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US dad accused in killings had nasty divorce

Source: AP | September 12, 2014, Friday | Online Edition

TIMOTHY Ray Jones Jr. earned his computer engineering degree, worked at a $71,000-a-year job, had a wife of 10 years and several young children.

Then, just over two years ago, he discovered his wife was putting their children to bed in their South Carolina home and going to the neighbor's house and sleeping with the neighbor's 19-year-old son, according to divorce papers. Jones moved out with the children and seemed friendly to his new neighbors, but began to withdraw to the point where the woman who lived next door thought he and his family had moved away.

Jones and his five children, ages 8, 7, 6, 2 and 1, disappeared two weeks ago, but no one called police for days. And authorities weren't convinced anything was wrong until they said an intoxicated, agitated Jones was stopped at a drunk-driving checkpoint in Mississippi where officers found him alone, with blood and children's clothes in his SUV and the stench of death in the air.

Jones, 32, would lead investigators to his children's bodies, wrapped in five trash bags on an isolated Alabama hilltop, but it's still not clear — and may never be — why he killed his children, authorities said.

On Thursday morning, Jones was being extradited to South Carolina to face five murder charges.

Wearing a striped jail uniform and protective vest, he was loaded into an unmarked SUV before 8 a.m. Central time for the 500-mile trip. Officials also loaded boxes of evidence.

On Wednesday, Jones' father, Timothy Jones Sr., stood outside his Mississippi, home and asked for prayers for his family and for the son he referred to as Little Timmy and Little Tim.

"Let it be known that people will come to their own conclusions and as parents we can understand that decision based on the circumstances," the father said in a statement. "But please remember that our Little Tim is a very loving father, brother and son."

Jones Sr. confirmed to The Associated Press that his son grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and had a criminal record in Illinois.

Back in 2001, he was arrested on a cocaine possession charge in Illinois. Six months later, he was arrested for a crime spree that included stealing a car, burglary and passing forged checks, according to the Illinois State's Attorney's Office. He was 19 years old at the time.

His father said he was an exemplary student up to that point and decided to go into the Navy. Jones Sr. said his son was discharged early from the Navy.

Jones put each child's body in its own trash bag and loaded the bodies into his Cadillac Escalade, police said. He drove and crisscrossed several Southeastern states for days, apparently using bleach to try to mask the smell of the decomposing bodies, authorities said.

Jones stopped at an isolated hilltop in Alabama and left them near an isolated road, authorities said.

He kept driving for several hours Saturday until he reached a drunk-driving checkpoint in Mississippi. An officer said he "smelled the stench of death" along with chemicals used to make methamphetamine and synthetic marijuana. Blood, bleach and maggots were in the car.

A check of Jones' license plate showed his ex-wife had reported him and the children missing three days earlier when he failed to bring them over for visitation. He slowly acknowledged what happened to his children and led police to their bodies Tuesday, authorities said. Only then did authorities go public with the case.

Jones graduated with a degree in computer engineering from Mississippi State in 2011. Records from his October 2013 divorce show he was working for Intel at the time. The company confirmed he was still employed there when he disappeared.

Court records also showed a troubled life for Jones and his children. The divorce included allegations of adultery against Jones' wife, Amber.

A therapist who saw Jones during the divorce described him as "highly intelligent" and responsible, yet emotionally devastated and angry.

Jones got primary custody of the children after the divorce and moved from one ramshackle mobile home to another. At first he was friendly, waving at neighbors. His children played outside. But they all slowly started disappearing from view, said neighbor Dorothy Wood.

In Lexington, an abuse complaint against Jones was lodged Aug. 7, but when deputies and a Department of Social Services official went to the house, they found nothing alarming.

Divorce records listed the five children as Merah, 8; Elias, 7; Nahtahn, 6; Gabriel, 2, and Elaine Marie, 1. A memorial service will be held Friday.

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