The final words of an 8-year-old South Carolina girl who was killed along with her four siblings by their father have been revealed.
Gracie Jones’s last words were “Daddy, I love you,” FBI Agent David Mackey testified, according to a local report.
Timothy Jones Jr., 37, killed Gracie, and his four other young children before driving hundreds of miles with their bodies in his vehicle and disposing of them in Alabama, officials told WSOC last week.
“He told us he was not under the influence of anything at the time of the interview, understood what was going on and mentioned his mother’s mental health and how he might have what she has,” Mackey said in court.
An audio of Jones confessing to the killing of his five children was also played in a Lexington County courtroom as he cried listening to the details.
The audio contains an interview he gave to officials about two days after he was arrested on drug possession and DUI charges, WSOC reported.
Mackey said that Jones’s tone changed when the subject of his children was brought up in the interview.
“He started talking about Elias and Nahtahn and that they had said they want to kill him, that they essentially were colluding against him,” Mackey told a courtroom.
Mackey then said that blood was found along with notes with disturbing details about the alleged crime. Jones told them that the blood was from a cut, and he didn’t remember writing the notes.
However, Jones then told them, “Let’s cut to the chase.” After that, he gave a graphic depiction of the killings.
At one point, he had asked his 6-year-old son, Nahtahn, about four blown electrical outlets in the living room. After what he called an unsatisfactory response, he had him do push-ups, squats, and sit-ups for hours. Then he sent his son to bed. When he came back, he found him dead, he told officials.
#TimothyJones – The mother of the 5 slain children falls apart on the stand. The jury is taken out. pic.twitter.com/bXWSQO2hBp
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) May 20, 2019
In the interview, according to the station, he said that voices in his head took over, telling him that nobody would believe it was an accident and therefore, he needed to kill his four other children.
“The children were afraid, they knew something bad had happened,” Mackey added. “The children were afraid.” Mackey then described the manner in which Jones killed the children.
If convicted, Jones could face the death penalty.
According to People magazine, Jones has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors, however, aren’t convinced.
“He’s not insane,” Deputy Solicitor Shawn Graham said. “He’s a murderer. A father is supposed to protect his children.”
Before the slayings, he had taken the children to the beach and to Disney World at some point, said officials.
‘HE WAS A NUT’ #Dad #TimothyJones in Custody: Bodies of 5 Missing #Kids Found #JudicialGrinds http://t.co/Xl1pjjh9Or pic.twitter.com/0ajPHkwN8H
— Wheels of The System (@WheelsofTheSyst) September 10, 2014
In videotaped testimony replayed Wednesday, Dr. Travis Snyder showed MRI images and other photos of Jones’ brain taken in April 2018, four years after the slayings. The images showed what appeared to be an indentation in Jones’ skull that his lawyers have said was caused by a car crash Jones was in as a teenager. Snyder then showed other images of the brain that showed places where there had been bleeding and other damage, according to The Associated Press.
“Given his injuries, it’s possible the electrical functions of his brain were not working properly,” Snyder said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
