Prosecution rests, first defense witnesses take stand in Timothy Jones trial

Only 32 out of a possible 150 witnesses took the stand for the prosecution

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WOLO) — After only six days of testimony, prosecutors in the Timothy Jones Jr. murder trial decided to rest their case after hearing from 32 out of a possible 150 witnesses.

Ranging from members of Jones’s family to law enforcement who say they heard confessions from Jones, prosecutors appeared confident about the proof they presented that Jones killed his five children in 2014.

All the State needed to hear Wednesday was 30 minutes of testimony from their final witness, investigator Mike Phipps of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Phipps, who was on the stand when court was adjourned Tuesday afternoon, elaborated on Jones’s phone records and what was recovered before, during, and after August 28, the day the murders allegedly happened.

With the defense bringing witnesses to the stand, they want to show the jury that Jones had what they claimed were psychological issues and had no control of his actions.

The first defense witness was Dr. Travis Snyder, a neuroradiologist based out of Las Vegas, who says he found a skull fracture on the left side of Jones’s skull that could lead to mental illness.

“There’s a few findings on Mr. Jones that suggest there’s a positive correlation with schizophrenia. These findings have been described in schizophrenia and schizophrenia-type disorders, but it requires a clinical correlation,” Dr. Snyder said in pre-recorded testimony.

Others say Jones told them his issues stem back even further.

“He did bring up his belief he may have inherited psychological problems from his mother, and when he talked about his mother, he appeared to get emotional and very upset,” said Sgt. Adam Creech of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

When asking about the interview he did with law enforcement, Creech testified that Jones gave them another reason why he did what he did to his children.

“At one point he says one out of the five children would have grown up to do something bad, and killing them prevented that,” Creech testified.

At various points throughout Creech’s testimony, which featured an audio interview between him and Jones after he guided them to the bodies in Alabama, Jones got emotional, wiping his eyes while listening to the tape.

The defense will call more witnesses to the stand Thursday morning.