SC seeks death penalty for father who killed, dumped 5 children's bodies in AL
LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
The death penalty will be sought against the Lexington County father of five accused of killing his children, then dumping their bodies in Alabama.
Tim Jones, Jr., 33, appeared in court on Wednesday where Solicitor Donnie Myers served notice of his intentions to seek the death penalty.
RELATED: See photos of the Jones family.
Jones was arrested in September 2014 after he was picked up in Mississippi after going through a motor vehicle public safety checkpoint.
Jones was detained and questioned about the whereabouts of his five children, who were reported missing after the oldest ones did not show up at school and the children's mother, Amber, couldn't reach them.
Jones later told authorities that he dumped their bodies in garbage bags in a rural area off Highway 10 near Camden, Ala. Investigators say the children were killed in Lexington County between or on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, and then their bodies taken to the dump site in Alabama.
A Grand Jury indicted Jones on five counts of murder in the deaths of his children – Mera, 8; Elias, 7; Nahtahn, 6; Gabriel, 2; and Abigail, 1. For Mera, Elias, Gabriel and Abigail, the indictments state the children were killed “by means of strangulation and/or other violent means or instruments” in Lexington County.
However, the indictment in Nahtahn's death says that he was killed by Jones “hitting or striking” him “by causing physical exhaustion, by mortally injuring or causing injuries” to the child “by means or instruments unknown and/or by unknown means of a wanton or reckless disregard for human life.”