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Prosecutors seek the death penalty for 33-year-old dad who 'strangled and beat his five children, ages one to eight, to death'
In court on Wednesday, prosecutors served a notice saying they would seek the death penalty in the murder trial of Timothy Ray Jones Jr
Jones reportedly confessed to killing his five children when he was pulled over for a traffic stop on September 6, 2014
He then led police to a field where he had buried the bodies
According to the affidavit, Jones beat his son Nahtahn, six, to death
The other children, ages one to eight, were strangled
Before the murders, Jones reportedly expressed fears that his children would 'kill him, chop up his body and then feed it to dogs'
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a South Carolina father accused of strangling four of his children and beating a fifth to death last year at their home.
Local news outlets report that Solicitor Donnie Myers served notice of his decision during a hearing Wednesday for Timothy Ray Jones Jr.
Jones was mostly silent for the hearing, as his attorney asked that he undergo mental evaluation. He wore a red sweater, khaki pants, glasses and sported a newly shaved head.
Authorities say the 33-year-old father killed his five children at their Lexington County home in late August 2014, then drove around with their bodies in trash bags in his SUV for nine days before dumping them in a rural Alabama field.
Jones was arrested in Mississippi on September 6, after a deputy said he smelled the stench of death coming from the SUV at a traffic checkpoint.
Three days before, the children's mother had officially reported them missing, but it's believed that they had been dead for up to a week at that point.
Police then found 'a large amount of blood and handwritten notes with directions to kill and mutilate bodies' in the vehicle, as well as 'a significant amount of bleach products along with the blood'.
Traces of synthetic marijuana were also found in the car.
Jones reportedly copped to killing his children and then led police to the field where he dumped the bodies of one-year-old Abigail Elizabeth Jones, two-year-old Gabriel Jones, six-year-old Nahtahn Jones, seven-year-old Elias Jones and eight-year-old Merah Gracie Jones.
According to an autopsy, Nahtahn was beaten to death while the others were strangled.
While the motive for the murders are not known, Jones reportedly made statements before the killings, saying that he feared the children were going to 'kill him, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs'.
He faces five counts of murder. A judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation of him.
Jones' attorney says he has been treated for mental health issues in the past, but would not specify what condition he may have been diagnosed with.
Jones was granted custody of the five children after divorcing wife Amber in October 2013.
He worked at a technology company in Columbia, Mississippi.
Before his marriage, he reportedly spent time in prison for charges of car theft, burglary and forgery.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz4y2uasNDQ
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