Wife seeks mercy for ex-husband who killed their five children
A US man identified as Timothy Jones Jr. murdered his five minor kids in 2014. The eldest kid was 8 and the youngest just one. However, on Tuesday, Jones' former wife Amber Kyzer requested the jury to not give death penalty to her ex-husband, saying her kids loved their father. Kyzer's impassioned testimony stunned everyone. Here are the details about the barbaric crime.
Kyzer and Jones divorced in 2012, latter got kids' custody
Kyzer and Jones were married for eight years before parting ways in 2012. They lived in Lexington County. After their divorce, Kyzer didn't have resources to feed her kids and thought it was best if her husband got their custody. "I made the best decision I could. I trusted my husband at the time. He promised to take care of our children," Kyzer said.
Backstory: After murdering kids, Jones dumped them in trash bags
Kyzer used to call her kids every day at 7 PM but on August 28, 2014, something unusual happened. Her children Mera (8), Elias (7), Nahtahn (6) Gabriel (2) and Abigail (1) were screaming in the background. Her husband then disconnected the call and murdered the kids. After murdering them, Jones dumped their bodies in trash bags. He was arrested on September 6.
In her testimony, Kyzer cried remembering her kids
During the trial, Jones pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. After weeks of testimony, the jury found him guilty on June 4. Before Tuesday, Kyzer had testified only once. Last month, she cried in the court remembering her kids and apologized for not being there for them. In her latest appearance, she broke down again but asked the jury to give him mercy.
Jones was a terrible husband, Kyzer's testimony revealed
Kyzer recalled disturbing parts about her marriage too. She revealed once Jones spit at her face, while their young daughter watched. On another occasion, Jones threatened to chop her off and "feed to pigs". She said as a mother, she would want to rip Jones' face off. However, the magnanimous Kyzer didn't want Jones' family to lose their son, as she did.
Nothing justifies what you have done: Kyzer
"He did not show my children mercy by any means. But my kids loved him and if I'm speaking on behalf of my kids and not myself, that's what I would have to say. Nothing justifies, nothing justifies what you've done," Kyzer said.
The history of Jones' family is chaotic
In the court, defense lawyers shed light on Jones' chaotic upbringing. Jones' grandmother Deborah Grey was raped by her stepfather and gave birth to his father. She was only 12 years old when he was born. Jones' mother had schizophrenia and was apparently abused by her father. Rapes, molestation by family members, stabbings, drug deals, voodoo rituals, prostitution were common in Jones' family.
Jones thought his 6-year-old 'wanted' to kill him
Jones said in his confession that he killed 6-year-old Nahtahn as he thought he was 'conspiring' to kill him with his mother. After killing Nahtahn, he murdered the other kids because he didn't want them to return to Kyzer. Prosecutors claimed Jones used synthetic marijuana when he was supposed to take care of the kids. Both the sides blamed drugs for his behavior.
