Authorities in Florida said Monday that they found the remains of what appear to be four missing children and their dead mother.
The woman’s husband was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Casei Jones, 32, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods told reporters.
The children were identified as Cameron Bowers, 10; Preston Bowers, 5; Mercalli Jones, 2; and Aiyana Jones, 1.
Michael Wayne Jones, Jr., 38, had not been charged in the children's deaths, but Woods’ office said in a statement that more charges “may be forthcoming.”
Michael Jones was the father of two of the children; the other two were from a previous marriage, a sheriff's spokesman said.
“How someone could do this, I do not know,” Woods said, adding that “true evil poked its head up” in Marion County.
The sheriff’s office said Casei Jones and her children were reported missing by her relatives on Saturday after she hadn’t been seen in six weeks.
The woman’s body was found Sunday in her husband’s car after he was involved in a car accident north of the Florida state line, in Brantley County, Georgia, the statement said.
Michael Jones later led detectives to the children’s remains, though they hadn’t yet been positively identified, the statement said.
Michael Jones allegedly stored the bodies at their home in an unincorporated community in Marion County before taking them to Georgia, the sheriff’s office said.
Woods said it wasn’t clear why Michael Jones allegedly killed his wife, “but we will do our damndest to find out how it was done,” he said.
The sheriff's spokesman said Michael Jones remained in jail in Georgia. It wasn't immediately clear when he would be moved to Florida.