Side notes:
 Amber M. Jones is 29 years old and was born in Pennsylvania.
 Timothy R. Jones Jr. (father of 5 children) was the custodial parent in the divorce settlement.
 According to the divorce file, Amber Jones was in an adulterous relationship with their 19-yearold neighbor Shawn; has not worked out of the home during the course of the marriage; did not
possess a driver’s license; and did not know how to operate a vehicle during their divorce.
Jones Family Timeline
(Includes dates/information obtained from Lexington County, S.C. Family Court file
and S.C. Department of Social Services)
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June 29, 2004
o Timothy and Amber Jones were married.
September 16, 2011
o Two SC DSS caseworkers went to the family home on Russell Rowe Road.
o No one was home. Caseworkers observed “piles of junk” in the yard and several
animals.
September 22, 2011
o Caseworker’s attempt to make contact at the home was unsuccessful.
September 29, 2011
o Caseworker visits home and finds Amber Jones pregnant and three other children, ages
3, 4, 5, at the home.
o Children are in good health and clean, and the home had ample food.
o Amber shares they are homeschooling the children when they are of age.
o Home had a lot of clutter, including tools, which the mother said was because of
construction Timothy was doing on the home.
o The mother said the children mostly stay at the neighbor’s home because of the
construction.
o Amber shared they just moved to Lexington, SC, from Missouri after Timothy got a job
at Intel out of school.
September 30, 2011
o DSS reported the home was cleaner at this visit.
October 5, 2011
o A caseworker called and left a message for Mrs. Jones.
October 6, 2011
o DSS requested any law enforcement records on the couple/family, but received nothing
back.
o Caseworker called Mr. and Mrs. Jones on both of their phones and left a message.
October 18, 2011
o Clutter was back in the home and an air vent was uncovered. A child’s foot fell in the air
vent area while the caseworker was at the home.
October 21, 2011
o Home was reported cleaner on this follow-up visit.
o
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Children were at the neighbor’s house watching a movie at the time of the visit. The
caseworkers saw the children and reported they were clean and dressed.
October 24, 2011
o Supervisor recommended the case be unfounded.
October 28, 2011
o Timothy became “hostile” with a caseworker on the phone when DSS came out for
another visit.
o A police officer was called to the house and Timothy arrived at the house and took them
into the home for an inspection.
o A list of what to fix/clean in the house was given to Timothy and the family had to leave
the home and go to a hotel.
October 31, 2011
o Timothy was the only one at the home for the DSS visit and said the children were with
their mother.
o The home was “very, very, very clean” and the caseworker said the children can return
to the home.
November 4, 2011
o Supervisor notes showed review of the case and listed it as unfounded.
November 9, 2011
o DSS file said the case was noted on Oct. 28, 2011, for neglect because of risk for physical
injury due to conditions of the family home.
o There is no family support and the family indicated they may go back to Mississippi
temporarily for the family to help with the newborn.
December 9, 2011
o Case reassigned from previously assigned caseworker.
February 25, 2012
o An unannounced visit to the home showed no marks on the children and the home met
minimal standards.
April 25, 2012
o DSS reported the conditions were the same as the last visit.
o It was recorded now that the father and mother were separated and children remain
with their mother.
o The father’s residence is unknown.
May 3, 2012
o Timothy established care with marriage and family therapist, April M. Hames.
May 29, 2012
o An unannounced visit made and a safety plan was given to address housekeeping issues.
o Amber gave DSS an incident report number for domestic violence issues from the
weekend before.
o The case manager suggested she contact Sistercare and leave the home for shelter, but
Amber said she didn’t want to do that.
June 7, 2012
o Timothy and Amber Jones filed for divorce in Lexington County.
o Timothy Jones took the oldest three children to Mississippi to be cared for by his father.
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June 11, 2012
o Timothy Jones discovered his wife, Amber Jones, and the next door neighbor Shawn in
their home at 7:30 am.
June 18, 2012
o Amber told DSS that Timothy took the children out of state to live with the paternal
grandfather in Mississippi.
o The case manager got the address and phone number for the grandfather and advised
Amber to contact police and an attorney regarding custody of her children. The case
manager also suggested she contact Sistercare, again.
June 21, 2012
o April Hames met with Timothy Jones.
o In her opinion, “he was calm yet devastated” over finding his wife in the home with a
19-year-old.
o Hames says Jones is “capable of caring for his children as the sole custodial parent.”
June 26, 2012
o A voice message was received at DSS stating the mother went to Mississippi to get the
children from her estranged husband and paternal relatives and was told, “They ain’t
letting ‘em loose.”
July 30, 2012
o Timothy Jones Jr. was granted temporary custody of the four children, at the time.
August 16, 2012
o DSS reported Timothy took the four children to Mississippi with an open child protective
services case by way of a temporary order in a private action.
o Amber is six months pregnant and went to Ohio to visit her mother.
o SC DSS notified Mississippi DSS and sent a letter to the agency, but received no
response.
October 13, 2012
o Case manager submitted closure paperwork to supervisor.
October 16, 2012
o DSS case closed, stating, “Risk has been reduced and services no longer needed.”
December 2, 2012
o Elaine Marie, the couple’s fifth child, was born.
January 18, 2013
o Amber Jones was served an affidavit of service.
January 30, 2013
o Amber Jones was served an affidavit of service.
February 8, 2013
o Parties attended a divorce hearing.
o The children were in Mississippi with Timothy Jones’ family.
March 7, 2013
o Amber Jones was served an affidavit of service.
April 1, 2013
o Timothy and Amber Jones went to court for a temporary order.
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April 26, 2013
o Michelle Gorski, Guardian ad Litem for the minor children, accepted the certificate of
service on behalf of the children.
June 6, 2013
o Hearing notice and certificate of service for the divorce hearing.
August 16, 2013
o Amber Jones was served with a hearing notice and certificate of service for the divorce
hearing.
September 20, 2013
o Timothy and Amber Jones agreed to terminate their marriage upon written agreement.
October 15, 2013
o Divorce is final.
May 5, 2014
o Case manager visited children at school, who said their father likes to “horseplay” and
has them do pushups and other exercises for punishment.
o One child had a circular mark on the side of his neck.
o One child said she witnessed her father spank her brother 12 times.
o Both children did not appear to be afraid of their father.
o Case manager and a Lexington County Sheriff Department detective interviewed
Timothy. There was not enough to arrest him and the children remained at the home.
The case will stay under investigation.
May 6, 2014
o Case manager went back to the children’s schools for a follow-up and saw no marks on
the children.
May 15, 2014
o During a DSS unannounced visit, the family had cupcakes to celebrate one of the
children’s birthday.
o Timothy said Amber had not seen the children for four months and that she “walked out
on him for another man who was younger than he was.”
o The case manager noted he had good interaction with the children.
May 29, 2014
o Timothy Jones requests his own divorce case file at Lexington County Clerk of Court.
June 16, 2014
o Interview with Timothy and a DSS worker as well as a detective where Timothy said he
grabbed one child by his collar at the back of his shirt and spanked the child with his
pants on.
o At a home visit, the home was clean and the caseworker reviewed the safety plan that
said there was to be no physical discipline.
o Children seemed comfortable around Mr. Jones.
June 17, 2014
o DSS case submitted to supervisor for review.
o Case notes described Timothy as a single father of five children and also pointed out an
“excessive amount” of religious things in the home.
o
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The children said they saw their father grabbed one of the children by the chin, leaving a
mark on the child’s face.
July 24, 2014
o DSS case closed.
August 7, 2014
o A case manager and two LCSD deputies visited the home to find one child with a
bandage on his brow, which he said came after his sister hit him accidentally with a door
knob. Their babysitter confirmed the story. Timothy took the child to Doctors Care.
o The babysitter said Timothy and the children just returned from a trip to Disney World
and the beach.
o Another child had a scratch on the cheek, which they say came from a cat.
August 13, 2014
o Allegations made that Timothy beats his son and doesn’t feed the children enough –
adding he would get 20 pieces of chicken nuggets for all five children for dinner.
o Case manager found no signs of abuse at a visit and the children could recount what
they ate for dinner the night before.
o Timothy claimed it was a former babysitter “retaliating” since he started going to a
different babysitter closer to home.
o DSS noted it completed a background check on Timothy and noted he may be
overwhelmed.
September 3, 2014
o Police officer called DSS case manager to say the children’s elementary school asked for
a welfare check on the children because they had missed two days of school.
o The Escalade at the home normally wasn’t there when the officer went to the home.
o Timothy’s employer, Intel Corporation, wanted to file a missing person’s report because
he had not been to work in a couple of days.
o A grandmother in Mississippi was worried after Timothy and the children didn’t show up
for a planned visit.
September 4, 2014
o A DSS supervisor got a call from a sergeant with the LCSD asking for all contact
information available for Timothy Jones.
o There were no statements made to indicate the children were unsafe at this time.
September 8, 2014
o DSS (Charlene Mooneyhan) requests the divorce file from the Lexington County Clerk of
Court.