Suspect extradited back to Florida after wife, four children found dead in Georgia

OCALA, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A Marion County man who is accused of murdering his wife and four children has been extradited back to Florida after being found in Georgia.

Ocala resident Casei Jones, 32, and her four children were reported missing on Saturday after family members had not heard from them in about six weeks. 

On Monday, deputies announced that they found the body of the missing mother and the remains of the four missing children in Georgia. Casei's body was located in a vehicle that her husband, 38-year-old Michael Waye Jones Jr., was driving. Deputies found him after he crashed in Brantley County. He later led detectives to the remains of the children.

Detectives believe Jones drove around with his family's bodies in his car for about two to three weeks.

"[He] immediately told the officers there that responded to the car wreck that to just go ahead and arrest him because his wife's body was inside the van," Sergeant Paul Bloom of the Marion County Sheriff's Office said. "Just prior to that, he had disposed of the bodies of the four children."

"These bodies were decomposed unfortunately," Sgt. Bloom said. "We suspect that they were killed about six weeks ago. So, these autopsies may not be as simple and straightforward as others have been."

Authorities believe that Jones murdered his wife and four children. He currently is only being charged with second-degree murder for the death of his wife. As soon as the autopsies are done, deputies said those charges will be upgraded.

Jones was extradited back to Marion County on Wednesday and will have his first appearance on Thursday morning in front of a judge.

Casei's mother spoke to FOX 35 about the killings, stating the Jones "took my whole world away."

"I just want everybody to know that my babies were innocent and they were thrown away like trash," she said. "All he had to do was tell me to come and get them. I would've came and got them."

Casei's family is working to make funeral arrangements.

Community members, including the family's neighbors, are still in disbelief.

"What has to be going on in somebody's mind to do this to people that he loved and cared about," neighbor Trisha Garren said. "I just think of my kids' faces. What if somebody were to do that to us?"

This story was written in Orlando, Florida.