GUILTY SC - Five Jones children, ages 1-8, Lexington County, 28 Aug 2014 *Father Arrested*

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 1h1 hour ago
Today marks Day 4 of the sentencing phase in the Timothy Jones Jr. murder trial.
Among the five witnesses who took the stand yesterday was Timothy Jones Sr., who got a back tattoo of his five grandchildren (showing it off in person to the jury).

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 5m5 minutes ago
As of 10:30, the jury has still not been called into the room. The prosecution and defense have been going back and forth discussing a potential witness.

 

[YESorNO]

Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 6m6 minutes ago
The judge finally calls for the jury after sorting several things out with the prosecution and the defense. @wachfox #TimothyJones

 

[Hope4More]

Roberta had a horrific childhood. She did not kill her kids.

Tim Sr. had a horrible childhood. He did not kill his kids.

Tim Jr. had a far better childhood, parented by Tim Jr. & Roberta, who despite their own traumatic childhoods & flaws, were capable of loving him. Tim killed his babies.

Neither childhood trauma or genetics is destiny (as many WSers know, and from personal experience).

 

[YESorNO]

Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 2m2 minutes ago
The jury has been seated as day four of the punishment phase gets underway in the Timothy Jones Jr. trial. First on the stand today is Deborah Grey, a clinical social worker, who served as as social historian for the Jones family. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 5m5 minutes ago
Jury enters the courtroom, and we are underway. First defense witness of the day: Deborah Grey, a social worker who researched and interviewed members of the Jones family.


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 39s40 seconds ago
Defense’s first witness on Tuesday is Deborah Grey, their 8th witness overall.
Grey is a social historian who evaluated the Jones family for the defense as a part of their overall mental evaluation of Timothy Jones Jr. @WLTX


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 49s50 seconds ago
Grey is recounting Roberta Thornsberry’s life story, including that she had Timothy Jones Sr at age 12 due to her stepfather’s sexual abuse. The defense has argued repeatedly that the Jones family history is important to how Jones Jr eventually grew up @WLTX

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 16m16 minutes ago
The defense displays a family tree of the Jones family starting with Jones's great-grandfather (who also happens to be Jones's grandfather).


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 3m3 minutes ago
Social historian testifies Tim Jones Jr.'s grandmother gave birth to Tim Jones Sr. when she was 12--after being raped by her step-father. She had another child at age 14 and another at age 16, before being forced to marry her stepfather. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
Grey goes into more detail about the family history, saying that Timothy Jones Sr. was born when his mother, Roberta Thornsberry, was only 12 years old. She also describes his childhood, saying he went to 8 or 9 different schools until they settled down.


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 2m2 minutes ago
Once she was able to get away from her stepfather/rapist--Roberta Thornsberry ran off with Tim Jones Sr. for safety. He, too, had an unstable childhood, witnessing violence, drug abuse and jumping from school to school. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 5m5 minutes ago
Grey talks more about how alcoholism and violence were common factors in the home, according to Jones Sr.
She continues by saying these family issues lingered through the birth of Timothy Jones Jr. (1981), but says there's a lot of "love and commitment in this family."


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 4m4 minutes ago
“They have been through a lot, but there is a lot of love and a lot of caring there between these folks,” remarks Grey. @WLTX

 

[YESorNO]

Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 9m9 minutes ago
Grey is going into the family history of Cynthia, the mother of #TimothyJones. According to Grey, her father practiced Santeria and would lock her in a closet among other horrific things @wachfox


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 2m2 minutes ago
(1/2) Grey’s testimony has become increasingly bizarre, says Cynthia’s (Jones Jr’s mother) father would put her in a closet with a bleeding chicken, skulls, and other apparently human biological items, as a part of “voodoo” he allegedly practiced. @WLTX


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 2m2 minutes ago
(2/2) Cynthia is committed in a mental facility, per other court testimony. @WLTX


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 3m3 minutes ago
Grey says the family told her Cynthia would at times not feed Jones Jr as a baby, give him laxatives to “clean his soul,” lock him in rooms when he was crying, and not let others care for him either. @WLTX


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
Grey reiterates previous testimony that Timothy Jones Jr.'s mother, Cynthia, would feed her infant son laxatives, bathe him in cold water, and would put him in winter clothing on hot summer days because "she didn't want to have a fat baby."

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 11m11 minutes ago
Grey talks more about how alcoholism and violence were common factors in the home, according to Jones Sr. She continues by saying these family issues lingered through the birth of Timothy Jones Jr. (1981), but says there's a lot of "love and commitment in this family."


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 52m52 minutes ago
Social historian testifies Jones Jr.'s mother, Cynthia, told Thornsberry she wished he would “shut the f up” as a baby, would leave him locked in a room screaming and not let anyone care for him, refused to change his diapers, feed him, etc. @wis10



Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 10m10 minutes ago
Grey goes on to say that Jones's mother "was not a big part of his childhood" from that point on, saying that Tim Jr. did not make contact with his mother until he was in his 20's. At this point (when Jones Jr. was 3), Roberta became his de facto mother figure.


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 6m6 minutes ago
Judge has told the defense repeatedly to “keep moving” when Grey gets a too-detailed question about the history and how it does/does not relate to Jones Jr. @WLTX


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 6m6 minutes ago
The Judge keeps telling the defense to "move along" as they keep going into great details of the Jones family history, including an alleged self abortion by Cynthia, the mother of #TimothyJones @wachfox


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 11m11 minutes ago
Grey goes into more details about Jones's mother, who sometimes ran off with Tim Jr. when he was younger. At one point when Tim Jr. was 3, Tim Sr. found his son at his maternal grandmother's house, which led him to file a custody petition.


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 1m1 minute ago
Judge Griffith sends the jury out of the room for the break.

 

[alexwood]

My head exploded while trying to follow the family tree spreadsheet that the forensic social worker prepared on defendant and his relatives.

 

[Hope4More]

The State, on cross, should ask: what percentage of Americans are exposed to violence and/or substance abuse when growing up? And/or were sexually or emotionally abused?

And, what percentage of those folks go on to kill their babies?

ETA: beginning to get genuinely triggered by this lady. Seeing violence as a child is NOT a justification or even an explanation for being violent as an adult. My very first memories are of witnessing extreme violence by a parent; emotional /psychological/verbal abuse was the only language spoken at home for my entire childhood- and beyond. Yet I never so much as spanked my child, have never said a single mean or derogatory thing to him, and have never taken out my anger on him. And no, that's neither unusual or special.

This sad excuse for a person made CHOICES, again and again and again and again and again that night, and for all the years beforehand during which he tormented and abused both his wife and babies.

Cry me a river. May this show soon be over and a DP delivered.

Adding one final rant: if Jr. was so traumatized by an abusive father & crazy family, WTH did he kidnap his children and hand them over to that father & crazy family? Right.

 

[YESorNO]

Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 18m18 minutes ago
Grey testifies, after a short break, that Jones Jr grew up in a home full of violence, drugs, screaming, guns, and police calls. @WLTX


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 1h1 hour ago
The jury returns to the courtroom, and Grey is back on the stand. She starts talking about what happens when a child is exposed to trauma at a young age, and how it impacts development.


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 1h1 hour ago
While Jones Jr. grew up at his grandmother's house, Grey says there was, among other things, attempted shootings, the sale of marijuana and cocaine, violence, and an instance where his grandmother stabbed his grandfather while painting the ceiling.


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 1h1 hour ago
Grey says growing up in this environment had an effect on Tim Jr., saying that he wasn't very social, he had an imaginary friend, and would cry if somebody looked at him the wrong way.


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 47m47 minutes ago
As Jones Jr. was being raised (age 3-10) in his grandparent's house, he witnessed verbal and physical abuse, drug use, alcohol use, etc. He would go into his room to get away from chaos. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 59m59 minutes ago
There were times, when Jones Sr. and his new wife would get into physical and verbal altercations, that (according to Grey) Jones Jr. would hide in his room. She also says it was around this time, he "felt loved and accepted by Jesus Christ", and his religious views developed.


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 44m44 minutes ago
When Tim Jones Sr. remarried, he and Jones Jr. moved in with his new-stepmother and her two children. Even there, Jones Jr. was exposed to repeated instances of domestic violence, drug/alcohol use and feelings of being unwanted. @wis10


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 7m7 minutes ago
Grey says Timothy Jones was sexually assaulted by a man in the neighborhood. Grey says he forced him to perform oral sex on him. Grey says he kept it a secret because he was ashamed. @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 21m21 minutes ago
According to Grey, Timothy Jones Junior is the first family member to graduate High School and college @wachfox


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 10m10 minutes ago
Grey says Jones Jr learned self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, and family violence from the home @WLTX


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 7m7 minutes ago
Jury breaks for lunch and told to be back around 1:45pm @WLTX

 

[alexwood]

The State, on cross, should ask: what percentage of Americans are exposed to violence and/or substance abuse when growing up? And/or were sexually or emotionally abused?

And, what percentage of those folks go on to kill their babies?

ETA: beginning to get genuinely triggered by this lady. Seeing violence as a child is NOT a justification or even an explanation for being violent as an adult. My very first memories are of witnessing extreme violence by a parent; emotional /psychological/verbal abuse was the only language spoken at home for my entire childhood- and beyond. Yet I never so much as spanked my child, have never said a single mean or derogatory thing to him, and have never taken out my anger on him. And no, that's neither unusual or special.

This sad excuse for a person made CHOICES, again and again and again and again and again that night, and for all the years beforehand during which he tormented and abused both his wife and babies.

Cry me a river. May this show soon be over and a DP delivered.

Yeah, she is a little too "warm and fuzzy" towards "Timmy" to suit me. Go off somewhere and crunch some granola or hug a tree, lady.

Sorry for what you endured, Hope! We, your fellow 'Sleuths, love you!

I know that he will get exactly what you have predicted.

 

[Hope4More]

Yeah, she is a little too "warm and fuzzy" towards "Timmy" to suit me. Go off somewhere and crunch some granola or hug a tree, lady.

Sorry for what you endured, Hope! We, your fellow 'Sleuths, love you!

I know that he will get exactly what you have predicted.

(Thanks. It's all good).

I don't have any problem with crunchy granola or hugging trees. I sure do with folks who make excuses for the unforgivable.

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 23m23 minutes ago
Here's a look at the family tree Grey has been analyzing to the jury on the stand. Details a bunch of psychological issues some family members endured from generation to generation.

Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 27m27 minutes ago
A look inside the courtroom this morning, as we've heard testimony from a social historian who spent three years interviewing Jones family members and reviewing medical documents. @wis10

Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 19m19 minutes ago
BREAKING: Jones ex-wife, Amber Kyzer, is sitting in the back of the courtroom after walking in with Boyd Young. Unclear if she will testify. @WLTX


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 18m18 minutes ago
I have not seen (I’ve been in the courtroom for most, but not all, of testimony, there’s a media room elsewhere in the courthouse) nor heard from Amber since her emotional testimony during the guilt phase of the trial. @WLTX


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 13m13 minutes ago
Amber Kyzer, the ex-wife of Timothy Jones is in court right now. I've been told she will be called by the defense to testify when the jury gets back from lunch. @wachfox


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
Jury is still on lunch break. Among the people in the courtroom is Amber Kyzer, the ex-wife of Timothy Jones Jr. Other family members are also inside the courtroom.


Jacob Reynolds‏Verified account @JRFromTheSouth 1m1 minute ago
At the moment, the defense was in the middle of questioning Jones’ social historian, so after the lunch break they’d have to finish that or otherwise end her testimony before, and I emphasis potentially, they’d call Amber. @WLTX

 

[YESorNO]

Rapes, voodoo ritual in killer dad’s chaotic upbringing

June 11, 2019

"COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Defense lawyers for a South Carolina father who killed his five children called a social worker to testify Tuesday about his chaotic upbringing, from how his father was born to a 12-year-old victim to how his mother said she was locked in a closet during a voodoo ritual.

Permission for social worker Deborah Grey’s testimony during the sentencing phase of Timothy Jones Jr.’s trial was fiercely disputed. Prosecutors earlier persuaded the judge not to let her testify before a jury convicted Jones of five counts of murder for the killings in his Lexington home in August 2014....

Grey testified Tuesday only after hours of argument over what she could and could not say. During the sentencing phase, the defense has wider latitude to try to show what might have led to the crime....

Griffith frequently told Grey “move along” or “keep moving” when she tried to go into details about Jones’ family. Tuesday marked the fourth week of testimony in Jones’ trial.

Jones’ lawyers are trying to show he struggled from undiagnosed mental illness and cracked when he became a single father of five after his marriage failed...."

Rapes, voodoo ritual in killer dad's chaotic upbringing

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 30m30 minutes ago
With Jones’s ex-wife in the courtroom, we are hearing the defense might call her to the stand once Deborah Gray, the social historian, wraps up her testimony.

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 21m21 minutes ago
As of 2:15, the jury has not returned from their lunch break.


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 19m19 minutes ago
Judge Griffith re-enters the courtroom and starts taking with Boyd Young (defense), and Rick Hubbard and Suzanne Mayes (prosecution). Jury has yet to be called back in.


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 9m9 minutes ago
Jury just re-entered the courtroom.
Amber Kyzer takes the stand.


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 3m3 minutes ago
The defense calls Amber Kyzer to the stand, the mother of the five Jones children. STAY TUNED. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 7m7 minutes ago
She starts her testimony by saying she’s here “for her babies”. Says at first she had a strong relationship with Jones, but then it became volatile.


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 8m8 minutes ago
Kyzer cries that she had nothing to offer her children at the time of the separation between her and her ex-husband, Timothy Jones. Kyzer says she trusted her husband to take care of the children because he had been a good father while they were married @wachfox


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 4m4 minutes ago
When asked if she wants her ex-husband to die, she says personally does not want anyone to die, but as a mother, “she wants to rip his face off.” She says she does not want the Jones family to feel her pain.


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 7m7 minutes ago
Kyzer says she can't bring herself to want anyone to die when asked if she wants Timothy Jones to die... "As a mother, if I could personally rip his face off.. I would.. That's the mom in me, to make him feel everything they felt." @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 7m7 minutes ago
Kyzer says she prays for her ex-husband and his family all the time and for her family because they never got to know the children. #TimothyJones @wachfox


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 4m4 minutes ago
Amber says she prays for Tim and his family often, but she says she can’t personally bring herself to wanting somebody to die.
In the past five years, Amber says she has lost 11 family members (including the five children).


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
Amber says Tim Jr. did not show the children mercy, but she says the children loved their father. She tells her ex-husband that “nothing justifies” what he did to their children.

 

[Hope4More]

Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 3m3 minutes ago
The defense calls Amber Kyzer to the stand, the mother of the five Jones children. STAY TUNED. @wis10

How dare they? I can't believe she volunteered to try to help save his life.

 

[YESorNO]

Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 7m7 minutes ago
Kyzer says she had 8 babies with Timothy Jones, 5 healthy, 2 miscarriages, and one stillborn. She says she's experienced a lot of loss @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 6m6 minutes ago
"He did not show my children mercy by any means... but my children loved him and I'm here on behalf of my children," Kyzer cries. "Nothing justifies what you've done to my babies," Kyzer says TO Timothy Jones, "but they loved you... they loved you..." @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 4m4 minutes ago
Kyzer says she doesn't want anyone to feel anymore loss and that she wants mercy for her ex-husband, Timothy Jones. @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 3m3 minutes ago
Kyzer says she told her children repeatedly that they were loved, wanted, and important when she would talk to them on the phone. #TimothyJones @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 1m1 minute ago
Kyzer says to the jury, "I need you guys to know I make whatever choice you guys make." #TimothyJones @wachfox

 

[alexwood]

How dare they? I can't believe she volunteered to try to help save his life.

I still believe that the jury will vote for the death penalty.

 

[YESorNO]

Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 7m7 minutes ago
Suzanne Mayes begins her cross-examination on Amber. She tells the jury she has a three-year-old who looks identical to her oldest daughter, Merah, but “she’s not Merah.”


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
Amber says she was subpoenaed to testify, saying she respects the state’s right to pursue the death penalty, and that as a mother, she would “shred (her ex-husband’s) face off.”


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 32s33 seconds ago
She continually states she does not believe in the death penalty. She then starts talking about incidents of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, including a time when he threw a phone and knocked her back teeth out.


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 7m7 minutes ago
A strong believer in no death penalty, Kyzer said she learned many of the intimate details of her children's death along with the jury during the trial. "In retrospect, the mother in me was like “fry him, fry him." Says she's been conflicted. @wis10


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 6m6 minutes ago
Kyzer does say when she first heard of everything that happened to her children, she thought, "fry him." #TimothyJones @wachfox


Courtney King‏ @CourtReportKing 3m3 minutes ago
Kyzer says her oldest two children, Merah and Eli, witnessed the violence she describes by #TimothyJones. Says Jones would say he would chop her up and feed her to the pigs... @wachfox


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 3m3 minutes ago
A tumultuous eight year marriage, Kyzer said Jones threatened to "chop me up and feed me to pigs, because they’d eat everything except for my teeth and no one would ever find me." @wis10


Caroline Hecker‏Verified account @CHecker_WIS 4m4 minutes ago
Kyzer, clearly very conflicted, tells the jury she's never believed in the death penalty and wants mercy for Tim Jones Jr., but wants to "rip his face off" to make him feel the pain he's put everyone through. @wis10


Tim Scott‏ @TimScottTV 3m3 minutes ago
When talking about the abuse, Kyzer recalls a time when Jones threatened to chop her up “and feed her to the pigs.” She says Nahtahn and Merah wanted to be with her, and she says she was adamant about not missing a visit with her kids.