Timothy Jones Jr. was born on December 28, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Timothy Jones Sr. and Cindy Jones. Cindy was very young, only 16, when she became pregnant. Reports indicate that she was violent and often acted erratically. She did strange things, like giving her infant son laxatives and cutting up clothes with knives. While she was never formally diagnosed, it is believed she had a mental illness. When Timothy was 18 months old, his mother left the family. His father later remarried.

In 2001, he was arrested in Illinois for several crimes, including possession of cocaine, check forgery, and car theft. He received a seven-year prison sentence but was released after serving just two years in 2003.

After his release, Timothy moved to Chicago, where he met Amber Kyzer. They married in June 2004 when he was 22 and she was 18. The couple had five children together. Their first child, Merah, was born in Pennsylvania. The next two, Elias and Nahtahn, were born in Mississippi, and the last two, Gabriel and Abigail, were born in South Carolina.

In 2011, Timothy graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in computer engineering. Following his graduation, he relocated to South Carolina to work as an engineer for Intel in Columbia. He earned about $71,000 a year, and the family lived in a modest trailer while Amber stayed at home with the children.

In May 2012, the couple separated for two weeks. During this time, Timothy discovered that Amber was having an affair with a neighbor. He began attending therapy sessions to address his trust issues stemming from his troubled childhood. Social services investigated them in 2011 after concerns about neglect arose, but the case was ultimately closed.

Timothy and Amber finalized their divorce in October 2013, with Timothy awarded custody of their children. Amber had visitation rights but had to be supervised during her visits. After the divorce, Timothy continued to raise his children in a trailer in Red Bank, South Carolina.

While living in South Carolina, Timothy was investigated twice for child abuse, but each case was closed due to lack of evidence. Reports indicated that the home was often in disarray, and there were claims from the children about how he disciplined them. Despite these investigations, the children remained with him.

On August 28, 2014, Timothy Jones Jr. picked up his three oldest children, Merah, Elias, and Nahtahn, from school and his two youngest, Gabriel and Abigail, from daycare. That evening, at 7:12 p.m., Amber Jones called and spoke with Nahtahn. After that call, she could not reach her ex-husband or her children. It is believed that Jones killed his children later that night at their home. He wrapped their bodies in black trash bags and used bleach to cover up the smell of decay.

On September 1, during Labor Day, Jones visited a Dunkin' Donuts. By September 3, he shopped at a Walmart, buying items to mutilate his children, including plastic bins and saws. His children had been marked absent from school for several days. On September 3, Amber reported to authorities that she could not contact Jones or the kids, leading them to list the family as missing.

The bodies of the five children were discovered on September 6, 2014, in trash bags along a dirt road in Alabama. On the same day, Jones was stopped at a traffic checkpoint in Mississippi. He appeared erratic, and police discovered evidence connecting him to the crimes, including blood in his vehicle. Jones later led authorities to the location where he had disposed of his children's bodies.

An autopsy revealed that all five children had been murdered by asphyxiation due to manual strangulation. The bodies showed significant decomposition, with signs of animal activity and neglect. Dr. Janice Ross, who conducted the autopsies, concluded that the children had all died from homicides but could not determine the exact time of death.

After being extradited to South Carolina, Jones initially refused to explain why he killed his children. He later claimed that he feared his children would harm him. During his trial, Jones pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His confession was recorded, and he detailed how he killed his children, stating he lost control after finding Nahtahn dead. He also described his intentions to dispose of the bodies.

However, testimonies from family, friends, and professionals suggested Jones was aware of his actions. On June 4, 2019, a jury found him guilty of five counts of murder. On June 13, 2019, he was sentenced to death. In 2023, as he awaits execution, his appeal for a new trial was denied by the South Carolina Supreme Court.