The trial resumed for the seventh day on Thursday, June 10th at 8:00 in the morning.
The prosecution called TBI Agent Zachary Burkhart to the stand and remained there throughout the entire day of court.
Burkhart was assigned to the Joe Daniels case in the months of June and July of 2018 and began on the scene on April 4th.
Agent Burkhart’s testimony began with him recalling the shirt that was recovered from the Daniels’ home, which was also confirmed in the confession video where Daniel’s revealed that he was wearing red basketball shorts from the night of the incident.
Burkhart then continues on to give details into Daniels’ being unemployed at the time and seeking a job through several emails.
The jury was shown several emails concerning the job process including a W-2 Form, requesting for confirmation of education, and a background check.
During this time, it was revealed that Daniels was communicating with Nashville State Community College while people were out searching for his missing son.
Burkhart emphasized that there was an unbelievable amount of people searching for Daniels’ son, including police, airplanes, and TBI.
The prosecution then moved onto another point by showing the jury photographs of the home on April 4th compared to April 7th. Additionally, the prosecution noted that on April 4th Daniels was not a suspect, but was taken into custody on April 6th as one.
A few of the photographs are summarized below:
Back Porch- The before picture showed the porch without items on it to a picture with a comforter and pillow
Bedroom- The before picture showed a clothing item on a chair, chairs not put up, and a laundry basket in the room. The after photograph showed the clothing item to be put away, chairs in a proper spot, and the laundry basket was removed.
Living Room- There were items on the couch and coffee table in the before picture and the after picture shows no items and nearly spotless with a vacuumed carpet.
Burkhart stated that from an investigator’s viewpoint, things could have been moved, and possibly destroyed evidence from April 4th.
After a brief recess, Burkhart returned to the stand and was questioned about Krystal Daniels’ Facebook conversation with Thomas Richards.
This Facebook conversation included intimate details about Krystal Daniels and Thomas Richards’ time together, Daniels admitted she’s in an unhappy marriage, and wanting to seek a divorce from her husband Joseph. In fact, Krystal stated in one message that she tore up her marriage license with Joseph Daniels.
Towards the end of the prosecution’s statements with this piece of evidence, it was revealed that these messages were not taking place on Krystal Daniels phone, but rather her son Alex’s tablet.
After these messages, the prosecution moved onto discussing Joseph Daniels phone records. Burkhart stated that between March 30- March 31st of 2018, Daniels was searching DNA Paternity Tests. These searches were also revealed to be conducted under the premises of the mother, father, or child not being aware.
However, on March 31st, the search inquiry changed from paternity tests to researching Southwest Air Booking and Greyhound destinations in Wichita Kansas.
When cross examination began with Lockert, it was revealed once again that searches were made, but they are not absolutely certain to know if Joseph or Alex saw the Facebook messages.
At the conclusion of day seven, the prosecution declared rest of their evidence, Joseph Daniels declared not to testify, and the defense stated rest also.
The trial will resume tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.
