Memorial service in Mississippi honors five slain children

A memorial service was held Friday in Mississippi at a church whose members knew the five slain children from Lexington County.

Their grandparents are in the congregation, and the older children had attended Vacation Bible School there in July.

The front of Amory Church of Christ was filled with five grapevine wreaths decorated with ribbons, flowers and balloons. In the center of each wreath was a picture of each child.

“You are a part of a loving, caring and supporting town and church,” youth minister Derrick Maranto told the Jones family. “We want to help heal the hurts.”

The memorial service was emotional for the Jones family. Timothy Jones Sr., whose son is accused of killing the five children, then driving hundreds of miles and dumping their bodies in rural Alabama, cried throughout.

The service was attended by a large crowd, including local and national media, and was late starting.

“Merah, Elias, Nahtahn, Gabriel, and Elaine attended VBS here this July,” pastor Phillip Hathcock told those in attendance. “They loved going to church and singing songs.”

And in 2013, the children spent the summer with their grandfather and his wife, Julie. Their father paid their aunt, Jacqueline Sienkowski Jones, to babysit the children.

“Now the beauty of where they are is far superior to here,” Hathcock said.

“What we say to you is a small thing,” he told the Jones family. “You have more reason to want to go to heaven today than before to see these special children again.”

Hathcock said children are a gift from God. He said he believed Jesus would put His hands on them and take care of them.

“We believe that God’s angels took them all together to heaven,” he said.

Danny Ray of Kentucky, a member of the Jones family, said the family had learned through the years to stick together in tough times, and this was a tough time.

“We can’t give an answer to why things happen,” Ray said. “We will never know why. ... We have to trust in Jesus.

“We have to love Timmy. Jesus loves him. We all have done wrong and need forgiveness at some time,” Ray said.

A slide show showed happier times in the children’s lives.

The program that was handed to those who attended said the youngest, Elaine, “loved giving high fives and kisses.” The oldest, Merah Gracie, enjoyed reading books and coloring. Two of the boys – 7-year-old Elias and 6-year-old Nahtahn – loved to fish. Their brother, Gabriel, enjoyed watching Care Bears and “VeggieTales.”

At the end of the program’s description for the four oldest children, it said: “loved wrestling with dad.”

People gathered afterward on the church lawn, holding onto balloons they were given as they left the building. After hugging and visiting with guests, Timothy Sr. opened his hand and released his balloons first.

The sky soon filled with color.

The Associated Press contributed.

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Memorial service in Mississippi honors five slain children."