SC father gets death penalty for murdering his five children
LEXINGTON, SC (WLTX) — A South Carolina jury has sentenced Timothy Jones Jr. to death for the murders of his five children, condemning the man for the brutal killings that happened nearly a half decade ago.
The 12-member panel returned their verdict Thursday afternoon at the main courthouse in Lexington after about an hour and 45 minutes of deliberation. In doing so, they rejected the efforts of the defense to spare the man’s life and sentence him to life in prison.
In closing arguments, Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard, the lead prosecutor, called Jones “the worst of the worst” and asked, “Is there any crime worse than that?” He said Jones deserved no mercy.
“He sentenced those kids to death,” Hubbard said.
Jones’s lawyers, however, said that the Jones family are victims, too, and that they didn’t need to see another family member die.
“How much more death does the Jones family have to endure?” Casey Secor asked jurors.
Jones, 37, admitted to killing 8-year-old Merah Gracie, 7-year-old Elias, 6-year-old Nahtahn, 2-year-old Gabriel and 1-year-old Abigail Elaine in the family home on South Lake Drive in Red Bank on August 28, 2014. Jones had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
On June 4, the jury took just over six hours to find Jones guilty. Jones did not take the stand to testify in his defense in either the guilt or penalty phase of the trial. However, a confession audio recording from 2014 was played in court.
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