Lexington County, SC (WLTX) - An attorney for a man accused of killing his five children in Lexington County says her client has suffered from mental health issues in the past.
Timothy Jones Jr., 32, waived his right to a first appearance hearing Friday morning.
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Aimee Zmroczek, who was hired by Jones' family, says Jones chose not to appear because of the way he's being portrayed in the media.
"He knows he's being portrayed as a monster," Zmroczek says. "He is just a man and he is trying to deal with the situation."
She says she was contacted by Jones's father because Jones wasn't allowed to see a public defender when he first arrived back in Lexington County.
According to her, Jones is in a suicide watch cell. She says his family is concerned because he has suffered from mental health issues before, and they worry he won't receive proper treatment while in custody.
It's unclear if his mental state may be used as a defense in his trial.
"There's no discussion of defenses yet, it's a matter of dealing with his mental health and understanding and explaining it and seeing how it applies," she said.
While Zmroczek represented him at this first hearing, Jones has been assigned a public defender for all subsequent proceedings.
Jones was transported back to Lexington County late Thursday afternoon from Smith County, Mississippi, where he'd been held since his arrest last Saturday at a safety checkpoint.
He's facing five murder warrants for the death of his children: Abigail Elizabeth Jones, 1; Gabriel Jones, 2; Nahtahn Jones, 6; Elias Jones, 7; and Merah Gracie Jones, 8.
Arrest warrants released Thursday state Jones killed the children in their home in Lexington County "by violent means." Investigators have said they have reason to believe the deaths took place about a week before the children were first reported missing on September 3rd.
Investigators say he then took the children's bodies to Alabama were he dumped them in a rural area in five separate garbage bags.
A preliminary autopsy was conducted on the children's bodies, but investigators have not yet said how they think the children died.
Jones will now be held at the State Department of Corrections until his trial. Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty cited safety concerns for the suspect in making the decision to not hold him at the county jail.
Jones' next scheduled court appearance is November 13th at 9 a.m.
