Ellington

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a South Carolina man killed his five children at home, "by violent means," about a week before his ex-wife reported them missing.

Lexington County Coroner Earl Wells and Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty released the information Thursday. Wells said an investigation into the cause of their deaths is continuing.

In a news release, McCarty said that arrest warrants allege Timothy Ray Jones Jr. "willfully and maliciously killed his five children by violent means at his Lexington home."

The 32-year-old Jones is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 10 a.m. Friday, one day after he was returned to South Carolina. That's the same day a memorial service was scheduled for his children in Mississippi, where other relatives live.