home, authorities said.
Authorities were called to a home in the 45000 block of Century Circle just before 8 a.m. on reports of a possible gas leak.
Once inside, fire personnel discovered the decapitated bodies.
Deputies found the children’s bodies in separate bedrooms in the home, Lt. Brandon Dean said.
The two children were identified by sheriff’s officials as a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
It’s unclear how long they had been dead, Dean said.
Both parents were in the home when deputies responded.
They were detained without a struggle and brought in for questioning.
The children’s mother was questioned but has not been arrested.
Two other children in the home appeared to be uninjured.
The Fire Department initially responded to the home following a report of a potential gas leak, but Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed there was no leak.
The concern about a gas leak stemmed from Taylor’s former and current clients, with whom he had worked at a Santa Monica physical therapy and fitness center.
They had been struggling to contact him all week.
Howard Kern, an attorney and writer who saw Taylor for sessions for about seven years, said he called the LA County Fire Department after others trained by Taylor had attempted calling the Sheriff’s Department to relay their worries.
“I said, ‘I’m concerned,’” Kern recalled. “We are concerned about a possible gas leak”.
There are four children and two adults and we are concerned about their safety”.
Another client said Taylor had been working remotely because of the pandemic.
The client described him as “so reliable, so responsive” and “mellow”.
The client said she knew something was not right this week, when Taylor did not send out a Zoom link for a scheduled session, then failed to appear during the appointed time.
He was not reachable, she said.
“I knew they weren’t out of town. They didn’t have money to travel”, she said.
“We were afraid of carbon monoxide poisoning, or they were all dead from falling asleep”, she said.
Several clients told The Times that Taylor was a diligent and hardworking trainer who patiently worked with each client.
“Think of the nicest person that you know, then multiply that by five,” Kern said.
“He worked so hard to support himself”.
Kern said Taylor had been working and living on his own since he was 18, and he sensed that Taylor “was living under a tremendous amount of pressure”.
Over the years, Kern said, he knew Taylor had faced challenges, including a marriage that could seem “contentious” from the phone calls Taylor received from his wife at the gym.
“It was embarrassing you could hear her yelling at him”.
Kern said. “He’d be very apologetic and she’d be yelling at him”.
Maurice Taylor Sr., 34, is being held on $2-million bond, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.