Son indicted in Nesmith homicide case

COLUMBIA - United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins announced on Friday, May 1, 2009 that Timothy James Poole, 35, and Jodie Ann Poole, 33, both of Florence, South Carolina, are in federal custody after a federal grand jury issued an indictment against them yesterday. The Pooles will make an initial appearance in federal court in Florence either Friday or Monday.

The indictment charges the Pooles with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, seventeen counts of mail fraud, and two counts of wire fraud. Each count in the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. 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 his mother and step-father, William Henry Hilton, Jr., at their Lakewood Plantation at Nesmith in Williamsburg County, and then caused mailings in order to fraudulently benefit from her trust and estate. The indictment further alleges that Timothy Poole and Jodie Poole concealed 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 served as a deputy with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office from 1997 to 2002.

Poole was earlier arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime by the Williamsburg County Sheriffs Department in November 2006.

Linda Bright-Poole Hilton, 60, and her husband of about two years, William Henry “Bubba” Hilton Jr., 64, were found shot to death Aug. 2, 2006 in the Nesmith community of eastern Williamsburg County.

The body of Linda Hilton, who owned and operated a store in Pawleys Island, was found in the yard of their residence. Her husband’s body was found inside their house, Sheriff Kelvin Washington said.

They were found between noon and 1 p.m. by a caretaker at their Lakewood Plantation home, at 784 Friendship Church Road.

On December 15, 2006, Circuit Judge Clifton Newman on Dec. 15 denied bond. But a few days later, Williamsburg County magistrate William Driggers presided over Poole’s preliminary hearing and dismissed the charges against him, ruling there was not enough probable cause to pursue the case.

Sheriff Kelvin Washington protested at that time, saying, “Our position is the same as it was from the beginning, that this case was a very strong case.”

Washington said Friday that his office then enlisted the aid of federal authorities to continue the investigation, from which additional information was gained. He said also that some federal statutes came into play.

The case was investigated by the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshal’s Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rose Mary Parham and Buddy Bethea of the Florence office.

Mr. Wilkins stated that the charges in this Indictment are merely accusations, and that the defendants charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.