This morning the jury heard the closing remarks from the prosecution and the defense. The prosecution opened with discussing who five year old Joe Clyde Daniels was. They included that he was full of live and loved to go to school.
The prosecution then recalled that the jury has witnessed Alex Nolan’s testimony about his younger brother, Joe Clyde. Nolan testified that he saw Daniels standing over Joe Clyde’s lifeless body and proceeded to pick him up and carry him outside. He then watched as Daniels stood over the lifeless body of Joe Clyde, picked the body up, and started walking down the road with him.
Along with this, the prosecution referred back to the statement Joseph Daniels had documented in 2018. Daniels stated, “I killed my son”, which became a constant statement throughout the investigation.
Lastly, Crouch added that law states that you do not have to produce a body or autopsy to be convicted of murder in Tennessee.
After the prosecution finished, the defense began with their closing remarks.
The defense opened by stating that Daniels was not being suspicious for asking people if they had seen his son. Additionally, it wasn’t unusual about a father not being able to sleep during that night or for attempting to find out information.
Another statement made by the defense was that the prosecution found no evidence of Daniels murdering Joe Clyde. In fact, no blood was found in the car, house, or anywhere else throughout the six mile search radius.
Finally, the defense argued that the confession by Daniels was a false confession.
Currently the jury has been charged and are in deliberation. The jury is considering the following five charges: murder in the first degree, first degree murder in perpetration of a felony crime, aggravated child abuse, initiating a false report, and tampering with evidence.
Although Daniels is being invited on the five original charges, the state of Tennessee also includes lesser charges within the five originals.
