COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Supreme Court of South Carolina has handed down a decision upholding the conviction and death penalty sentence of Timothy Ray Jones in Lexington County in 2014.
Jones had plead not guilty by reason of insanity after killing his five children -- Abigail (age 1), Gabriel (age 2), Nahtahn (age 6), Elias (age 7), and Merah (age 8) -- on August 28, 2014. The Lexington County jury hearing the case in 2019 rejected that plea and found him guilty of the murders and recommended the death penalty.
During the trial, testimony revealed that Nahtahn died first after being punished by performing calisthenics to the point of exhaustion and then being shaken by Jones. In a panic, Jones then strangled Elias and Merah with his bare hands before using a belt to strangle Abigail and Gabriel. Jones then wrapped the five bodies in bedsheets and placed them in the back seat of his Cadillac Escalade and, for the next eight days, drove through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. He finally disposed of the bodies in an rural area near Pine Apple, Alabama.
Jones was taken into custody after being stopped at a safety checkpoint in Smith County, Mississippi, after the officer pulled him over for driving under the influence and a search of the vehicle revealed blood stains, bleach, and drug paraphernalia, as well as personal items belonging to the children.
Jones' lawyers filed an appeal challenging whether the trial court erred on the following issues:
- qualifying one juror
- disqualifying one juror
- denying Jones' request for voir dire and jury instruction detailing the consequences of a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict
- excluding expert testimony by Dr. Adriana Flores during the sentencing phase. Flores was not on the initial witness list but offered proffered testimony that would have questioned the results of the state's expert testimony in the trial.
- limiting testimony regarding Jones' future dangerousness, remorse, and social history during sentencing
- excluding pre-recorded testimony by Cynthia Turner, Jones' mother, during the sentencing phase. Turner had been diagnosed with mental illness and was institutionalized in another state. The court had ruled her testimony had no probative value in the case.
- admitting autopsy photos of the children during the sentencing phase.
The Court dismissed challenges on the two jurors, jury instruction, testimony regarding Jones's future dangerousness, the exclusion of Turner's testimony, and admission of the autopsy photos. The Court narrowly agreed regarding the exclusion of Flores' testimony but concluded the exclusion was harmless.