Double Slaying of Parents

Jury Convicts Poole on All Federal Charges Stemming from Double Slaying of Parents


March 10, 2010 - COLUMBIA, SC—Acting United States Attorney Kevin McDonald announced today that after a two-week trial and deliberating only an hour-and-a-half, a federal jury just convicted TIMOTHY JAMES POOLE, age 36, of all 20 counts in the indictment charging mail and wire fraud in connection with the August 1, 2006, double murders of Linda Poole Hilton and Henry Hilton. Poole will be sentenced at a later date by United States District Judge Bryan Harwell and faces a possible sentence of 400 years' imprisonment.

Assistant United States Attorneys Rose Mary Parham and Buddy Bethea state that they are pleased with the jury’s verdict and thankful that justice was served. “It has been a long and difficult three years for the family and friends of Linda and Henry Hilton. We hope that the family, friends, and community will sleep a little better tonight knowing that the person who committed these horrific crimes will remain in prison.”

Evidence in the case established that Timothy Poole shot and killed his adoptive mother, Linda Poole Hilton, and step-father, William Henry Hilton, Jr., execution-style at their Lakewood Plantation in Williamsburg County in order to obtain money from their trusts and estates. Timothy Poole served as a deputy with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office from 1997 to 2002.

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.