Timothy Ray Jones Jr., 32, led police investigators to a location in Alabama where he put the bodies of his five children, The State reported.
Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty said Wednesday that police believed Jones transported the bodies in garbage bags, crossing three states on his trip from Lexington County, South Carolina to Camden, Alabama. Police were tipped off to the crime when Jones was pulled over for a traffic stop in Mississippi and officers noticed blood and suspicious items in his car.
Jones was previously been investigated by the Department of Social Services on Aug. 7, after the department received a report of neglect. A DSS investigation found that the report was unsupported and that the children, ages 1 to 8 years old, were in no danger, according to DSS official Jackie Swindler. Jones’ ex-wife was the first to report the children missing on Sept. 3.
The children were last seen Aug. 28, when Jones picked them up from school and daycare.
—Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor
A grand jury indicted South Carolina Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell Wednesday for misuse of campaign funds, filing false reports and misconduct, The State reported.
Harrell, a Republican leader in the House of Representatives, is accused of using more than $90,000 in campaign funding for personal use — specifically on a personal airplane — and making $70,286 in improper salary payments to an employee at his private business. He faces nine charges, six of which are Using Campaign Funds for Personal Use.
Each charge is a misdemeanor, and the largest sentence that any one charge could carry is 10 years in prison.
The indictment comes after a long battle between Harrell’s lawyers and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, though recently Wilson passed the case off to 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe. Harrell maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, saying he never “intentionally violated any law.”
Despite his claims of innocence, Governor Nikki Haley did say that Harrell should resign from his position as Speaker of the House.
—Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor
The University of South Carolina was ranked No. 55 on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best public university in the country, The State reported.
This year marks the third straight year that the Gamecocks have finished 55th in the public university rankings.
USC dropped one spot from last year to 113th in overall national university rankings. Clemson, USC’s upstate rival, finished No. 20 in public university rankings and No. 62 overall.
USC finished first in International Business School rankings again, marking 16 straight years the program has been ranked best in the nation. New York University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California trailed in that ranking.
USC was also ranked as the No. 27 best college for veterans, the No. 23 best college for public health majors and the No. 18 best college for library and information studies.
This year, USC received an overall rating of 43 out of 100.
Clemson University received a grade of 56.
—Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor