Man probed in Tennessee tot Evelyn Mae Boswell's death held for assault on girlfriend and her 8-year-old son
SULLIVAN COUNTY, TENNESSEE: A man who was previously arrested alongside the grandmother of slain Tennessee toddler Evelyn Mae Boswell has now been arrested and charged with child abuse and domestic violence in a different case.
William McCloud was detained after deputies from the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office responded to a residence in the Bristol, Tennessee, area on Sunday, May 24, on reports that an assault had occurred late the previous night, according to Knox News.
When they arrived at the scene, a 37-year-old woman who identified herself as McCloud's ex-girlfriend told officers he had been visiting her and their eight-year-old child for dinner that night when he started assaulting her. She said she believed he could have been under the influence of methamphetamine at the time.
Police revealed, as McCloud assaulted the woman, the child tried to intervene and that, in the ensuing scuffle, the young boy was struck in the face.
Soon after, they managed to track McCloud to a nearby residence, where he was arrested and transported to the Sullivan County Jail. He was subsequently charged with domestic assault, child abuse and neglect, and violation of an order of protection and is now being held on a $50,000 bond.
McCloud had first hit headlines on February 21 when an officer in Wilkes County, North Carolina, stopped a grey 2007 BMW occupied by him and Evelyn's grandmother Angela Boswell, who was his girlfriend at the time. The car had been the target of a BOLO and both were arrested on fugitive warrants.
While he has not been implicated in Evelyn's disappearance and death, the 15-month-old girl's body was found in a shed on a property shared by Angela, and two other family members in March. She was wearing the "exact clothing" she was wearing when she went missing. Other clothing, diapers, and toys that would have belonged to her were also found on the property.
Authorities had issued an Amber Alert for Evelyn after she was reported missing on February 18 by her maternal grandfather Tommy Sr. She had not been seen since December 26, with her mother, Megan, shifting the blame onto her mother, Angela, and claiming that the toddler had been abducted by her.
Megan, 18, had first told police that her daughter was with her father, Ethan Perry, and even detailed a plan to pick her up from him at the parking lot of a grocery store. When asked about the same, Ethan, who was on active duty and stationed in Louisana at the time, said he did not have the young girl.
Then, she pointed the finger at her mother and urged the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to search a campground in Mendota, Virginia where she alleged Angela was keeping the 15-month-old tot in a silver camper. However, an extensive search of the property turned up nothing.
Megan was arrested on February 25 and charged with providing false reports, with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office claiming that her false tips cost them thousands of dollars and made them lose valuable time in their search for Evelyn. While the toddler's body has since been uncovered, investigators have not yet charged anyone with her murder.