A woman charged over her young, murdered son’s death is scheduled for a motions hearing in Dickson County, Tennessee. Krystal Daniels faces a count of aggravated child neglect over Joe Clyde Daniels, 5, dying in a 2018 murder. Court is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT. You can watch in the player above.
Joseph Ray Daniels, the father of the child, was convicted of killing “Baby Joe.” He did it because Krystal Daniels planned on dumping him for another man, prosecutor Josh Turnbow told jurors in closing arguments. Krystal Daniels got $1,200 a month for her son and needed the money to leave the relationship.
Baby Joe was reported missing on April 4, 2018, with the father initially claiming the boy “escaped.” As eventually confessed by the defendant, Joseph Ray beat his son to death the night before and hid his body. A major sticking point in the state’s case was the lack of remains. Daniels changed his story about where he put his son, and a body was never found.
#JosephDaniels – At ,most, the jury deliberated approx. 4 hours yesterday. If they didn’t deliberate through dinner, then even less time. @LawCrimeNetwork pic.twitter.com/GIsBfadt0C
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) June 12, 2021
Prosecutors relied on witness testimony and Joseph Ray’s confession to build their case. Baby Joe’s 11-year-old half-brother Alex, whose mother is also Krystal Daniels, testified to seeing Joseph Ray stand over the boy’s body and said that their father carried the victim out of the home. Though the defendant was inconsistent on details about where he put the victim’s body, he did confess to killing his son, the prosecution argued.
Joseph Ray Daniels was ultimately convicted of the lesser charges of second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder as charged. Jurors also found him guilty of first-degree murder in perpetration of a felony, aggravated child abuse, initiating a false report, and tampering with evidence.
[Screenshot via WTVF]
