DICKSON, Tenn. (WTVF) — The attorney of Joseph Daniels, father of Joe Clyde Daniels, is trying to get Joseph's confession thrown out of the case.
Joseph Daniels is in jail for allegedly killing his son, a 5-year-old with autism, two years ago. During the investigation, Joseph confessed to detectives but later recanted his statement.
Attorney Jake Lockert filed a 30-page motion to have Joseph's confession thrown out. He filed a second motion to have Joseph's bond lowered to $1,500.
Lockert argues there is not enough evidence to support Joseph's original confession.
Joseph initially said he beat the boy, leaving him bleeding from his legs, forehead and face then put Joe in his car to dispose of the body. However, investigators never found blood in the house or car nor did he ever tell them where he put the body.
Joseph also claims to have stopped at a truck stop on his way out, but there is no video evidence of his stop from that night.
Lockert argues that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s recent search of the Daniels’ property shows they still cannot even prove the boy is dead.
The attorney also says Joseph, who is mentally ill, was coerced into making a false confession and that video evidence of the interrogation will prove it. Lockert also says investigators coached Joe Clyde’s mother Krystal Daniels into giving a statement against her husband. she was charged with child neglect and remains in jail.
Because there is little to no evidence in Joe Clyde's disappearance, Joseph's confession is crucial to the prosecution's case.
Lockert says a driver passing by the home that night — after the time of night, Joseph claimed he had already killed him — claims he saw the Joe in his pajamas walking near the road.
The defense’s theory is that the boy somehow got out of the house, as he had in the past, and someone abducted the him.
To make things worse, Lockert says authorities quit searching for Joe Clyde once they obtained the false confession. He says there are several sex offenders who lived in the general area.
Lockert says his client has been unfairly locked up for more than two years on a $1 million bond, which is why the second motion was filed to lower it.
Lockert says he expects the judge to rule on the motions later this summer.
