A father from South Carolina is suspected of allegedly murdering his five children and then dumping their bodies across state grounds in Alabama.

Authorities arrested 32-year-old Timothy Ray Jones, Jr. on unrelated charges Saturday during a traffic stop in Mississippi while he was driving to his parents' home.

He was detained when a sheriff's deputy who "had been around long enough to know the smell of death" decided to search the vehicle, according to a prosecutor, reports NBC News.

When cops searched his Escalade they found blood, bleach and rags in the vehicle. It was also noted that Jones was "high as a kite" on synthetic marijuana known on the street as Spice, according to Mississippi district attorney Daniel Jones.

While in custody, he confessed to killing his children, who ranged in age from 1 to 8 years old. He then led officials Tuesday evening to the Alabama woods where he buried each child in a separate garbage bag. Their bodies were discovered near two-lane highway near Camden, Alabama, said Alabama Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Steve Jarrett, reports the Associated Press.

Police believe Jones, who worked in the computer industry, killed the children in South Carolina sometime before Sept. 3, when his ex-wife reported that she could not contact him.

Just weeks before Jones killed his children, authorities were called to investigate a child-abuse complaint against him and decided they were not in danger.

"At that time there was nothing to alarm them immediately," said Department of Social Services director Jackie Swindler said of the caseworker, reports NBC News.

According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Jones was being held in Smith County, Mississippi and is awaiting to be sent back to South Carolina.

So far, he has been charged with child neglect, but police expect to add additional charges against him, authorities in South Carolina and Mississippi said.

Details have not been disclosed on how the children died.