Pooles plead not guilty in federal case related to slayings

A former Florence County Sheriff’s deputy has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he shot his adoptive mother and stepfather in 2006 so he could obtain money from their estate, according to federal court documents.

Timothy James Poole, 35, along with his wife, 33-year-old Jodie Ann Poole, who also pleaded not guilty, were arrested May 1 and taken into federal custody after a federal grand jury issued a 26-page, 20-count indictment in connection with the death of Poole’s parents Linda Poole Hilton and William Henry “Bubba” Hilton Jr. of Nesmith.

The Pooles each face one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 17 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

Each count in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Under federal law, sentences for separate counts can be ordered to run consecutively.

The indictment charges that as part of the conspiracy, Timothy Poole shot and killed Poole-Hilton and Hilton at the couple’s Lakewood Plantation home on Aug. 2, 2006, then “caused mailings in order to fraudulently benefit from her trust and estate,” according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins.

The body of Poole-Hilton was found in the yard of her residence, while her husband’s body was found inside the house, Williamsburg County Sheriff Kelvin Washington said in a previous interview.

The Hiltons had been shot multiple times and were probably killed the night before their bodies were discovered by a caretaker, the sheriff said.

Poole-Hilton and her late husband, Richard Poole, adopted Timothy and three of his siblings, and Richard Poole set up a substantial trust fund for his wife, which she inherited upon his death in 2001.

After Poole-Hilton’s death, the remaining Poole children, Jodie Poole and her children stood to gain the principal of the trust, according to the indictment.

Poole-Hilton changed her will in 2005 about a year after marrying Hilton and made him the primary beneficiary to her estate as long as she preceded him in death.

A standard clause in the will stated that if the two were to die under circumstances where it was unclear who died first, then it was to be presumed that Hilton died first.

If Hilton died first, the three Poole children would receive funds from their mother’s estate under the terms of the trust, according to the indictment.

Federal authorities allege that before her death, Poole-Hilton became “increasingly disenchanted” with her son Timothy’s behavior and threatened to stop assisting him financially as of August 2006.

That same month, Timothy and Jodie Poole had financial difficulties , including the impending foreclosure of their Florence home and the bank repossessing their vehicle, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that Timothy and Jodie Poole conspired to conceal Timothy Poole’s involvement in the murder to preserve his status as an heir and to insure his eligibility to receive income from various trusts and estates immediately, rather than at the end of his mother’s natural life.

Timothy Poole, who served as a deputy with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office from 1997 to 2002, originally was arrested in connection with the deaths of his mother and stepfather Nov. 22, 2006. But he was released Dec. 27, 2006, by William Driggers, a part-time Williamsburg County magistrate, who ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to send the case before a grand jury.

Timothy Poole is being represented in the case by North Myrtle Beach attorney T. Kirk Truslow. Jodie Poole is being represented by federal public defender Bill Nettles of Florence. No trial date has been scheduled.