Dad: Suspect in kids’ deaths not an ‘animal’

AMORY, Miss. (AP) — The father of a man who officials say has confessed to killing his five children calls his son a loving parent and not an animal. But he says the family may never have all the answers about the “tragic event.”

The father of 32-year-old Timothy Ray Jones Jr. made a brief statement outside his Amory home today.

Timothy Jones Sr. says the event has broken the family’s hearts. He refers to his son as Little Tim and says those who know him will agree that he is not the animal he will be portrayed as in news stories.

He did not take questions from reporters. The family referred further questions to an attorney.

Authorities say Jones Jr. will be charged with murder when he’s returned to South Carolina. He led authorities to the children’s bodies along a rural Alabama road on Tuesday after his arrest in Mississippi.