FLORENCE -- Jury selection is expected to begin today in the federal case of Timothy James Poole, a former Florence County Sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering his parents for monetary gain.
Timothy will be tried separately from his wife, Jodie Ann Poole during a federal trial expected to begin Monday.
Timothy Poole and Jodie Poole were named in the same 20-count federal indictment that accuses both of mailing documents that will allow Timothy Poole to benefit from his mother Linda Poole Hilton estate once she died.
Each face one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 17 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud in connection with the August 2,2006 shooting deaths of Hilton and her husband, Timothy Poole’s stepfather, Henry “Bubba” Hilton Jr.
State murder charges against Poole were dismissed on Dec. 27, 2006, according to a memorandum previously filed by Kirk Truslow, who is representing Timothy Poole in the case.
Truslow had previously asked for the court to sever Jodie Ann Poole as his client’s co-defendant. U.S. District Cout Judge Bryan Harwell grant Truslow’s motion.
Prosecutors think the two mailed documents that would lead to Poole’s benefiting from his mother Linda Poole Hilton’s estate once she died.
Federal authorities allege that before her death, Poole-Hilton became “increasingly disenchanted ” with her son Timothy’s behavior and threaten to stop assisting him financially as of August 2006.
Prosecutors said letters written by Poole Hilton before her death support this.
Poole’s lawyer wrote that there were letters found on the victim’s computer, but there was no indication the letters were ever printed, signed or mailed.
Also in August 2006, 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.
Poole’s lawyers said the victim intended to stop paying the suspect’s mortgage but also offered to let him and his family live rent-free in another home she owned.
According to the indictment, if Hilton died, the three Poole children would receive funds from their mother’s estate under the terms of the trust.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement