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State will seek death penalty for Florida man charged with murder of wife and four children

Michael Wayne Jones Jr., 38, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his two children and two stepchildren.

A man accused of the brutal slaying of his wife and her four children faces the ultimate penalty if convicted.

A judge informed Michael Wayne Jones Jr. of the penalty he faces Tuesday after a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with murdering his wife and her four children.  

Jones, 38, was charged Monday with four counts of first-degree premeditated homicide, and one count of murder in the second degree. The first four counts are capital offenses, punishable by death. Upon conviction at trial, the judge said prosecutors will seek the death penalty. 

The last count of second-degree murder is a first-degree felony, punishable by life in prison 

Jones did not enter a plea but confirmed he wanted to continue with a public defender. 

He was not granted a bond due to him being a flight risk. 

His next court date will be Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. 

Detectives say he killed his wife by blunt-force trauma on July 10 and then killed the two oldest children the following day by strangulation. Two weeks later, detectives believe the suspect killed the two youngest children by drowning them. 

He then left the bodies inside the home for a few weeks before placing them into his van and leaving them there for at least two more weeks, according to the sheriff's office.

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