Former Florence deputy's mistresses testify in federal trial

FLORENCE — The jury in the case of an ex-deputy sheriff heard detailed and, at times, sexually explicit testimony from two of his mistresses, one of whom spoke extensively about their affair and a pair of tennis shoes she purchased for him that are central to the case of mother’s and stepfather’s slayings.

Timothy Poole, a former Florence County sheriff’s deputy, is charged in a 20-count federal indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 17 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud. The charges are in connection with the slayings of his mother, Linda Poole-Hilton, and his stepfather, Henry “Bubba” Hilton Jr.

Their bodies were discovered Aug. 2, 2006, by groundskeepers at their 2,000-acre estate in Nesmith in Williamsburg County.

Mia Evans testified she met Timothy Poole and his wife, Jodie Ann Poole, at a Florence bar in 2005 and became fast friends with the couple.

Timothy Poole later asked her to participate in a threesome with him and his wife, Evans testified. When she arrived at the couple’s home, he told her to wait downstairs because he had to “talk (Jodie) into it,” Evans said.

During the threesome, Jodie Ann Poole began crying and refused to continue.

During cross-examination Kirk Truslow, Timothy Poole’s defense attorney, suggested Jodie Ann Poole wasn’t as easily influenced by his client as previous witnesses had suggested.

“ ... this thing was gettin’ going right?” Truslow asked Evans of the threesome.

“Yes sir,” Evans said.

“But she said, ‘This ain’t happening,’” Truslow said.

Jodie Ann Poole is charged in the same federal indictment as her husband and admitted he asked her to lie to investigators about his whereabouts on the night his the Hiltons were slain. She signed an agreement with prosecutors in February granting her full immunity from further prosecution in exchange for her testimony, which she gave Thursday, in her husband’s trial.

Evans explained she later moved in with the Pooles and her relationship with Timothy Poole became physical with time.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham, who is prosecuting the case, asked Evans several questions about a pair of New Balance sneakers she purchased for Timothy Poole in 2005. Investigators said an impression found at the crime scene was made by the killer, who was wearing New Balance shoes.

Evans testified she saw Timothy Poole wearing the shoes shortly before his the Hiltons’ deaths. She said she remembered he was wearing the blue and gray shoes with a black shirt because the colors clashed.

“I said, ‘Tim, I trained you better than that,’ because he had them on with a black shirt,” she said.

Evans testified she asked Timothy Poole about the shoes’ whereabouts when she visited him in jail after his arrest for murder. State murder charges against Timothy Poole were dismissed Dec. 27, 2006.

Evans said Timothy Poole told her he’d mistakenly poured gasoline on the sneakers and had to throw them away.

Months later, he told her the shoes not only had been ruined by gasoline, but then had been eaten by his two dogs, Evans said.

Another mistress, Rachel Atkinson, testified Monday the Pooles told her their family dogs ate Timothy Poole’s missing New Balance shoes.

After the Hiltons’ deaths Jodie Ann Poole asked Atkinson if her husband left a pair of New Balance shoes at her house. Jodie Ann Poole testified Thursday she didn’t remember ever seeing any men’s New Balance shoes in her home.

Atkinson told the court she and Timothy Poole had sex after a shower for her newborn baby.

Evans also said she’d seen a revolver in the console of Timothy Poole’s Cadillac Escalade on several occasions. Previous testimony in the trial indicated the Hiltons were killed by shots fired from a revolver, though one was never found or linked to the case.

Mark Johnson, the personal representative for Poole-Hilton’s estate, testified Monday a revolver, along with a woman’s Rolex watch, are missing from the gun safe at the Hiltons’ Lakewood Plantation home.

Johnson said Timothy Poole knew where the key to this safe was kept and was the one who opened it for him so he could get Poole-Hilton’s will to carry out her wishes after her death.

Evans told the jury Poole-Hilton found out about her affair with her son. Evans said Timothy Poole said he had to stop seeing her because his mom was going to “cut him off.”

Poole-Hilton didn’t believe in divorce and wanted her son to repair his relationship with his wife, Evans said.

The two later began seeing each other again but broke up because she began seeing a woman at her workplace named Marsha, Evans said.

Timothy Poole was angry about this, Evans said, but they later reconciled.

Evans said things between her and Timothy Poole ended for good because of distrust between two of them and because of the Hiltons' slayings.

“You learned you weren’t his only mistress?” Truslow asked.

“Oh yeah,” Evans said.

“And he wasn’t your only mistress?” he asked. “ ... you had Marsha, didn’t you?”

Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning at the McMillan Federal Building in Florence.