Testimony continues Friday in the sentencing phase of the Timothy Jones Jr. trial, the man who murdered his five children in 2014.
On Tuesday, after a jury found him guilty on all counts of murdering his five children. The jury reached its verdict after six hours of deliberation spread across parts of two days. The decision came after hearing 15 days of testimony.
Now, the same jury will decide if he deserves the death penalty of life in prison.
In reaching their decision, the jury rejected the defense's claim that he was not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors had argued that while he was deeply troubled man, he knew right from wrong when he killed his five children in 2014.
Now that same jury is hearing evidence from prosecutors who will portray Jones as a selfish evil father who decided after killing one child that all his children should die instead of ending up with his ex-wife and he should be executed for his crimes.
On Thursday, prosecutors combined horrific crime scene evidence with tender memories as they made their case.
Prosecutor Suzanne Mayes in her opening statement during sentencing Thursday said Jones Jr. killed his 6-year-son through hours of painful, torturous exercise in their Lexington home in August 2014, then strangled the other four children so no witnesses would be left alive.
Prosecutors called an investigator who showed pictures of the five trash bags the children were left in on a hillside near Camden, Alabama. They also had a pathologist testify to their injuries.
A juror cried so hard the judge stopped the trial for a break.
Also testifying Thursday were a babysitter who watched the children, ranging in age from 1 to 8, and the assistant principal from their school.
Dozens of family photos were shown. Jones' lawyers made sure to point out the ones where Jones was seen smiling or hugging and kissing his children.
Defense lawyer Boyd Young asked the same jury that convicted Jones on Tuesday to choose life in prison because mentally ill people shouldn't be executed, God can use people in dark places and the Jones family has seen enough death.
The sentencing phase is expected to last well into next week.