Missing NC mother, 2 young children found murdered in Charlotte, suspect arrested: Police

The remains of a 22-year-old mother and her two young children were found Friday by police in a Charlotte apartment, leaving a family mourning and investigators questioning the suspect's motive.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police conducted a search warrant and found the remains of Markayla Johnson and her children, 4-year-old Miracle Johnson and 7-month-old Messiah Johnson in the apartment, the department's Chief Johnny Jennings said Saturday during a news conference.

The bodies were found after concerned family members reported the three missing on March 3, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a news release. The department requested the public's assistance in finding the family March 8 after "exhausting search leads," according to the release.

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Suspect arrested in connection to death of Markayla Johnson and her children

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged Benjamin Joseph Taylor, 35, with three counts of murder and one count of concealment of death in connection to the deaths of Johnson and her children, Jennings said. Taylor was found and arrested Saturday in Imperial County, California, police said.

"Behind me is a grieving family that lost their loved ones and now have to move forward because of the hands of another person," the chief said.

'She was a good person': Markayla Johnson's mother speaks about her late daughter, reports say

Johnson's mother, Markeysha Johnson, said people would "take advantage" of her daughter because she was "so kindhearted," WSOC-TV reported.

“I just want to say, I miss my baby,” Markeysha Johnson said about her daughter. “I miss my grandkids. She was a good person and everybody knows Kayla would do anything for you. She didn’t deserve this. She did not deserve this. She was such a loving person. Everybody knew that.”

Jennings said, "Nothing is worse than homicides of small children an family members."

“Who is to say that a man that she thinks that she loves was going to kill her… and kids?” Johnson's grandmother, Ramona Johnson, told Queen City News.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police 'have no idea of a motive,' Chief Johnny Jennings says

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police "have no idea of a motive" for Taylor's alleged actions, including why Johnson's children were killed, according to Jennings.

“Well, I’m not sure how much a seven-month-old can be a witness, but at the same time, I don’t want to speculate about the reasoning behind any of these murders,” Jennings said. “It’s too early to tell and those are some things that he might be the only one that can answer those questions for us."

The chief said Taylor and Johnson were in a relationship, but investigators don't know if domestic violence led to the murders.

"It's not a random act that we're talking about," Jennings said.

Based on preliminary information, Jennings said Taylor is not the father of Johnson's children.

"This is a gruesome ending that we never want to have a conclusion to when talking about missing people," the chief said.

A GoFundMe was created to help support Johnson's family. So far, over $130 has been raised toward the fundraiser's $5,000 goal.

 Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]