IMPERIAL COUNTY – An individual was arrested in Imperial County over the weekend for allegedly murdering a woman and her two children in a North Carolina city.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Sunday that, as a result of an ongoing investigation, detectives with the agencyâs Homicide Unit have charged Benjamin Joseph Taylor, 35, with three counts of murder and one count of concealment of death.
The victimâs relatives have been notified of the arrest.
On Saturday, through a collaborative effort of multiple law enforcement agencies, Taylor was located and arrested in Imperial County, the agency said.
The suspect was expected to remain held in the Imperial County Jail pending extradition to North Carolina.
According to Imperial County Sheriffâs Office activity logs, the arrest occurred minutes before 6:00 p.m. on March 16 at East Jesus/Church of Enlightenment, located in the Slab City area.
A person reported the suspect had a national arrest warrant.
The reporting party said the suspect, who allegedly had weapons in his tent, was confronted.
Several units, as well as emergency medical personnel, were deployed to the scene.
The suspect was arrested shortly before 8:00 p.m.
Authorities notified the FBI about the arrest and confirmed the arrest warrant issued in Charlotte, activity logs show.
The arrest involved agents from the FBI in Charlotte, the FBI Imperial County field office, the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, and the CMPD VCAT.
On Friday, March 8, detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departmentâs Missing Persons Unit asked for the publicâs help to locate Markayla Johnson, 22, Miracle Johnson, 4 years, 7 months, and Messiah Johnson, born on July 26.
Johnson and her two children were last seen in the 400 block of Orchard Trace Lane in Charlotte.
According to authorities, Johnson had not been in contact with any known family members, who were concerned for her well-being.
Around 1:45 p.m. local time on Friday, March 15, while detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departmentâs Homicide Unit were conducting a homicide investigation in the 400 block of Orchard Trace Lane in the North Tryon Division, officers discovered human remains.
The authorities requested additional search warrants to continue the investigation.
Homicide Unit detectives responded to the scene to conduct an investigation and Crime Scene Search personnel responded to process the scene and collect physical evidence.
Representatives from CMPD Operations Command, Victim Services, MEDIC, and the Charlotte Fire Department also assisted.
Shortly thereafter, after further investigation and based on the totality of the evidence discovered, detectives identified the human remains as Markayla Johnson, Miracle Johnson, and Messiah Johnson.
The CMPD Homicide Unit is working closely with the Medical Examiner’s Office to make final confirmation on the identification of the victims based on their findings.
The victims were previously reported missing to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on March 3, 2024.
