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(CNN) - Levi Strickland was picking berries in Brantley County, Georgia, on Sunday night when he heard something like an explosion. He ran to the noise and what he found was a crashed truck and an overwhelming smell.
"We ran over there and asked if it was okay or whatever, and I perceived that smell," Strickland told WJXT, a CNN affiliate. “It smelled horrible. I never smelled that in my life. ”
That smell, authorities say, was the decaying body of Casei Jones in the van. The 32-year-old woman and her four young children had not been seen by her family in more than a month and authorities say the remains of the children were found buried in nearby Charlton County, Georgia.
Michael Wayne Jones Jr.
Michael Wayne Jones Jr., 38, who was driving the truck and was Jones's husband, was identified as the suspect in their deaths. He was arrested by Brantley County authorities accused of driving with a suspended / revoked license and being a fugitive from justice.
Marion County, Florida officials said a second-degree murder order was issued for Jones's arrest. More charges may come, authorities said.
"The evil peeked out here in Marion County," said Sheriff Billy Woods. "That is the only way to describe it."
I would have killed them in Florida weeks ago
Casei Jones and her four children - Cameron Bowers, 10, Preston Bowers, 5, Mercalli Jones, 2, and Aiyana Jones, 1 - were last seen about six weeks ago near Ocala, Florida, said the sheriff's office . His family reported his disappearance on Saturday night, police said.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office said Jones is believed to have killed them in Florida weeks ago and then stored their bodies and took them to southern Georgia.
When police arrived at the scene of the accident on Sunday night, agents "perceived a bad smell" from Michael Jones' truck, according to a press release from the Brantley County Sheriff's Office.
"At this point, Mr. Jones told the officer that 'you may want to put on the handcuffs because there is a corpse inside the vehicle," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Michael Jones also admitted to hiding the death of other bodies just before the traffic accident, said the Brantley County Sheriff's Office. The bodies, which are believed to be of the four children, were found in a wooded area near the road in Charlton County.
CNN's Amir Vera contributed to this report.