RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Chancellor Kevin Howell was installed as the 15th leader of N.C. State University. It was a historic moment because the alumnus is the first African American and former student body president to become chancellor.

“We’re here to welcome Kevin Howell back where he belongs. Back to N. C. State University. Back to the Pack,” exclaimed UNC System President Peter Hans.

The installation ceremony was a homecoming celebration for Chancellor Kevin Howell, who is a Shelby, North Carolina native who graduated from N.C. State with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1988.

The day was significant to him because ten years ago, exactly on October 30, 2015, his kidneys failed. The 15th chancellor shares his vision for North Carolina’s flagship university.

“The next generation of leaders can go wherever they want to go and do whatever they want to do,” said Chancellor Howell. “Our vision for the future requires us to unapologetically pursue groundbreaking research. That’s who we are.”

Chancellor Howell sat proudly on stage next to his wife, Aleta. Hundreds were in the crowd, including his two daughters and friends from college.

“We pledged into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated together in the spring of 1985,” said Howell’s line brother Kevin Calhoun. “There were times we were struggling as students, either financially to find money or struggling in coursework. Kevin was always that one that said we can do it. He’s always very hopeful. He’s a visionary and he really does care about people.”

Jesse Lee Brown doesn’t know Howell personally, but they were students on campus together.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be coming back to see him being installed as chancellor,” said Brown.

Chancellor Howell’s installation ceremony brought out many notable N.C. State University alumni, including North Carolina Central University Chancellor Karrie Dixon.

“I’ve known Howell for many years. He has the greatest level of respect across North Carolina and across higher education,” she said.

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A North Carolina man who allegedly confessed to killing four of his children earlier this week appeared to have spread the murders over a period of several months, authorities said on Oct. 29.

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was charged with four counts of murder on Oct. 28 and was being held without bond, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY and the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said Dickens had called 911 on the night of Oct. 27 and admitted to killing children.

Deputies responded to a residence in Zebulon, a rural town about 25 miles east of Raleigh, and encountered Dickens, who told them that his 3-year-old son was inside the house and that four of his other children were dead inside the trunk of a vehicle in his garage, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

North Carolina authorities: Father confessed to killing his 4 children found in car trunk

Deputies found the 3-year-old boy alive and unharmed in the residence, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators believe Dickens killed three of his biological children — ages 6, 9, and 10 — as well as his 18-year-old stepchild, the sheriff’s office said.

The arrest warrants filed against Dickens indicated that the four children were killed on May 1. But during a news conference on Oct. 29, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said investigators now believe that the children had died in separate incidents over several months.

Bizzell said no motive has been identified, “but as the sheriff, as a father and as a grandfather, I can stand here and say there’s no reason for a father to murder his children.” The sheriff noted that the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be filed in the case.

Online court records show that Dickens appeared in court on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 for hearings on the murder counts. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 13, according to court records.

Sheriff: Investigators believe children died between May and September

Bizzell said at the news conference that authorities received a 911 call at around 10:09 p.m. local time Oct. 27 from Dickens, who stated that he had killed four of his children.

Dickens “pretty much called and said, ‘I’m here with my little 3-year-old son. I killed my four children. Their bodies were in the trunk of the car. I’ll be glad to go outside and wait for deputies. I’m not armed. I’m just ready to do what’s right,’” according to Bizzell.

When deputies arrived at the residence, Sheriff’s Capt. Don Pate said they smelled an odor that was “obvious of decay.” Pate added that the home was not well-kept, and there was evidence that someone had attempted to clean up the crime scene.

After responding deputies located Dickens and his 3-year-old son, Bizzell said a preliminary investigation revealed that the human remains found in the vehicle’s trunk had been there “for some time.” The department of social services also respond to the scene and took the 3-year-old boy for medical evaluation, according to Bizzell.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant and determined that Leah Dickens, 6, was the first child to be killed in May of this year, the sheriff said. Bizzell identified the other children as Zoe Dickens, 9, who died in August; Wellington Dickens, 10, who died in late August or early September; and Sean Brasfield, 18, who was killed in September.

The North Carolina Bureau of Investigation and the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are assisting the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation. Bizzell added that the state medical examiner’s office was conducting autopsies to determine how the children died.

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Children were in ‘conditions that are unimaginable’

Investigators canvased the Dickens’ neighborhood on Oct. 28 and interviewed neighbors, according to Bizzell. Investigators learned that the children had been homeschooled.

“It appeared there wasn’t a lot of activity at the house,” the sheriff said. “I guess the father and the kids were living in the house, and they’re in conditions that are unimaginable.”

Pate said he believed the family was “very secluded” and Dickens’ extended family was not allowed to visit the children.

“They just stayed inside,” according to Pate. “The neighbors said they never saw them come outside, and they were homeschooled, so they were just confined to the house.”

Court records for the estate of Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, show that she died in April 2024, and the couple’s five children continued to live in their Zebulon residence. Jones Dickens had “passed away suddenly at her home,” according to her obituary.

Bizzell confirmed on Oct. 29 that deputies had responded to the couple’s home on April 21, 2024, to assist emergency medical services after Jones Dickens was found dead by her husband. At the time of the incident, Jones Dickens was three months pregnant and had “experienced excessive bleeding the night prior but refused to go for medical treatment,” Bizzell said.

A North Carolina father has been charged with the murders of his four children after he called 911 to chillingly confess the killings.

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was arrested Tuesday at his home in Zebulon — about 20 miles outside of Raleigh — after he allegedly told 911 operators that he had killed his children, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

Deputies arrived at the home around 10 p.m., where Dickens informed them that the children were dead inside the trunk of a car in the garage.

Inside, officers discovered “what were believed to be multiple bodies” in the trunk of a two-door Honda sedan parked in the garage, authorities said.

The victims were identified as Dickens’ biological children — Leah Dickens, 6, Zoe Dickens, 9, and Wellington Dickens, 10 — along with his 18-year-old stepchild, Sean Brassfield.

Deputies also found Dickens’ 3-year-old son alive and unharmed inside the home.

During the preliminary investigation, the sheriff’s office said the remains appeared to have been there for an extended period.

Authorities believe the four children have been dead since May 1, according to court records obtained by USA Today.

Dickens was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and charged with first-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Johnston County Jail without bond.

Records show Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, died in April 2024 — leaving behind five children who continued living in the family’s Zebulon home.

An obituary said Jones Dickens “passed away suddenly at her home,” according to an online obituary.

Her death came about a year after Dickens’ father died in a box-truck collision in Lee County, USA Today reported.

Dickens’ great-uncle, Charles Moore, told WRAL-TV that the Iraq War veteran “seemed fine” when he last saw him about a year ago.

“Like anybody else I was just shocked,” Moore told the outlet. “You hear it, talk about it happening to other people. You just wouldn’t think it would happen to one of your own.”

However, Moore acknowledged that the alleged child murder wasn’t the same after serving in the military.

“We know he had a little problem,” Moore said. “He was in the service, and he had a problem ever since he came back, I think.”

Next-door neighbor Debra Riley also said she’s struggling to piece together what happened.

“My heart just breaks for the children, and for the 3-year-old that’s left because he has no parents or siblings left,” Rily said. 

Neighbor Fran Majkowski said the gruesome discovery has shocked the neighborhood.

“I walk by that house almost every single day,” Majkowski told the outlet.

While Majkowski had no personal relationship with Dickens or his family, she did remember when they moved into the neighborhood.

“I never saw a child outside playing. I never saw him mowing a lawn,” she said.

“The only time I ever saw them was the day they moved in and like I said … it was very … you just get the feeling someone is to themselves.”

However, Majkowski said she and other neighbors reached out to support Dickens in 2024 following his wife’s passing.

“It’s a pretty new neighborhood,” Majkowski said. “I’ve been here three years, most others just a year or two — and everyone came together. There was an outpouring of support.”

Riley added that Dickens “started keeping to himself” and became more of a recluse after his wife passed away.

Dickens is due back in court on Wednesday.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.