The South Carolina dad accused of strangling to death his five children then dumping their bodies in a dirt road claimed that his kids were planning to kill him days prior to their reported disappearance.

Police officers confronted Timothy Jones, Jr. at a Wal-Mart branch near Lexington County on August 28 when he reportedly forced his five children out from the backseat of his vehicle. The responding officers described Jones to appear "deranged" while forcefully pulling out his own kids from the inside of the SUV. When asked regarding his actions, Jones told police officers that his kids, aged 1 to 8 years old, were plotting his murder. He also claimed that the children intended to feed his body to the dogs.

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In a statement given to the deputies following the incident, the suspect insisted that his five children were "going to kill him, chop him up, and feed him to the dogs." Despite his unhinged demeanor and twisted reasoning, however, the officers did not take any further step to ascertain the security of the five children. On September 6, six days after the confrontation with the authorities, the children's mother reported their disappearance from Jones' Lexington County home.

Prior to the August 28 Wal-Mart incident, Jones' behavior has already raised alarm a couple of times. These reports dated back to the months leading up to the murder of his five children. According to the officials from the South Carolina's Department of Social Services, Jones had been under investigation for cases of child abuse since 2011.

The suspect was apprehended by authorities in Raleigh, Mississippi on September 6. Arresting officers described him to appear deranged and unstable. Moreover, the warrant disclosed that a search of Jones' vehicle revealed "large amount of blood and handwritten notes with directions to kill and mutilate bodies."

On September 9, investigators were led by Jones to the area where he abandoned the decomposing bodies of his five children. According to reports, the children were individually wrapped in plastic garbage bags and dumped in a secluded area in Oak Hill, Alabama.

Tagssouth carolina, Murder, Father, five children, Alabama