Warrants: South Carolina father strangled 4 children, beat 1

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Grand jury indictments accuse a Lexington County father of strangling four of his children and beating a fifth last summer at their home.

The State newspaper reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/1AcwOnP ) that the court papers are the first public information released on the case since a gag order was issued last year.

Authorities say 33-year-old Timothy Ray Jones Jr. killed his children at their Red Bank home in late August, 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 after a deputy said he smelled the stench of death coming from the SUV at a traffic checkpoint.

Jones faces five counts of murder. Prosecutors haven’t decided if they will seek the death penalty.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com