After performing the gruesome act, the father of the 5-year-old hid his body and filed a child missing report with the local police department.
After frantically searching for Joe Clyde Daniels’, a 5-year-old missing boy in Tennessee, for over two days, the authorities turned the search into a homicide investigation on Saturday, arresting his father.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Child Alert on Wednesday as the parents of Joe Clyde Daniels reported him missing.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers and volunteers were a part of the search party, with the main focus of search near the boy’s home in Dickson, Tennessee.
However, after a three-day search, the TBI determined that it was the father of the child, Joseph Daniels, who had ”intentionally” killed his son on the night of 3-4 April before hiding his body from the authorities.
Once they had arrested him, the father of the boy confessed to killing his son, said Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe.
After arresting the father on Saturday morning, the TBI agents charged the murderer with one count of criminal homicide. His bond is set at $1 million and Daniels is currently being held at the local jail. It is not yet clear as to who would be his attorney for the case.
Joe Clyde Daniels, the 5-year-old, was autistic and non-verbal. The motive of the murder, as well as details surrounding the homicide, are not yet known.
His family reported him missing from their home in Garners Creeks Road since Tuesday night.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation organized a press conference on Tuesday night in which it detailed the charge sheet against the father.
While the authorities are still searching for the body of the boy – as his father has not divulged the details as to where he has hidden it – TBI says that no volunteers are needed.
