Father arrested for "intentionally killing" five-year-old autistic son; authorities still searching for the child's body
A Tennessee father has been accused of killing his five-year-old son with autism. Joseph Ray Daniels, 28, was arrested in Tennessee on Saturday and has been charged with one count of criminal homicide. An investigation into the death of the child revealed that that the man “intentionally killed” his son Joseph “Joe Clyde” Daniels, who had autism and was non-verbal.
The five-year-old was first reported missing on Friday. After this, the Tennessee Bureau of Federal Investigation issued an Endangered Child alert and began “an exhaustive search” for the boy near his home. When the search was not rewarding, they decided to further investigate the case.
As reported by People, authorities said that the investigation "determined that the child’s father Joseph Daniels intentionally killed his son sometime during the night of April 3-4 in their residence and then hid his son’s body.” The search for his body is still going on. As per a tweet by TBI, Joe was last seen on Tuesday “wearing pajamas with a skeleton print” at his family’s home. They released a video with a picture of Joe in order to get a lead on his disappearance.
The authorities urged people to call them if they got any information on Joe. However, after his death was confirmed by the authorities, they set a press conference to inform people about the progress on the case. “Unfortunately, it is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the turn of events,” Jason Locke, deputy director of TBI said during the conference.
"During the course of the investigation, it was determined the child's father Joseph Daniels intentionally killed his son in his residence and then hid his body," he further added. At the press conference, Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe told reporters that, despite the arrest, the investigation is still ongoing and they are looking if a second suspect might have been involved in the case. "We're not sure where the next turn will be or where the evidence will lead us," he said.
"It's just been a devastating end to this," the sheriff said. "A lot of people have poured their heart and soul into this." The authorities also took to Twitter to thank everyone who had come together in order to help find Joe. "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," the tweet read.
"That work will continue by law enforcement today, so we might provide a small degree of closure for his family and friends."The tweet also attached a picture of Joe. According to authorities, Joseph is currently being held at the Dickson County Jail on a $1 million bond.