SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina man accused of killing four of his children after human remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle at their home appears to have spread the slayings over several months, a sheriff said Wednesday.

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder. The sheriff’s office said investigators believe Dickens killed three of his biological children, ages 6, 9 and 10, as well as his 18-year-old stepchild.

Dickens had contacted Johnston County 911 late Monday and said he had killed his children. He told deputies that arrived at his home on the outskirts of Zebulon — about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Raleigh — that four of his children were deceased and had been placed inside the vehicle parked in his garage,

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