Trial punishable by death for father accused of killing 5 children

A father who, according to police, killed his five young children in their South Carolina home and then drove them for more than a week, is about to be brought to justice.

The jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Lexington County in the case of Timothy Jones Jr.'s death sentence.

Jones is charged with five counts of murder for the murder of his children aged 8, 7, 6, 2 and 1 in their home in Lexington in August 2014. Charges indicate that he has strangled four and beat each other.

Jones then wrapped the bodies in plastic bags, placed them in the back of his SUV and skirted the southeast for a week, traveling more than 700 kilometers (1,125 kilometers) to North Carolina, in Georgia, Alabama and finally in Mississippi, where he was arrested. the authorities said.

At the beginning of the trip, Jones buried his children on a rural hill near Camden, Alabama, police said.

When he was arrested at a drunk driving checkpoint in Smith County, Mississippi, an officer smelled terrible and found blood, worms and children's clothing in the vehicle, announced the authorities.

Jones' lawyers filed court documents stating that he was considering a defense of insanity. The selection of the jury will probably take most, if not all, of this week.

Jones, 37, was a software engineer and was placed in the care of his children after the start of his marriage.

The computer engineer fought as a single father, according to the records of the Department of Social Services, whose employees went home a dozen times in three years.

But Jones has also worked to correct the problems faced by social workers. There were trips to Disney World and the beach and a birthday party with cupcakes detailed in these registers with a mark on one of the kids and a report stating that they had been forced to do excessive exercise as a punishment.

"Dad seems to be overwhelmed because he is unable to maintain the house, but the children seem to be clean, well coiffed and dressed appropriately," wrote the assistant, whose name had been masked, in a filed report two weeks before the police declare children were killed.

The trial could last almost the entire month of May. If the jurors declare Jones guilty of murder, the same jury will then hear evidence of his possible conviction for life imprisonment or death.