Judge named to oversee trial of father accused of killing 5 children in Red Bank

Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith of Newberry will oversee the trial of Timothy Jones, who is facing the death penalty for allegedly killing his 5 children at their Red Bank home in 2014.

Griffith, a judge for 8 years, was assigned the role recently by the state Supreme Court.

The appointment came a year after prosecutors asked for a judge to take charge of what is expected to be a time-consuming task.

Griffith will oversee a variety of requests from prosecutors and defense lawyers, some of which will be in private due to a gag order, in preparation for a trial not expected before 2018.

Jones is accused of one of the largest mass murders in the Midlands in decades.

Lexington County law enforcement officials believe he strangled and beat the children – Merah, 8, Elias, 7, Nahtahn, 6, Gabriel, 2, and Elaine, 1 – after picking them up from school and day care Aug. 28, 2014.

Their bodies were found in shallow graves in Alabama a week later.

Authorities began looking for the children after their mother – divorced from Jones – reported them missing.

This story was originally published March 10, 2017 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Judge named to oversee trial of father accused of killing 5 children in Red Bank."