As authorities continue to search for a 5-year-old autistic Tennessee boy, his father, who remains behinds bars for the child’s murder, is currently on suicide watch.
WKRN reports that Joseph Ray Daniels, behind bars for allegedly killing his son Joe Clyde Daniels on April 4, is apparently on suicide watch inside the Dickson County jail. The news comes after a police affidavit was released, describing how the suspect reportedly murdered the little boy.
According to the affidavit, Daniels “struck the boy in the body, upper torso, head, and face with closed fist until his son was deceased” while inside their residence off of Garners Creeks Road in Dickson.
Though this news is profoundly disappointing, we are grateful for the volunteers who gave time and resources this week to help search for Joe Clyde. That work will continue by law enforcement today, so we might provide a small degree of closure for his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/i8OmU0gte9
— TBI (@TBInvestigation) April 7, 2018
“Daniels then placed the body of his son in the trunk of his car and disposed of the body in a remote, rural area,” the affidavit continued.
Despite Daniel’s alleged admission to the homicide, he still hasn’t informed authorities where he reportedly hid the little boy’s body. He also reportedly refused to make any phone calls to anyone while in jail.
Police, firefighters, and search teams continued to look for Joe Clyde on Monday morning, hoping to bring closure to the community and family members.
Joe Clyde’s grandmother, Belle Daniels, expressed shock and bewilderment when she learned about her grandson’s death. She indicated she never thought her own son would be capable of killing his child.
“It’s shocking because you raise a child from way back, and you think you know him. You don’t think your child could kill his own baby.”
911 Call Released
As CrimeOnline previously reported, during an April 4 911 call, Daniels calmly told a dispatch operator that his son Joe Clyde Daniels was missing from their Dickson home. Initially, police had no reason to believe Daniels harmed the little boy but after two days of intense searching, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced that Daniels admitted that he killed his son.
WKRN obtained a copy of the 911 call, in which Daniels indicated that his son must have unlocked a door in the home and walked away. He claimed he went to the little boy’s room at 5:30 a.m. on April 4, when he noticed he wasn’t there. Daniels never asked for help while talking to the 911 dispatcher and the only information that he volunteered without being asked was that his boy was autistic and disappeared from their home off of Garners Creek Road.
READ More: Dad ARRESTED for homicide while police continue to search for missing autistic boy, 5
“He stays very calm and he answers questions with one word answers, and of course never tells them to help, he never tells him please get here, please help me, please help me find him…he never asked,” Atlanta’s Cold Case Research Institute Director Sheryl McCollum told CrimeOnline.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to search for Joe Clyde. Over 30 police officers and firefighters, along with dog search teams, are searching throughout secluded wooded areas and water, according to WKRN.
“We’re following indicators that we have, looking at bodies of water, and things that are secluded or may be out of the way. We’re just not leaving anything uncovered,”Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said. “We’re in the same mode of search that we were prior when we were looking at a rescue. Now, with the recovery, we’re still working everything we can.”
Check back with CrimeOnline as we continue to provide updates.
[Feature Photo: Joe Clyde Daniels and Joseph Daniels/TBI]
