Convicted killer of Joe Clyde Daniels seeking new trial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A convicted child killer is seeking a new trial.

Joseph Daniels is serving life for the murder of his five-year-old son Joe Clyde. It was a high-profile case, and it still remains open, since the little boy's body has never been found.

Daniels has now filed an official notice with the state appellate court asking for a new trial.

The verdict came down two years ago in Dickson County.

Daniels is now serving fifty-one years in prison, but his attorneys are set to file an appeal addressing several issues — something they promised was coming after the verdict.

"We had a lot of reversible errors in the trial, so he advised he wants to pursue an appeal," said Daniels' attorney, Jake Lockert.

First, the defense will argue the judge made a mistake in allowing the jury to hear Daniels' confession.

"Why did I kill my son? Why did I kill my son?" Daniels repeated in a recording shown at trial.

He and his attorney say the confession was coerced. Daniels recanted and said there was no evidence to support the claim that he killed Joe Clyde.

That leads to a second big issue: the child's body has never been found.

There's no physical evidence — blood or DNA — to even prove Joe Clyde is dead.

But remember, prosecutors did call Joe Clyde's older sibling, who testified at trial he witnessed Joseph beat his brother and carry him away.

"The defendant started walking down the driveway?" the sibling was asked at trial.

"Yes," was his answer.

"What had he done with Joe Clyde?" the sibling was asked.

"He had him in his arms," the sibling said.

That sibling testimony helped sealed Daniels' fate with the jury.

On appeal, his attorneys hope to raise credibility issues with both that testimony and the confession.

Joe Clyde's mother, Krystal, agreed to a plea deal to serve 15 years for aggravated child abuse.

She cannot appeal.