DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A trial date could soon be set for Krystal Daniels, the Dickson County woman charged in connection with the 2018 death of her five-year-old son, Joe Clyde.
Mike Flanagan, the attorney representing Krystal Daniels told News 2 earlier this month that a date for the 30-year-old’s trial would be set after the conclusion of her husband’s trial.
A jury found Joseph Daniels guilty Saturday on charges of felony murder, second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, filing a false report and evidence tampering.
The charge of felony murder carries a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. He will be sentenced on the additional charges during a hearing scheduled for Sept. 14 at 1 p.m.
Joseph Daniels called 911 around 6:22 a.m. on the morning of April 4, 2018 and said his son, Joe Clyde, known as “Baby Joe,” had “escaped” from the family’s residence on Garners Creek Road in Dickson County.
Two days later, in a recorded interview with law enforcement, he confessed to the fatal beating of his son, who had autism and was non-verbal, after the five-year-old had urinated on the floor of a bedroom. He told investigators that he dumped Joe Clyde’s body in a rural area.
Multiple searches were conducted over the days, months and years that followed, but the child’s body has never been found.
During Joseph Daniels’ trial, an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation presented Facebook messages between Krystal Daniels and her boyfriend, Thomas Richards, who lived in Wichita, Kansas.
The conversation from March 2, 2018 reportedly took place on a tablet belonging to Alex Nolan, the eight-year-old son of Krystal Daniels and stepson of Joseph Daniels.
“If it tells you anything I ripped up our marriage license and I went and had the papers drawn up all that has to be done is him sign them and then the papers have been filed with the court,” Krystal Daniels wrote.
She added, “I haven’t been happy for the last 3 years.”
During the conversation, Krystal Daniels mentioned that she received $1,200 per month because Joe Clyde had a disability. The family of the five-year-old said Joe Clyde had autism and was non-verbal.
The prosecution explained the money was the motive for the murder of Joe Clyde, arguing Joseph Daniels killed his son to prevent his wife from receiving the money she would need to leave him.
Joey Boyd, a special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, previously testified in court in that Krystal Daniels claimed heard a loud scream, while Joseph Daniels was out of the room, checking on Joe Clyde, who had apparently urinated on the floor of the home’s master bedroom.
When Krystal Daniels came out of her bedroom, she said she saw Joe Clyde on the ground, according to Boyd.
“Motionless. Not moving. And Joseph standing over him with his fists clinched,” the agent testified.
Krystal Daniels explained that her husband took a swing at her and said if she told anybody, he’d kill her.
“She stated that she never got close enough to check on him.” Boyd explained. “She went back to her room. She heard the car door shut. She came out of the room saw that Joseph and Joe Clyde were gone. She said she went back to her room and went to sleep.”
Krystal Daniels was arrested two days after husband, on a charge of aggravated child neglect. She remains jailed in Dickson County on a $1 million bond.
