Dad who ‘killed his five young kids’ wrote a list saying ‘melt bodies’ and ‘saw bones to dust’
A DAD who confessed to killing his five young kids wrote a disturbing checklist saying “melt bodies” and “saw bones to dust”, a court heard.
Timothy Jones Jr. faces the death penalty for the murder of his children, Merah, 8, Elias, 7, Nahtahn, 6, Gabriel, 2, and Abigail, 1, at their home in South Carolina, US.
He accused of beating one of the kids and strangling the other four to death before wrapping their bodies in plastic bags and driving them around for a week.
Jones eventually buried their bodies on a rural hillside near Camden, Alabama, days later in 2014, cops said.
At his trial, prosecutors showed the jury a series of lists allegedly written by Jones which appeared to be checklists directing how to mutilate bodies, WLTX reported.
One of the handwritten lists reportedly said: “Head to campground. Melt bodies!
“Saw & bones to dust or small pieces…sanitation plant.”
'BURN UP BODIES'
Another allegedly said: “1. Fidelity. Day one burn up bodies. Day two sand down bones.”
Jones has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
He was arrested at a drunken driving checkpoint in Smith County, Mississippi, on 6 September 2014 after cops smelled a terrible odour they described as the “smell of death”.
During a search of the Cadillac Escalade SUV, cops found a bucket of chemicals, blood, maggots and children’s clothes.
SMELL OF DEATH
Chief deputy Marty Patterson told the court: “As I approached … (Jones’ Cadillac) Escalade, the window was down.
“I noticed a foul odour coming from somewhere.
“It was the smell of decomposition. I call it the smell of death.”
Photos from inside the car show a large bleach stain on the carpet as well as reddish stains and a blue bucket containing rubbish bags.
Over the next three days, Mississippi police officers, with the help of Jones’ father, Tim Jones Sr., questioned Jones and eventually got him to confess to murdering his five children.
DUMPED BODIES IN BIN BAGS
He told police he had left their bodies in rubbish bags off a logging road in rural Alabama, some 200 miles from where he’d been taken into custody, Patterson testified.
During their opening statement, his defence lawyers said Jones has schizophrenia and pointed to a number of factors such as drug use and a crumbling marriage.
Whereas prosecutors painted Jones as an abusive father, claiming he often used physical activity, like push-ups and jumping jacks as a form of punishment.
Jones, 37, was a software engineer and was given custody of his children after his marriage started to fall apart.
The computer engineer struggled as a single father, according to records from the Department of Social Services, whose employees visited the home a dozen times in three years.
But Jones also worked to correct the problems as social workers found them.
There were trips to Disney World and the beach and a birthday party with cupcakes detailed in those records along with a mark on one of the children.
The report also stated they were made to exercise excessively as punishment.
“Dad appears to be overwhelmed as he is unable to maintain the home, but the children appear to be clean, groomed and appropriately dressed,” wrote the case worker.
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