Dad accused of killing five children returns to SC

COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — The man accused of killing his five children and dumping their bodies in Alabama has been returned to South Carolina to face murder charges.

Lexington County sheriff’s spokesman John Allard says Timothy Ray Jones Jr. was driven to the jail Thursday afternoon. Allard says his first court appearance is Friday.

Jones and his five children disappeared two weeks ago, and he was arrested in Mississippi on Saturday when he was stopped at a DUI checkpoint. Authorities say Jones was alone, with blood and children’s clothes in his SUV and the stench of death in the air.

Authorities say Jones led investigators Tuesday to his children’s bodies, wrapped in trash bags on an isolated Alabama hilltop. Authorities say it’s not clear why he killed his children.

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