Ep 176: Where is Joe Clyde Daniels?

Before we get started, I want to let you know that the victim in today's episode is a child. But as you hopefully know by now, I won't get into any unnecessary or graphic details. I'll only discuss what's presented a child and only what's important to understand about the case. However, listener discretion is advised. In April 2018, a child goes missing. The family says they woke up after a night of storms to discover their five-year-old was gone. After he had contacted police, he told them that he had got up that morning, got Joe Clyde Daniels clothing for school and Alex's clothing for school, laid them on the coffee table and then went to see to wake the boys up. When he got in there, Joe Clyde Daniels was not present. The largest search in recent middle Tennessee history is launched. Canines, helicopters, volunteers. After 48 hours, there was still no sign of the missing boy. But investigators had their suspicions. And as I was listening in to their interview, he had made a couple of changes that I noted that he didn't tell me that morning. This is Jillian and in partnership with Law and Crime. You are listening to Court Junkie, episode 176. It all began with a seemingly calm 9-1-1 call. Chelsea Lampley was working at the Dixon County Tennessee Dispatch on the morning of April 4, 2018. She took the call at 6.22am. On the other end of the line was a father who said his son had escaped their house. The father Joseph Daniels gave his address. Officers from the Dixon County Sheriff's Office were sent to the home. One of those deputies was Sergeant Daniel Baker, whose murder recovered recently. Investigators quickly began their search for five-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels. They went house to house, searched nearby roads and fields, and even searched by helicopter. Officers from the neighboring county and agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation or TBI, assisted as well. Canines were brought in. Dee Tom Simmons worked with the search and rescue dog. We used the the center article to start our track. The star dogs started in the backyard of the house. We went along the fence line. There was a bunch of trees. We went along the fence line, led out to South Third Street. So the dog ran along the tree line and then ran towards this driveway, ran toward after that. We went towards the brick house and we ended up in a pond area behind the residence. The dog lost its track around that water, around that pond. There's always urgency with the missing child. But the more law enforcement in this case learned about Joe Clyde, the more their urgency grew. You're going to hear different stories as to the levels, endabilities, and disabilities of Joe Clyde. You're going to hear him refer to as having autism. You're going to hear the phrase global developmental disabilities. Essentially, you're going to hear that Joe Clyde Daniels had some learning delays. He was developmentally delayed. Investigators weren't having any luck with their searches. So they simultaneously started working on developing a timeline. Joe Clyde had an older half brother named Alex, who was three years older than him. According to Alex the day before was a normal day. They went to school and rode the bus home. Later at trial, Alex would explain to the jury who all lived at their home at 1112 Garner's Creek Road. Their household included his stepfather and Joe Clyde's father Joseph Daniels, their mother Crystal Daniels, Joseph's father Big Joe, Big Joe's wife Belle, Aunt Joyce, and Alex and his brothers, Joe Clyde, who was five and three year old Noah. On the night of April 3, 2018, Alex and Joe Clyde slept in Belle and Big Joe's room. Big Joe was on a trucking route that night, and so the boys would often sleep there when he and Belle were gone. Alex would later say that Belle and Big Joe's bed was more comfortable than theirs. Both boys fell asleep, but Alex soon woke up because Joe Clyde had peed on the floor. It wasn't the first time, but it didn't happen often. Alex went to get his parents. Joseph Daniels was interviewed by Agent Boyd and Agent Canard from the TBI. He told the agents that when Alex came to wake him up, he told both boys to get back in bed. According to both the 911 call and this interview with law enforcement, Joseph Daniels said he got the boys back to bed around 1130 pm. He said he didn't wake up again until 530 am. Then he laid out the boys clothes. He went to wake the boys and that's when he realized Joe Clyde had escaped. While seemingly all of middle Tennessee was searching for five-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels, officers began to notice unusual behavior by Joseph Daniels and other family members. The TBI agent Zach Burkhart noticed that while officers were out searching, Joseph left the house. The house wasn't searched by investigators at first. Agent Burkhart would later tell a courtroom full of observers that their job was to find Joe Clyde and that at the time there was no evidence of a crime. It wasn't until three days later when a search warrant would be served on the home, but by then the house had been cleaned. Is it significant to you that items had been moved and the house had been cleaned up between April 4th of 2018 and April 7th? Yes. Why is that significant? It appeared that things had been cleaned up. If you were an investigator and executing a search warrant on April 7th, would you hope that the home had been, no items moved and nothing vacuumed or cleaned? Correct. What happens when you start vacuuming and cleaning? Items can leave. Can evidence be destroyed? Yes. The evidence disappeared. Yes. Agent Burkhart later admitted that it wasn't unusual for people to clean their houses. You're not saying if somebody cleans their house, that's something nefarious, are you? No, sir. A lot of people clean their house. And so I'll soon, that based on any concerns that the trash was checked and the vacuum bag to see if there was any evidence inside the vacuum bag. I do not know if the vacuum bag was checked or not. Was the trash check? I believe the trash was checked. Aside from that, other family members in the house had odd reactions too. Brent Morse, who reported to the house to help with the missing persons department, told the court that three-year-old Noah asked a peculiar question. Little Noah came up to my right side and he asked the question or made the statement, "Jo did. Joe did. Joe did." He said three times, kind of in a loud way. And a lady to my right said, "Yes, baby, Joe did." And was the lady to your right, Aunt Joyce? Yes. Okay. So, just to be clear, did you ask, did you say something to Noah or did he come in and next to you on his own? He came in on his own from behind. Had you suggested to anybody in the house that Joe was dead? No. As part of the lost person's questionnaire is one of the questions, is Joe dead? No, sir. So this was a spontaneous statement made by Noah. Absolutely. And he said it three times. He did. Joe did. Joe did. Yes, sir. Okay. And you're sure what Aunt Joyce said in response? Yes, sir. And what was that one more time? Yes, baby. Joe did. Units continued to search for Joe Clyde, but investigators began looking more closely at the family, particularly at Joseph Daniels. They retrieved his cell phone data. At the time of Joe Clyde's disappearance, Joseph was out of work. He had been applying to different jobs and had just received an offer. Based on the data on his phone, Joseph had been corresponding with the business regarding a background check in the days leading up to when he reported his child missing. The company wanted to verify that he graduated high school and his previous pay stubs. He had already turned in a copy of his diploma. he was out driving around. Presumably. looking for his child, he actually made a call to try and locate his paystubs. It was more odd behavior according to investigators. Well, what is he supposed to be doing that you would think is not suspicious if he's sitting in the house letting police do their job? What should he be doing? To stay off his phone altogether? The first part of this did not happen at the house. I understand. I said after he was back to the house. Great. Now some of this and he's free to do what he wants, but there are some oddities in that when your child is missing. Okay. So what do people and what should they do when their child is missing? When they're staying in the house waiting on the news? What should they do that wouldn't be nefarious or odd? Personally, I would not call National State Community College while I'm out trying to find my son. They've contacted him asking for information though, right? He contacted them. Right and then they sent back replies saying what they need? The third party certainly hasn't been activated. Okay. He still has a wife and two kids and hoping the discharge has found. So should he not pursue opportunities to bring in money for his family? He is free to do whatever he wants. Yes sir. But that's odd in your eyes. There are some oddities to that. Yes sir. Two days after Joseph reported his son missing, agents interviewed him at length. Initially his story stayed the same. He didn't realize Joe Clyde was missing until he woke up at 5.30 AM, but officers started to get frustrated. Are you that predator? No, are you that person that was most detrying his foot pain on children? No. So what happened? Really? Like what happened? That night that morning. Okay. I want to do exactly what happened. I want this to be the truth. And this year I don't want it to be the same stuff. Even same stuff. I don't want it to be the truth. I want to, I don't want to go to the battle of 11.30 that night. And he peed in the front. I went into the bedroom. I saw the peed in the front of the bathroom. So I said, you know, just go ahead and just go back to sleep. And he looked in my back and then went down. I'll back to the bed and went back to sleep. Then he said that he woke up at 2.30 AM, adding an additional time, because his wife had gotten up. At 2.30 AM someone heard it. So I felt somebody getting in. My wife gave it back to the head. And the team he was on. I woke up at 5.30 AM and just known it a few times. Then I realized that he was still on. I took that as close out. I went to the bedroom. We were getting closer. They were better. Got her close. Went into the living room. So I got to go. Went to the bedroom. And he was gone. After saying his wife, Crystal woke up in the middle of the night to check on the boys. He then told investigators that his parents had actually been worried that she was going to hurt Joe Clyde at some point. Where are the births of the children? I don't know. My parents have always had this fear that she would do something to know. Why is that? The agents still didn't think that Joseph was being truthful. They found it hard to believe that he wasn't upset that his son had peed on the phone. Apparently, the way she does things to him and stuff like that. They found it hard to believe that he wasn't upset that his son had peed on the floor. That's probably not the truth. That's what I was upset. The rhythm. I was upset. But I was upset. I wasn't wanting to who upheeled or anything like that. I did not touch Joe. But every time I got one, I wanted to beat my kids at him. Hand down. I'll tell you. Hand is the hell. You tell me that you got up and never lie to a hundred kids peed on the floor. There's really a lot of germs isn't there? The thing is, it's okay. Yes. Okay. So the other person was a stepson. Yeah. Okay. I have this for you. But you get up in the middle of nine and kids peed on the floor. Maybe that kid had an active joke. Little Joe had a thing because he has problems. And he's not going to have no one's got to be part of race. I don't understand that. But you get up in the middle of nine and little Joe, he has problems. He's hearty, difficult and trying. He get up in the middle of nine and he's peed on the floor. And so for you to tell me I was a little upset. Ain't no father in this world. I don't believe that. Okay. Not a single father. Has ever been in a situation in being promoted. What? I was so, you, I was so upset. I mean, I'm in debtless to use the word you don't keep. I was upset. I mean, I probably say I pissed. Yeah. So if you said whatever word you were going to use, then let's accurately describe it. Because we're not doing that. And to not accurately describe it, I have to go to that situation to just like everything else. So I know, I know you are. But what I need you to do is just focus on the truth. Because when I say and yes, it is overused and overplayed so much that loses a lot of value. But when I think that the truth was set in three, I can't tell you how much that is true or how much I need to bet. All right. I was upset. I'm like, I woke up. I was upset. I went in there and I didn't touch maybe so. I didn't touch Alex. I didn't spake out. I just spanked very good over either one. I told both of you to get back in the bed and go back to sleep. That was all that I did. But eventually, Joseph admitted that he was pissed at Joe Clyde. Joseph pissed. I got rather than followed to bedroom. So, he was laughing. He had beaten four. I was not happy about that. I didn't spank him. I looked at him and then I looked at Alex and went back and said, "Well, if you ask me to get back in the bed now, I'll have to bet you." I went back to bed. But he still maintained that he went back to bed, woke up to crystal climbing back into bed, and then woke up for good at 5.30. He said he doesn't know when crystal left the bed, only when she came back. When he got up and got Alex and Joe Clyde's clothes, he said he noticed the coffee table had been moved. He went back in the room and saw that Joe Clyde was missing. The agents told him that they know either him, crystal, or even Alex hurt Joe Clyde. If Joseph would just tell them what happened, he could walk out of the door and go home. "Hey, I can't see you. I can't see you there. No matter what you say, I mean right now. You're walking out of the door." That wasn't the last time the agents mentioned Alex, who was eight years old at the time. They told Joseph, "Alex saw what happened." "I know you suggested that I show my side." "I'm asking you when you told Alex about it." "When you told Alex about it because he saw it?" They told him it seems as though Alex has been coached on what to say and what not to say. Joseph insisted he didn't tell Alex to say anything. "You didn't have to because he saw," they said. Joseph finally admitted that he did hit Joe Clyde, that he lost track of how many times he hit him in the living room. He said he used his right hand with a closed fist. This confession wasn't the only statement Joseph made implying his guilt. He rode in a car with Detective Trevor Daniel afterwards. "I was asked if we could give Mr. Daniels a ride. He was going to get agreed to show us the location of where Joe Clyde was." Did you place the defendant in handcuffs? How was he transported or given a ride? Detective Chris Stalkman, his vehicle, him and his vehicle were out there at the police department. He got in the driver's side, and I got in behind Detective Stalkman, and Mr. Daniels, he got in behind on the passenger side next to me, but nobody put him in the car. He got in there, so. - Okay, and he wasn't handcuffed or shackled or anything like that. - No. - Did you start asking him questions when you got in the car? - No. - He makes some, I guess, spontaneous remarks to you and Detective Stalkman. - Yes, he did. - Okay. And did you have a recorder running at the time? - Yes, I did. - Detective Daniel was with Joseph for five hours. Clips from that time were later played for the court. In one, Joseph says he doesn't want to see Joe Clyde. In the clip, you can hear him sobbing, and then saying, "I didn't want this to happen." - We're going to do that to you, Joe. Okay. - Okay. - Okay. (laughing) (crying) (crying) - And what does that mean? - In another clip, he tells the officers his dad is going to kill him. - He's really killed, isn't he? (crying) - Now if he wants to take some deep breaths, Joe. Okay. We're not going to let nobody get to you. - Joseph doesn't just make spontaneous remarks. He also tells the officers that he knows they spoke to Alex already, and that they should believe Alex. He's a good boy who tells the truth. - The officer's good boy here. - Who? Alex? Here? He's a good boy. He doesn't lie. He tells the truth. That's how we say it, man. We tell him, we tell him, that's a, you know, not to lie to anybody. You know, tell the truth, and that's good. - Joseph led the investigators to a field, and said, "He's in that field." I know it's a big field, but he's in that field. He told Detective Daniel that he had put Joe Clyde's body in the field, buried him, and put some grass on him. But no matter how hard they searched that field, investigators still didn't find Joe Clyde. Joseph again brought up Alex, and said he's pretty sure they talked to Alex, and that Alex told them everything. But in Alex's earlier interview with police, he didn't mention seeing his stepfather do anything. In fact, he repeated the story that Joe Clyde was missing when he woke up. After Joseph's arrest, however, all that would change. Joseph Daniels was charged with first degree murder, first degree murder in perpetration of a felony, aggravated child abuse, initiating a false report, and tampering with evidence. His trial took place in June, 2021. His steps on Alex, now 11 years old, took the stand to testify against him. Despite what he had initially told investigators, Alex testified about what he saw that night. He said after Joe Clyde peed on the floor, he went and told his stepfather, who was awake, talking and watching TV in his room with Crystal. He said Joseph then went and hit Joe Clyde. Alex said he and Joe Clyde went back to bed. He woke up to a loud bang, and when he walked out of the bedroom, he saw Joseph standing over his brother's body. He said he watched as Joseph carried the body outside and laid him in the yard. He followed quietly to see what was happening. He said Joseph saw him and threatened to kill him if he didn't help. He opened the door to their car as well as the trunk. Joseph then told him to go back inside the house. He pretended to listen, but he kept watching. He saw Joseph walk down the road, carrying his brother. He said eventually he went back to sleep. It was hard, but I did, he said. Alex told the court he wasn't the only one who saw what happened. Noah and his aunt Joyce were in the living room, sitting at the window. Crystal was down the hall. The next morning, Joseph told him that his brother had run away. He said the family looked for Joe Clyde for a while, but then went home and just sat there. When the defense got up to cross examine him, they asked him if he recalls telling a different story early on. Alex said yes, but that it was fake. It was a false story, he said. Did your aunt and uncle tell you what happened? Defense attorney Jake Lockert asked? No, Alex replied. And you're certain you weren't told what happened by them? Yes, Alex said. He agreed that Joe Clyde had a history of leaving the house and that a lock had been put on the door to keep him from doing so. Alex's initial interview with investigators was played for the jury, where he said at one point that Crystal had come into the room that night. He testified that he had lied about that, that she didn't. He said when he told police, Joseph wasn't upset about Joe Clyde peeing on the floor, he was trying to protect him and didn't want him to be in trouble. He was asked when he changed his story and he said he had blocked everything out until a couple months ago. The defense then played another recorded interview Alex had with detectives. Alex agreed on the stand that in this one, he says he was asleep but the detective tells him about four times that he must have seen his dad beat Joe Clyde and he agreed it was true. Alex testified that he was interviewed a lot by police and by the Child Advocacy Center, about 50 times. Only two were recorded. He was asked if he had told any other stories about what happened that night and he said no. He said to be honest, he had just wanted to get out of there and so he lied to investigators so he could leave. Lockert asked him about how he testified on direct that Crystal was back in the hallway by her room as everything was going on. She was the furthest away from Joe, wasn't she? He asked, "You want her to be as far from the problem as you can, don't you?" Alex said no. Unredirect, the prosecution asked Alex if some of the things he said in prior interviews. He had said to protect Joseph and he said yes, but that was before he knew that Joseph had killed him. You don't want to protect him anymore? The prosecutor asked, "No," he replied. "And everything you've testified to today, to this jury, is that truthful or not truthful?" "Truthful," he said. Alex testifying about what he had witnessed that night wasn't the only evidence the state of Tennessee had. They had another potential eyewitness and they had accessed Joseph's and Crystal's devices and data. When combing through texts, Facebook messages and emails, they believed they found another motive for why Joseph would want to kill Joe Clyde and it involved his wife and Joe Clyde's mom, Crystal. Agent Zach Burkhart told the jury about Facebook messages they had recovered from Crystal Daniels account. She had been talking to a man named Thomas Richards who lived in Kansas. Crystal told Thomas about how her marriage wasn't great and she was planning on leaving. The next message is from Crystal Daniels because he lets his parents tell him what to do and when to do it and also he lets his family talk to me anyway. They want to and he doesn't even take up from me when they do it. When I go to take up from myself, he tells me to knock it off and piss me off. Crystal tells him she hasn't been happy for the last three years and that she had fallen for Thomas because he treats her with respect. She tells him she has already filled out housing in section eight applications for her and her kids. She says moving out would be doable because she receives $1200 a month from Joe Clyde's disability. Not long after these messages, Joseph's digital footprint became strange. He did searches for paternity tests. He also sent his mother a disturbing text message three days prior to Joe Clyde's death. March 31, 2019, 1260, say, you get the defendant's in the text message? Yes. His mother. What if the text message said? Fuck this world by the way. time you see this message I'll be six foot under." Also on his phone were searches involving Kansas. The searches included flights on Southwest, Greyhound tickets, and Enterprise rental cars. During cross-examination the defense argued that Agent Burkart had no proof that Joseph ever saw the text messages between Crystal and Thomas. "What evidence do you have that Mark Lent Joseph Daniels saw this correspondence with her boyfriend while she was using Alex's tablet?" "I do not have that." And so how was that relevant to motive if you can't even show that he read those? We have communication between two individuals and one of the individuals is married to Joseph Daniels. That's Crystal Daniels. And it is a very explicit exchange between those two individuals. Following those messages we have a text between Joseph and his mom and we have some searches that we have presented on the screen that show him being very upset. The text message, the content of it. But as to those conversations, no doubt she's told him that she done loving, they've argued and she's already said she got divorce papers as far as this goes, but did you verify that she had gotten a divorce complaint? I had not. So you can't cooperate that? I cannot. And you can't cooperate or verify that Joseph Daniels read all of those ludicrous conversations on Alex's tablet. I cannot. And would you expect her to leave that type of stuff on an 8 year old son's tablet for him to see? I would hope not. So logically we don't have any idea that he ever saw those do it. I cannot say that Joseph Daniels saw those messages. Agent Burkhart also agreed that someone else could have used Joseph's phone. Lockhart brought up conversations between Crystal and Thomas that weren't just about her leaving Joseph. There were also sexually explicit ones. One specific text he wanted to focus on was the mention of a threesome between Crystal, Thomas, and Joseph. He surmised that perhaps this meant Joseph knew and was okay with his wife talking with other men. But Agent Burkhart was clear. He didn't know if that was true either. Sir, when it comes to relationships such as a sexual relationship like that, I can't speak to what Joseph Daniels feels or doesn't feel. But with a third party being involved in the explicit messages that we have seen and the message that you're talking about, it could make him upset. I don't know what triggers in regards to that type of sexual nature for Joseph. After exhausting the question of whether Joseph had seen the messages, the defense asked about the investigation itself. Asserting that Agent Burkhart and the TBI stopped looking for Joe Clyde after Joseph confessed. So after the confession, you quit looking into other people that might have done something. We were still interviewing people. I wanted to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding this investigation. And that includes lights in a driveway that includes Pruitt Springs video, that includes the car that pulled across from 1115, Gunners Creek Road, the mailman that arrived at the smissons. I wanted to keep understanding what happened that night. The talker then asked about one of Daniels neighbors, a Mr. Ledford. He asked Agent Burkhart why they felt the need to talk to him. The reason we wouldn't interview him is because after examining the Pruitt Springs camera video, myself and Detective McCartney along with Detective Sergeant Trevor Daniel, they specifically had noticed the oddity of life while watching that video. After reviewing 24 hours of video, and in that video, we decided, okay, hey, we need to go talk to the neighbor and see if we can determine what this light might be. And actually a little more than that. Y'all confronted him and told him a vehicle came out of that drive. Which interview are you talking about? What's the one of the interviews? Did you confront him and was he told a vehicle came out of that drive? We asked about a vehicle coming home at 10pm. And we also asked as to whether or not a vehicle left his driveway after that. That is correct. Lockert asked if they searched Mr. Ledford's phone or his whereabouts. Did you make efforts to get that information where you could ascertain the location of his phone? No. Because I did not have the probable cause to ask to try to get Mr. Ledford's records. Number one, he's not a suspect in this case. Number two, I did not have the probable cause to get the neighbors' records, along with Miss Dotson's, along with Mr. Smithsons across the street who was moving out. Did he not tell you that he was afraid the defendant had hacked his phone and put him in criminating information on the phone? He said something to that extent. Okay. And y'all assured him that Mr. Daniels couldn't remotely hack his phone and put something on there, didn't you? I believe we did. So if he has a assurance that there are a client couldn't hack his phone and put something on there to make it look like he was over in the Daniels yard for instance that night, then he'd have no reason not to turn it back over to you. I can't tell you as to whether or not why he didn't turn over his phone. But he didn't turn it over. He did not. Lockhart asked what leads the TBI did follow, including some from psychics. And y'all checked out leads from psychics who called in and said that they thought he was in a little joke cloud was in a whale somewhere. Do you recall that? I do not. All right. Do you know if y'all checked out any psychic leads? I do not. All right. I know there were psychics that they called in, but I do not know as to specifically which one. But a man who turns his phone off stops using it on the same day that Joe Clyde Daniels is missing. And the man you told that you can locate where he was during the time this child went missing. Tells you he'll give you the phone and then doesn't. You're saying that was not probable calls to inquire further ask for consent to search. Go find them again. We did talk to him again, but as to probable calls, no, sir. That is not when you talk to him again. Do you ask him for consent to search that phone? I did ask him and talk to him and he just agreed that he was not going to provide his phone. Okay. But he did provide a cell phone record. And as to whether or not when you're saying he turned his phone off, there's nothing indicating that he turned his phone off. Okay. We could use in it. You don't have any you don't have any indication he's making calls on it. Yes. Lockert continued to ask about other leads. He said weren't followed up on. Do you know whether or not canine dogs were ever sent to a location where a little boy in dirty pajamas was reported? I do not know. We're canine dogs sent to the location where a child's boots were reported being taken off the front porch. The same time period that Joe Clyde went missing. I do not believe so. Right. The barn in that report where a blanket had been taken down and laid down in a horse stall. Did you run canines there? I did not. I was not present for that search, but what I do know is that it was thoroughly investigated. But not canine searched. I do not believe it was. Lockert then asked Agent Berkhard about Alex's statement of having seen Joseph Kerry Joe Clyde down the street. Would it be logical if you're trying to conceal the crime to carry the body right out in the open for every passing car to see? Speaking as to logic when somebody is murdered a kid, I cannot speak to logic. And we know from testimony that is a pretty heavily traveled public road. It's some it's sometimes it is. And we know during this time period from Mr. McCormick that he saw at least two cars pass when he was going through there. Believe you said that. And wouldn't you think that if he's carrying a dead child down the road like this, if people saw that somebody would stop or require or call law enforcement or do something? People being people observe things. That is correct. But I will tell you about that. road actually when I walked it, you can actually hear a car coming a good distance away coming down the road as to whether or not I would or how he did it. I cannot explain that. But you can hear a car coming down that road on a rural county road from a pretty good distance. Agent Burkhardt was asked whether or not he thought now 11-year-old Alex was telling the truth. You don't know whether he's lying digging. I believe he's not lying sir. That's all I can say. You don't believe he lies at all. I just know sir. People, humans lie as exactly right. But I cannot sit here and say as to one way or the other. Okay. Lockert then honed in on the physical evidence. He said there wasn't any. And in Joseph's confession Joseph had stated that he put the body in the trunk of the car and then drove to a field to dispose of him. And even though you know that there was no blood found in the house and even though you know that the car didn't drive away with that body in the trunk of the car, you still choose to believe that confession. I believe that he killed Joe Klein. Yes sir. Was he telling the truth when he told the agents that he walked the body outside the house put in a trunk of car and left? I do not believe any vehicle left the residents in that timeframe. I do not. So was he telling the truth when he said that? No. Okay. Lockert reiterated to Agent Berkhardt that no blood was found in the home. And if he beat him in an extended period of time and there was blood, there's no evidence of that. We did not find any blood in the house. No sir. On redirect prosecutor Ray Crouch asked about the leads. The defense said weren't followed up on. Lockert had centered his questions on whether canine units were brought into those areas. But there are many different ways to investigate a report, not just with dogs, Agent Berkhardt said. He testified that each lead was investigated fully. Crouch also asked about the neighbor, Mr. Ledford. Agent Berkhardt told the jury that canines had searched his property. There was no evidence or probable cause that warranted looking into him further. Jenny Jones was another neighbor of the Daniels. She testified that she was coming home from work on the night Joe Klein disappeared when she saw someone standing on a bridge near her home. She said he was wearing a multi-colored shirt and red shorts. She didn't see a child with him, but she testified that she saw the man's face and that it was Joseph Daniels. She said he looked at her, although in her initial written statement she had reportedly said the man never looked at her. After the prosecution presented their case, the defense rested too, calling zero witnesses to the stand. Joe Clyde, he loved his flannel shirts. He loved his cowboy boots, and he loved to eat apples. You heard from Miss Donnerstag, Joe Clyde was full of life. He loved to have fun, and he liked to go to school and to learn. He had some physical and mental limitations. He was developmentally delayed, especially when compared to his peers. You heard that he couldn't speak very well. Full sentences were not something that he'd learned to do yet. He scored in the first percentile of gross motor skills, but he was making progress when in his time at school. Miss Donnerstag and other teachers at St. Tiniil were working hard with him, and he was making good progress. Prosecutor Josh Turnbow presented the state's closing arguments. He reminded the jury that we still don't know where Joe Clyde is, but we know what Alex saw. He saw the defendant, Joseph Daniels, standing over the lifeless body of Joe Clyde. He said, "I didn't tell the truth in the beginning because I was trying to protect him, but that was a lie." He said, "I'm here to tell you the truth now. I'm here to tell you what happened." Alex came in here this week and he told you all everything. In the face of his stepdad, in the face of his grandparents, being questioned by lawyers, he came in and he told you what happened. We can't tell you where the body is. We don't know if he buried him. He put him in the river. He put him in the pond. He put him in a dumpster somewhere like Love's Truck Stop or some other place. But what we do know is what Alex saw. We know what the defendant confessed to. We know what Genie Jones saw. Matthew Mitchell gave the closing arguments for the defense. He said there was no evidence that Joseph murdered Joe Clyde and that in fact, there was proof that Joe Clyde would leave the home on his own. There were times when he was getting out of the house. The family had put something in front of the front door and they had added a lock to the back door. This was not an elaborate scheme. This was a child who got out of the home. The state spent a lot of time trying to disprove that portion of the family story, trying to tell you that it's not possible for him to do that. But remember that the state's burden is to prove something happened. Not the poke holes in the family story about what happened. Not to say, well, that doesn't seem realistic. They're supposed to prove that a murder occurred. Mitchell also called into question the validity of Joseph's confession. How do you prove something is a false confession? You can prove something is a false confession because all of the things that are said in it are false. Mitchell asked the jury, what would make you lie? He said Joseph lied in order to protect his stepson, Alex. Well, it would make you tell someone you killed your son. Page 134. So it was you that did something to baby Joe? No, I didn't do anything to baby Joe. Well, Krista was sleeping. I'd hate to think Alex didn't. But maybe he did. Mr. Daniels thinks that the only thing they know is whatever Alex told them. Agent Boyd is threatening to investigate Alex. He said he won't call Alex a liar. Instead, he said he's a victim. He got up here and he presented to you the facts he's been given. You watched the video of him almost immediately after he finds out that his father confessed to this. And when they say your father did it, he says, why would he do that to little Joe? He doesn't say, yeah, yeah, beat him to death in the living room. He told me not to tell you. No, he's confused. For an hour, they questioned him. For an hour, they tell him not only that he saw it, not only that it happened, but that his dad told him that he saw it. His dad says, tell Alex. Alex can tell you the details. Because he does say that in the confession, he tells him. They ask him for more details. He says ask Alex for the details. Why? Because he doesn't know what happened and he doesn't want to mess up whatever Alex said. Mitchell finished up his closing by reminding the jury that the state doesn't even know if Joe Clyde is alive or dead. They never found Joe Clyde Daniels. They stopped looking. They said he's confessed that's enough. They don't even have proof that he's dead. How can he've convinced somebody of murder when they don't have proof that he's dead? On June 14, 2021, the jury returned with their verdict. They found Joseph Daniels guilty on all counts. Three months later, Judge David Wolfe sent in Joseph to life in prison. He told the courtroom that in this case, life means 51 years. But the case isn't over yet for Judge Wolfe or for Dixon County, Tennessee. Crystal Daniels is also charged in the case. Initially, she was charged with aggravated child neglect. In September, the state added additional child abuse, neglect, and dangerment charges, conspiracy to commit aggravated child abuse, making false reports and tampering with evidence. Crystal has pleaded not guilty. She is set to go to trial in February 2022. Joe Clyde Daniels whereabouts are still unknown. However, in In October 2021, News Channel 5 reported that Joseph sent a letter to a private investigator, writing, "Dear David, as you know I'm convicted of murder." He then wrote, "Here are some roads I want searched. Mostly these are roads in the surrounding area." The private investigator has reportedly begun searching. And that's all for this episode. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this case. Do you agree with the verdict? How would you have voted if you were on the jury? Do you think Joseph Daniel's confession was coerced, or maybe he was protecting somebody else? Let me know by joining the conversation on Instagram @CourtJunkey by tweeting me @CourtJunkeyPod or by emailing me at [email protected]. This episode was researched and written by Polly Katozki with Law and Crime. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @PollyKatozki. If you'd like to hear these episodes without the ads and hear additional Court Junkie bonus episodes, check out my Patreon options at courtjunkie.com/support. And be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel at youtube.com/CourtJunkey. Thanks again for listening. Until next time. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This year's theme is Do Your Part, Be CyberSmart. Getting CyberSmart starts with Cyber Hygiene, which is basic habits that can help keep you and your family protected from identity theft, scams, and other online dangers. Examples of good Cyber Hygiene include using strong passwords, setting up multi-factor authentication on your accounts, and regularly updating software on your devices. 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