DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tuesday marks day five of the trial for Joseph Daniels, the Dickson County man accused of murdering his five-year-old son, Joe Clyde, known as “Baby Joe.”
The day started with testimony from a witness who claimed she saw Joseph Daniels standing “perfectly still” on a bridge the night before Baby Joe was reported missing.
Then after an almost three hour recess to redact parts of the Joseph Daniels’ confession tape and log, the jurors watched the entire video, which was about two hours and 40 minutes long. That was followed by cross examination of one of the TBI agents who interviewed Daniels’ when he confessed to the murder of his son, Joe Clyde.
Alex Nolan, the eleven-year-old half-brother of Joe Clyde provided emotional testimony Monday and said his stepfather, Joseph Daniels threatened to kill him.
Joseph Daniels reported Joe Clyde missing on April 4, 2018 and said the boy had escaped from the family’s home. During a four-hour recorded confession, Joseph Daniels admitted to fatally beating his son, who had autism and was non-verbal.
Jake Lockert, the attorney representing Joseph Daniels has said the confession, which was later recanted, was coerced, but a judge determined it could be used as evidence during the trial.
The body of Joe Clyde has never been found.
Day five of the trial began around 8 a.m. and wrapped up around 6:45 p.m. The trial itself, which started last Thursday afternoon, is scheduled to last for approximately two weeks.
The jury was chosen from a pool of people in Chattanooga, all of which the judge said had never heard the name “Baby Joe.” That jury consists of 12 jurors and four alternates, made up of ten women and six men.
Joseph Daniels faces five charges, including first-degree murder and evidence tampering. He was jailed in Nashville, but has been moved to the Dickson County jail during the duration of his trial.
His wife, Krystal Daniels witnessed the fatal beating, but went to bed instead of helping her son, according to investigators. She is charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and will be tried separately from her husband.
