CHARLOTTE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you thought it was all over for Joseph Daniels... think again.
The father convicted this past summer of murdering his son Joe Clyde now is serving life. But, now he's taking the first step toward seeking a new trial.
To be clear: It's standard for the defendant to seek a new trial after a murder conviction.
In Joseph Daniels' case, the key may be in seeking contradictions in testimony.
Why?
Because he was convicted with circumstantial evidence.
Remember, Joe Clyde Daniels' remains have never been found. The jury delivered a guilty verdict this summer with no physical evidence.
The conviction came on the strength of two things: A confession that Joseph Daniels later recanted and crucial testimony from Joe Clyde's 11-year-old brother Alex who said he witnessed Joseph beat his brother and then carry him away.
Joseph's attorney Jake Lockert had questioned how Alex remembered this detail for the trial after initially saying he recalled nothing from the night Joe Clyde disappeared?
After the trial, Lockert said Joseph Daniels would be challenging the guilty verdict.
"We had a lot of reversible errors in the trial. So he's advised he wants to pursue an appeal," Lockert said.
Now, in the motion filed for a new trial, the defense is expected to subpoena several witnesses and it is expected that Alex will be on the list.
"Some of the witnesses may testify to something differently... and that's what the defense is hoping," said NewsChannel 5's legal analyst Nick Leonardo.
He said lawyers will be looking for inconsistencies.
"Absolutely there could be contradictions," Leonardo said.
Any contradictions in what Alex or any other witness testifies to could be grounds for a new trial.
But Leonardo said don't expect the trial Judge David Wolfe to grant it — that would be very rare.
The case will end up in the state court of appeal.
The motion for the new trial will be heard by Judge Wolfe early next year — just weeks before Joe Clyde's mother Krystal goes on trial for aggravated child abuse.
