UPDATED Live blog: WEEK ONE James Staley trial coverage

Editor's note: Below are updates for the first week of testimony beginning Feb. 27 in James Irven Staley III's murder trial in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, in Wichita Falls.

Wilder was found dead in Staley's home, and law enforcement officials suspect the child was smothered with a pillow. Staley has maintained his innocence.

The blog for Week Two of testimony is here. A jury is expected to hear closing arguments and deliberate on a verdict Monday, March 13. Check the Week Three blog for live updates.

FORT WORTH, Texas — 4:19 p.m. Friday, March 3: WFPD Detective Tanner Fowler says the department also got a judge to sign a second search warrant for the Mac mini belonging to Wilder.

That was because of evolving technology, Fowler tells the jury. He says the GoPro video appearing to show Staley slapping Wilder was retrieved in the first search, and the video was also was found in the second search.

Gillespie introduces screenshots from videos retrieved from Staley's phone. Defense attorneys review them before Fowler testifies. He goes up to a large video screen facing the jury. It is used to show screenshots.

Fowler testifies that the screenshots show the clothing Staley and Wilder are wearing are consistent in the GoPro video of Wilder apparently being slapped and the shiner video.

He tells the jury the arm of Staley's daughter is visible in the shiner video, and she can be seen in the background of GoPro video. She is wearing a light-colored shirt in both videos.

The prosecution is trying to show that both videos were made on the same day. Sept. 1, 2018, might be that day.

During cross examination, defense attorney Terri Moore asks him if the metadata isn't the place to find out when a video is made.

Fowler said no, because some information might be incorrect for certain reasons.

The judge releases the jury at 4:50 p.m. and tells them to return at 9 a.m. Monday.

The judge tells them not to discuss or speculate about the case among themselves or other people.

2:41 p.m. Friday, March 3: The detective whose testimony was just wrangled over is sworn in.

He is WFPD Detective Tanner Fowler of the Crimes Against Persons Unit.

He is called to give testimony about electronic messages retrieved from Staley's cell phone between he and the mother of his daughter, as well as between Staley and his mother in October 2018 after Wilder's death.

Fowler testifies that he resubmitted a warrant for Staley's cell phone because there had been a development in technology. The phone was resubmitted to a Secret Service lab in San Antonio.

The judge sends the jury out for a short break so the defense can see some evidence about to be submitted. About 3 p.m., the jury is back, and someone turns the lights off to show videos.

The first video is a short one in which Staley is trying to get Wilder to tell something to Amber.

“Say something to your mom. What are you going to say to your mom?” Staley says.

“Hi, Mommy, I love you," Wilder said in part of the video.

The prosecution shows the full shiner video, as well as several edited versions of it.

Fowler testifies that using a Cellebrite digital forensics tool, he found that these videos were sent out to others after Wilder's death, including Nancy Staley and Tara Campisi, the mother of Staley's daughter.

On the full version, Staley asks Wilder if he thought Staley pushed him off the bed.

"Yes," Wilder says.

Staley laughs a little and says, apparently to Amber, "Baby, he has a shiner, and he fell off the bed."

A Wichita County grand jury indicted Staley on a charge of injury to a child in connection with an Aug. 31, 2018, incident. It is alleged to have happened while Staley was babysitting Wilder, and Amber was at work tending bar.

After the videos, the defense objects to some evidence, and sotto voice consultations are carried out with the judge and both sides as a waiting silence settles on the courtroom.

The judge rules the evidence, electronic messages retrieved from Staley's phone, is allowed.

The messages are between Staley and Tara Campisi, the mother of Staley's then 4-year-old daughter, in October after Wilder's death.

They have a heated exchange over how Campisi says Staley has treated their daughter in relation to her interview for the injury to a child case against Staley.

“I swear on my life you have seriously (expletive) up this time. You cannot be left alone with my daughter," Campisi says.

She tells Staley he grilled their daughter about her interview

She tells him to go work on himself and that he can't see their child until his legal situation is resolved.

Staley also messages his mother, Nancy Staley, in October after Wilder dies, complaining about Campisi.

1:33 p.m. Friday, March 3: The jury is still out of the courtroom after lunch at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center because the judge wants to read his instructions about the videos to the prosecution and defense.

These are instructions Senior District Judge Everett Young will give to jurors before they see the videos. The defense reasserts some objections raised before the trial about the videos. Young says he overrules them again.

The jury comes back about 11:43, and Erin McDonald, a digital forensics expert, takes the stand. She is with the North Texas Regional Computer Forensic Lab.

On Nov. 9, 2018, she received devices including a Mac mini, cell phones and a gray HP laptop, McDonald tells the jury. They are devices the WFPD collected from Staley's Wichita Falls home on Oct. 22, 2018, by serving a search warrant.

McDonald tells the jury that the HP laptop didn't have much information on it, and that a cleaner program installation file had been downloaded on it.

The judge gives the jury instructions about how to consider the slap video. Four Tarrant County deputies station themselves around the courtroom, keeping eyes on everyone.

The video begins, and Staley rises up behind Wilder on the couch, swings his hand back and down. The crash of the slap rings out in the courtroom, which has been darkened so jurors can better see the video.

Some jurors wipe their eyes, one brings out a tissue and a man on the jury clasps his hands and holds them in front of his face, hunched over with his elbows leaning on his knees for the first few minutes of the video.

Some sitting in the gallery wipe their eyes. Wilder's maternal grandmother is not present although Bubba McDaniel’s Uncle Billy Robinson is. Bubba is Wilder’s dad.

Please note: A TRN reporter mistook Robinson for another one of Wilder’s relatives here in the part above and in an earlier update. We apologize for the confusion.

After the video is over, the lights come back on, and McDonald continues her testimony. The child's grandmother and others return.

The judge once again gives the jury instructions about how to consider the next video, and the lights go off to show a clip apparently edited by Staley to be shorter than the full video.

Staley and Wilder appear in the short video, and Staley asks Wilder if he fell off the bed, and says Wilder has a knot that he wants Amber, the child's mother to see.

“It is quite the shiner," Staley says.

After the video is played, the judge sends the jury out of the room, and the defense objects to the prosecution calling a detective to give an opinion about the videos and whether they were made on the same day.

Defense attorney Terri Moore says the detective is just a lay person and not an expert.

Wichita County DA John Gillespie says he has designated the detective an expert, and the detective will give evidence as to why he thinks the slap video and the shiner video were made on the same day.

Gillespie says the detective is "a hybrid expert" because of his training and experience.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel says the judge should have a hearing to determine whether the detective qualifies as an expert.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner said the detective will testify about his observations of photographs and videos, comparing sets of them to each other.

"All that requires is a pair of eyeballs. That is not expert testimony," Tanner says.

The judge says he will allow the detective to testify as a lay witness without the hearing.

11:40 a.m. Friday, March 3: With the jury gone to lunch, attorneys and the judge take up the matter of an eight-minute video showing Staley slapping a sleeping Wilder from behind and then pretending he didn't do it.

A hearing will take place so the judge can decide whether or not to admit that video and two others as evidence under rules for extraneous offenses.

“The court does expect order to be maintained during the hearing," Senior District Judge Everett Young tells observers in the gallery.

Young says he expects it will be disturbing to some, and they may need to take a break from court.

“I don’t want there to be any outbursts or issues, so I will give you a couple of minutes to consider your presence here," the judge says.

Wilder's grandmother, Dina Taylor, and others leave the courtroom. Billy Robinson, another relative of Wilder, stays.

The judge watches the video that Staley, himself, created with a GoPro camera. It's the same video that Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner mentioned to the jury in her opening statement.

The slap is loud on the video as Staley's hand makes contact with Wilder, who is sleeping sitting up on a couch.

The blow makes the child wake up crying and screaming in a darkened room. Staley gets up from behind the couch that Wilder was sleeping on, seeming to loom up out of the darkness in his white clothing.

Still behind the couch, he opens and closes a door that leads outside, apparently so he can pretend he has been outside. With no Staley in sight, Wilder says "No, James," and eventually calms himself. He calls for Staley, saying, "Daddy."

It should be noted the reaction of Wilder's father, Bubba McDaniel, to the above is this: "Guaranteed he wasn't asking for that (abbreviated expletive) as DADDY... he knew, God it hurts my heart to read and know." Bubba wrote this Saturday, March 4, 2023, on his Facebook page.

On the video: "I'm right here, baby," Staley says. "I was outside, and I heard you crying about something."

HWhat's said is not always discernable on the video. At some point, the lights are flicked on in the room. Staley goes on and off camera. Eventually both leave and go off camera.

Staley says, "Wilder, do you want chocolate milk?"

Later, Staley says, “Wilder, why were you crying while I is was outside?”

“I don’t know," Wilder said.

"You started screaming bloody murder," Staley said.

Staley jokes about it and makes fun of Wilder some, and the child laughs along. At some point, Staley tells Wilder he loves him, and, still off camera, Staley can be heard telling Wilder how to do something.

He quickly grows angry and yells at Wilder when the child doesn't do as he wants. Wilder starts crying.

In the video, Staley veers from apparent cruelty to offering chocolate milk and being loving, to making fun of the child to anger.

The prosecution wants the jury to see this video and two others concerning injuries to Wilder's head after, according to Staley, he fell out of bed.

Wilder refutes this account in the video Staley made to show Amber the child's "shiner" and a knot on his head. Wilder indicates in the video that Staley pushed him off the bed.

Prosecutors contend the videos speak to Staley's prior relationship with Wilder, as well as prior abuse of the child captured on video Step. 1, 2018.

“That video tells us he doesn’t just have a bad sense of humor. He’s got a bad heart," Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner says about the slap video.

In addition, prosecutors say the videos show intent and preparation to carry out a plan to kill Wilder. They allege Staley was setting up a fall history for Wilder so he could make it look like he fell out of his crib Oct. 11, 2018.

The defense argues against the jury seeing the videos. But the judge rules the conduct shown in the videos is relevant and it fits the rules for allowing it in to show all the facts and circumstances of the case, as well as the previous relationship between Staley and wilder and the state of mind of the accused.

The judge dismissed the defense and prosecution about 12:30 p.m. after his ruling, telling them to be back from lunch at 1:30 p.m.

11:15 a.m. Friday, March 3: The WFPD dispatcher testifies about the 911 call from Staley's home the morning of Oct. 11, 2018, p.m.

The 911 call is played and Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom, can be heard on the line, screaming and hysterical. The call lasted 2 minutes and 3 seconds.

The dispatcher testifies that she had a hard time understanding the address because Amber was hysterical.

Amber had worked as a 911 dispatcher, herself, for at least a year, but the dispatcher who takes her emergency call does not recognize her voice.

On the call, Amber is heard screaming and crying. What she is saying is often indiscernible.

“Please!” she says.

"What are the numbers?" the dispatcher says, trying to get her address.

Amber gives her the address numbers.

"Are you needing an ambulance?" the dispatcher asks Amber.

Amber says yes, and the dispatcher tells her not to hang up.

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Amber says. She is crying and still hysterical.

AMR Ambulance can be heard on the line, and the dispatcher gives her the address.

“Did she tell you what happened?” the AMR staff member says.

“I can’t understand what she’s saying," the WFPD dispatcher says.

Later, supervisors figure out that it was Amber on the 911 call, and they are concerned, the dispatcher testifies. She thinks a supervisor contacted Sgt. Charlie Eipper because of their concern.

The dispatcher is dismissed at 11:36 since the defense does not want to cross examine her. The judge sends the jury to lunch.

11 a.m. Friday, March 3: Defense attorney Terri Moore starts her cross examination at about 11:03 a.m.

She wants to know if the records indicate someone with an erratic schedule, and Hawks agrees.

Hawks testifies that his information could not show if a phone is reacting to social media or posting on it.

The defense has contended that Amber's phone was reacting to social media and making a post during the time when she was supposedly asleep leading up to her discovery of Wilder's body by his crib in Staley's County Club area phone.

Gillespie begins his turn at questioning Hawks again like this, "Let's say that somebody commits murder."

And that person wants to go somewhere briefly to calm down, so the person goes to work, would the cell tower information for Staley's phone be consistent with that? the DA said.

Hawks says, yes, it is, as well as consistent with disposing if something in a dumpster a person might know of in the area.

“The phone appeared to be there for a little bit of the time, but that could be one of the stops," Hawks says.

The phone was away from the house “potentially as long as an hour," he testifies.

9:15 a.m. Friday, March 3: This is the fifth day of testimony in the murder trial of James Irven Staley III, who is accused of killing 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, in the defendant's Wichita Falls home.

This morning's witnesses so far have been testifying regarding cell phone forensics and apparently providing the jury with a history of how the data was extracted from the phones and basically proving up its authenticity.

On Wednesday, jurors heard a sample of messages between Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom, and Staley from July 2018 through October 2018, including some after the child's death.

There were over 9,000 messages between them found in text, Snapchat and Facebook messenger they exchanged during the approximately three months of their relationship.

The first witness is a digital forensics expert who is on the stand only for a short time.

Retired Wichita Falls Police Department Jason Jones takes the stand about 9:30 a.m. He retired Feb. 28 and now works for MSU Texas police.

At the end of his career at WFPD, he worked in financial crimes and cell phone forensics.

Under questioning from Wichita County DA John Gillespie, Jones confirms he used Cellebrite, a digital forensics tool, to prepare information from an iPhone 8 for detectives.

The defense declines to question him, and he steps down at 9:39 a.m.

Jason Hawks is then called to the stand. He is an expert at cell phone tower data analysis. Hawks flew in from Southern California last night during the dodgy weather.

He has analyzed cell records for a pattern of life analysis. That means looking at different historical records to analyze a person's cell phone activities.

Hawk's testimony is careful and incremental and sometimes math-laden, but it pays off for the proseuction.

The importance of it is that the cell phone tower data Hawk has mined indicates that there was a period in the early morning hours of Oct. 11 during which Staley was not at his home on Irving Place but was at or near his workplace near Taft Boulevard and Southwest Parkway.

The former cop who has been certified as an expert 40 times presents this timeline of where Amber and Staley's phones were at the time in question on Oct. 11:

• 2:33 a.m. Amber and Staley's cell phones are both at home.

• 2:53 a.m. Staley's phone is in the vicinity of his workplace, which is near Southwest Parkway and Taft Boulevard. Amber's phone is at home.

• 3:30 a.m. Staley's phone is back at home. Amber's phone is at home.

So Hawks' testimony indicates Staley left his home in the early morning hours of Oct. 11 and went to the area of his work, opening up a line of suspicion for the prosecution to capitalize on.

In earlier testimony, there has been some mention of the WFPD getting information that led to a quest for gas station video in that area and possibly a search of dumpsters.

Hawks shows the jury maps with highlighted areas showing where cell phone tower usage indicates the phones were.

Hawks says "the area of," however and has already explained that his analysis can't pinpoint exactly where a phone has been.

He sifted through AT&T records from April 1 through Oct. 11 to create his analysis.

In the 70-plus days of information that he analyzed, Hawks found only one other quick back and forth trip from home to work back to home for Staley's phone. That similar trip was on Aug. 7, 2018.

Defense attorney Terri Moore starts her cross examination at about 11:03 a.m.

3:20 p.m. Thursday, March 2: Amber McDaniel's sister takes the stand to testify.

Shalah Wakefield of Wichita Falls fights back tears at times.

She testifies that Wilder was very attached to his mom, Amber, and very close to her.

Wakefield told the jury that mother and son were "adventurous. They were never just sitting at home."

Amber's motherhood was "literally probably one of the most natural things I've ever witnessed," Wakefield testified.

Wakefield testifies that Wilder started saying, "No James!"

"Honestly, I didn't know what to think at first," Wakefield said.

She knew Staley was a new person in Wilder's life. During a cookout on Oct. 6, 2018, at Staley's house, Wilder spent most of his time in her lap. He did not want to interact with Staley.

Oct. 7, 2018, stands out in her mind because it was the last time she saw Wilder alive, Wakefield said. She stopped by her parents' house to see the child, who was running around in his pajamas and playing.

Amber came to pick him up, and Wilder became upset and started saying, "No James!" They started toward the backdoor.

"He reached over Amber's shoulder to me and yelled to me to come and get him," Wakefield testified. "The last words I heard him say were, "No James! No James! They walked out the back door with him continuing to reach over his shoulder for me."

On the day Wilder was found dead, Wakefield went to Staley's home on Irving Place. There, she saw her mother, Dina Taylor, outside in extreme duress while David Taylor, her stepfather, held her up.

Amber came out of the house, walked past Wakefield down the driveway and fell on her knees, Wakefield told the jury.

"She's broken. Amber died with Wilder that day," Wakefield testified.

Wilder was "just so happy, full of life loving, just the sweetest kid I've ever met, and I've got three kids of my own," Wakefield testified.

Defense attorney Terri Moore cross examines Wakefield, asking if she is aware that Wilder often said, "No Summer! No Summer!” about Amber's then best friend.

That is what she has been told, Wakefield told the jury.

With storms expected, the judge dismissed the jury about 3:45 p.m.

2:16 p.m. Thursday, March 2: Special prosecutor Lisa Tanner and expert witness Tim Allen are reading messages counting down to Wilder's death at this point.

The evening of Oct. 10, 2018, the day before Wilder's death, Staley says he will stop ignoring Wilder and whip him if he acts up.

Amber says Staley should give Wilder a minute to realize he's being ignored.

At 2:20 p.m., Tanner and Allen stop reading the messages, and defense attorney Terri Moore begins her cross examination of Allen, a former Secret Service agent who is an expert in digital forensics.

Allen confirms that there are 9,751 messages between Amber and Staley and that Gillespie has picked some from them for the jury to hear.

"Since he cherry picked, let me cherry pick a few of them," Moore said.

She has Allen read Staley's part in romantic messages while she reads Amber's part. They sound like two people falling in love.

In response to a question from Moore, Allen says that he's been married many years, and his wife doesn't talk that way to him.

"I love the little nugget. I love you both so much," Staley says.

"We love you, too," Amber says.

In early October, Staley says, “I don’t ever want you to leave.”

“And I don’t ever want to bug you or make you feel suffocated," Amber says,

"You never do. . . . You are my snuggle bug, and I miss you," Staley says.

On Oct. 9, Staley says, “I’m sorry I’m being a (expletive). I’m stressed out”

“It’s all right," Amber says.

“No it’s not," Staley says.

“I know I’m a brat sometimes," Amber says.

Moore unsuccessfully seeks Allen's opinion as to whether the preceeding exchange shows a vulnerability on Staley's part.

"You don’t want to answer? OK," Moore says when Allen indicates that.

Allen is dismissed from the stand at about 3:02 p.m. The judge gives the jury a break.

1:20 p.m. Thursday, March 2: Back from lunch, Allen and Tanner continue reading the messages between Amber and Staley.

Wilder continues to be the butt of jokes in their messages, and at times, his father Bubba McDaniel is mentioned in a derogatory manner.

Amber defends Wilder but sometimes joins in.

“Only the good die young. . . . That (expletive) is living forever," Staley messages.

“LMAO Stop. . . . My poor baby has a (expletive) sperm donor," Amber says.

“LOL. He’s got an awesome mother. . . . We will have more kids," Staley says. He speculates that maybe SIDS will strike Wilder.

Amber tells him not to say that.

“That’s bad karma," she says.

Staley tells her, “I’m talking (expletive) with you … I really do love the little guy.”

Staley often refers to Wilder with a racial slur. One day, Amber tells Staley that Wilder is "being an extra person of color today."

Some messages seem chilling even though Staley apparently couches them as his brand of humor.

Staley says to Amber, "Like I said the other day, you make me feel like I matter. Like I’m important. . . . If this doesn’t work out. Don’t worry. I’ll kill you.”

So theirs will be the last relationship she's ever in, Staley says.

9:20 a.m. Thursday, March 2: Expert witness Tim Allen is on the stand testifying about electronic messages he has retrieved from the cell phone of James Irven Staley III.

Staley, 40, is accused of murdering 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, in the defendant's Wichita Falls home.

Allen formerly served as a special agent with the Secret Service, and his expertise includes digital forensics, cybersecurity and electronic crimes.

This is the fourth day of testimony in Staley's murder trial at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth.

The messages are cell phone texts and from Facebook Messenger and Snapchat. They include the period from July 2018 through October 2018.

More:Childhood friend testifies against Staley

Allen reads some of the messages in court at the prompting of Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie.

The DA introduces a state's exhibit consisting of a thick, ring binder —maybe 3 or 4 inches thick — of pages and pages of messages.

After a short break, the jurors each receive binders containing the messages to flip through and follow along as they are read. Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner reads the part of them sent by Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mother. Allen reads Staley's part.

The dozens and dozens of messages seem to show the arc of their relationship from a hopeful beginning to the dark days after Amber found Wilder deceased on the floor near his crib in a bedroom of Staley's home.

In some messages, Staley reminds Amber of his wealth and resources, haranguing her to quit her job at a bar that he can buy if he wanted to or joking he's going to leave Wilder some lighters so he can do an insurance job and burn down Staley's Country Club area home.

“You worry me sometimes," Amber says, adding happy face emojis.

Staley says he is joking.

"If he burned it down, we could take that money and really make it sick. LOL" he messages.

In July 2018, Amber tells Staley that she and her child "are a package deal. . . . I’m 100 percent when I’m with someone, but Wilder is with me 24/7.”Staley says, "I'll give it my best. . . . I don’t need to be fixed. I just need some help to keep from breaking myself over and over again.”

He tells Amber that he has problems with bipolar and depression issues.

She later tells him that she doesn't think he needs to be fixed, but she needs to be focused for school.

(Amber went to school to become a respiratory therapist.)

The messages are full of Staley saying gay and racial slurs about Wilder, at times as if they are pet names. The defendant makes pitch black jokes about buying a ball gag or a shock collar for Wilder, punching the child or putting him in the "tinderbox."

In turn, Amber tells Staley she can't wait for him to get old so she can push his wheelchair out in the street.

Staley tells her those are the kind of jokes he likes. They can be mean but have to be funny.

Amber says she can't wait to do life with him.

“We’re going to have so much fun," Staley says.

Staley often complains about Wilder's behavior to Amber, who reminds him the child is only 2 and still getting a handle on controlling his emotions.

The messages show repeated arguments over Wilder during which Staley criticizes Amber's parenting and urges her to make Wilder mind. She replies that she is trying and still learning as a mom.

More than once, they exchange break-up messages but then get back together. Wilder ends up with a suspicious injury one night while she's working at the bar and the child is in Staley's care.

Staley demands she quit her job or lose him, resorting to calling Amber names.

Tanner and Allen read the messages in a conversational way but fairly quickly, calling out various emojis.

Senior District Judge Everett Young sends the jury to lunch about noon. They are to return at 1 p.m.

2:48 p.m. Wednesday, March 1: WFPD officer Walter Vermillion takes the stand.

A longtime Wichita Falls police officer, Vermillion was in the Crimes Against Children Unit at the time of Wilder's death.

Questioned by DA Gillespie, Vermillion is testifying about what the DA calls the "God, I hate [gay slur] kids group text." The detective said he knew about the text messages Staley sent to his friends.

During the Oct. 22, 2018, search of Staley's home, Vermillion saw a Mac mini in a closet and told a crime scene technician to seize it, he told the jury.

Vermillion said he knew a Mac mini can be synched with other devices. The search warrant for Staley's home signed by retired 78th District Judge Barney Fudge allowed for the seizure of clothing, as well as electronic devices.

He testified that a Mac mini is a small computer or hard drive that can use apps.

Vermillion escapes cross examination by the defense and is allowed to step down at about 3 p.m. But he is called back to the stand briefly at 3:17 p.m. after a break.

Gillespie asks Vermillion to verify serial numbers of the Mac mini and a gray laptop, and he does.

Vermillion steps down from the stand again at 3:19 p.m. Amber Koch comes forward to testify right after that.

Koch testifies she worked with Staley from about Jan. 2017 to December 2018 in an office in the 4700 block of Taft Street. Staley and his partner worked there in the energy business.

Koch met Amber McDaniel once but never met Wilder. She testified that Staley sent her a video apparently taken by Amber M., who asks Wilder if he is pooping. In the video, Wilder is kneeling down, and he tells his mom, no.

Koch told the jury it was an innocent video, but she thought it was odd Staley sent it to her.

One day, Staley told her that Amber M. was no longer working because one night while she was at work and Wilder was in Staley's care, the child hit his head, but Staley couldn't reach Amber M., Koch testified.

"I believe he said he was going to pay her bills because she quit her job," Koch testified.

Staley told Koch he loved Amber and wanted to be with her or marry her. Koch expressed doubts to Staley about him and stepparenting, she testified.

Koch testified that she thinks Staley is manipulative.

During defense attorney Mark G. Daniel's cross examination of Koch, he points out the video was of a child's cute moment, showing Wilder saying he is not pooping when he actually was.

Koch confirms that she did believe Staley loved Wilder and Amber M. and that they spoke of personal matters in the office.

The judge dismisses the jury about 3:30 p.m., and the trial is over for the day.

It should be noted that at this point, three women named Amber have been mentioned or testified in the trial:

• Amber McDaniel, who was Amber Odom at the time of her child Wilder's death. She has not yet testified although she has been spoken of much during the trial.

• Amber Campisi, who is aunt to Staley's daughter with her sister, Tara Campisi. She testified Wednesday about electronic messages she received from Staley on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 of 2018.

• Amber Koch, who worked with Staley in the energy business in Wichita Falls. She testified Wednesday about conversations with Staley regarding Amber M., Wilder and stepparenting, as well as a video he sent her of Wilder.

2:31 p.m. Wednesday, March 1: Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie takes over questioning retired detective Betty Dean, asking her about a child abuse pediatrician law-enforcement officials have consulted before.

Dean steps down at about 2:30 p.m., and the judge gives the jury a recess.

Some familiar faces in North Texas law enforcement showed up Wednesday to observe the trial, including 97th DA Casey Hall, 97th Assistant DA Judy Price, and 97th DA's Investigator Chris Hamilton.

1:18 p.m. Wednesday, March 1: Betty Dean, a retired WFPD detective, is testifying about responding to Staley's home the day Wilder was found dead.

When she saw blood on Wilder's mouth, she checked his upper and lower frenulum for damage and found none, Dean testified.

The frenulum are folds of skin inside the mouth that may be damaged in certain instances.

Dean found two empty wine bottles in the trash during her examination of the home, she told the jury.

"I detected the odor of alcoholic beverage on her breath," Dean testified.

The detective had tried to console Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom, who was very upset, and noticed the smell of alcohol while hugging her, Dean told the jury.

Dean asked ambulance personnel who responded to document everything they saw and heard since police were dealing with a child's death.

On Oct. 18, 2011, Dean drove to the Collin County Child Advocacy Center and interviewed Staley's then 4-year-old daughter, the detective testified.

In addition, Dean was one of the officers present Oct. 22, 2018, when a search warrant was served on Staley's home in the Country Club area of Wichita Falls. She testified that she took Staley's cell phone that day.

"I asked for the passcode from James Staley," Dean testified. "I explained that I only wanted to put it in airplane mode."

Staley declined, she told the jury.

Dean testified that she turned his cell phone off and put it in the trunk of her vehicle. On Oct. 23, 2018, she put the phone into the WFPD property room.

Under cross examination from defense attorney Terri Moore, Dean agreed that the most important thing she did Oct. 11, 2018, was look at Wilder's body.

Dean testifies that she made it known that Amber had formerly worked for the WFPD in case someone involved in the case knew her.

Amber was a dispatcher for Wichita Falls police. As for Dean, she began her career in August 1989 and retired March 31, 2021. Her service includes 11 years working crimes involving juveniles.

Dean testified that she did not get permission from now retired Justice of the Peace Janice R. Sons to examine Wilder's body. She and another officer wore gloves while looking at Wilder.

Dean testifies that she was assisting lead detective Chad Nelson, who was investigating his first child death. Nelson was somewhat looking to her, as the more experienced child-death investigator, for guidance.

She looked inside the child's mouth but didn't note any injuries in her report, so she didn't find any. Dean also didn't find any fabric or threads inside his mouth or fingermarks or bruising to the front part of his face.

She agreed that she saw bruising elsewhere that looked like typical toddler stuff.

When Dean returned to help serve the search warrant Oct. 22, 2018, Staley and his attorney Bruce Harris were there. She was aware that the warrant was served 11 days after the child's death and that Staley had signed a consent to search the preceding Oct. 11.

Dean and Nelson went to observe the autopsy on Oct. 12, 2018, at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas, and Dr. Stephen M. Hastings, medical examiner, told them he had not determined a cause of death at that time.

According to the final autopsy report, the manner of death remained undetermined, but autopsy findings were "concerning for a homicidal death” caused by someone smothering him with a pillow.

In addition, the scene information was considered "irregular and highly suspicious of a homicidal death,” according to the Jan. 24, 2019, autopsy report from SWIFS. And findings were suggestive of an asphyxial cause of death.

11:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 1: WFPD Sgt. Danny Wiggins takes the witness stand.

Wiggins responded to the scene the morning of Oct. 11, 2018, at Staley's home. David Taylor, Amber McDaniel's stepfather and "Pawpaw" to Wilder, comes to the home. Taylor is not allowed into the home.

"He was devastated," Wiggins, one of the supervisors on scene, said.

He testified that from the scene, he believed police were dealing with a child homicide instead of a natural death.

Staley's attorney, Bruce Harris, told Wiggins later that Staley would not be providing an interview to the police.

Wiggins and other officers went to serve a search warrant at Staley's home Oct. 22, 2018. Eventually, Staley appeared holding a cell phone that police seized.

He would not give officers the passcode to the cell phone.

Defense attorney Terri Moore begins cross examining Wiggins.

He testifies that he was the supervisor of detectives there.

Wiggins tells the jury that Staley was sitting in the police station waiting when his attorney, Bruce Harris, showed up and told Wiggins that Staley was not going to give a formal interview to police.

Moore dives into questioning about the warrant served Oct. 22, 2018. Police saw a trailer to move stuff when they went to Staley's home that day.

"Y'all had 11 days to get that warrant," Moore said.

Staley had signed a consent to search Oct. 11, 2018, so police could have taken anything they wanted then, Moore said.

Wiggins agrees.

He is dismissed from the stand at 11:40 a.m. Shortly after, Senior District Judge Everett Young dismisses the jury for lunch until 1 p.m.

The use of cell phones and cameras are not allowed in the courtroom for Staley's trial.

10:53 a.m. Wednesday, March 1: The judge gave the jury a break, and it turns out Nelson is not dismissed after all.

The defense had the chance to look some information up regarding when Amber went to bed.

The defense attorney asks Nelson a couple of more questions, and Daniel seems satisfied he has shown Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom, went to bed around 10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Nelson's testimony is finally over.

Amber Campisi takes the witness stand. She is the aunt of Staley's daughter with her sister, Tara Campisi. Amber and Tara Campisi both say they work at the family business, Campisi's Restaurants, on their Facebook accounts.

She testifies about electronic messages exchanged with Staley on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 of 2018.

The messages were via text and Snapchat.

"I have a secret. Please, let me tell you," Staley messaged her at 11:20 p.m. Oct. 10, 2018 . "I can't hold it in. Call me, please."

On Oct. 11, 2018, she texted him back to say, Sorry, I was sleeping. Staley let her know that her sister and her new boyfriend were expecting a child, Amber C. testified.

"I'm in shock," Amber C. messaged back.

There's a joke about whether the baby will have "scary eyes" like the father.

"LMAO," Staley messages her at 11:09 a.m. on Oct 11, 2018.

Amber C. testifies that they were joking about her sister being pregnant. She believes Snapchat messages go away.

9:30 am. Wednesday, March 1: WFPD Detective Chad Nelson starts his day on the witness stand again after his four hours of testimony Tuesday in James Irven Staley III's murder trial in connection with the killing of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel is grilling Nelson, taking up where he left off Tuesday.

Daniel said, Did Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mother, make any reference to being "blitzed," drunk or passed out the evening before she woke up and discovered her son dead the next morning?

Nelson said Amber didn't say she was intoxicated. There was a reference to her drinking over a bottle of wine and a glass of liquor.

More:'No James': First day of testimony highlights Wilder's feelings toward Staley

Daniel wants to know about Amber posting and reacting to social media even though she had said she went to bed at 9 p.m. to 9:30 Oct. 10, 2018 — according to the defense —and didn't wake up until about 9:15 a.m. the next day.

"Do people generally post on the internet in their sleep?" Daniel asks the detective while he is looking for information to respond to a question the defense attorney already posed.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie objects to Daniel asking too many questions at once, winning Nelson a reprieve.

After consulting his paperwork, Nelson said he didn't find any reference to Amber posting on social media.

Daniel wants to know how Nelson followed up on information from Jason Odom, no relation to Amber, that he heard her during a phone call to Staley from 12:25 a.m. to 12:33 a.m. the morning of Oct. 11, 2018.

The defense attorney points out this is conflicting information with the timeline from Amber, formerly Amber Odom, about her activities.

"I did not contact her after my conversation with Jason Odom. I did not," Nelson said.

He said the last time he talked to Amber was in January 2019.

Daniel finishes his cross examination, and the DA begins additional questions, apparently designed to disprove any points the defense attorney might have made during the detective's testimony.

Gillespie asks Nelson if he has a photographic memory, to which the detective says no.

Nelson testifies that it's been about four years since his interviews with Amber.

He reads from a transcript of his Oct. 11, 2018, interview with Amber, who told him she didn't know what time she went to bed. She didn't have her phone.

During his Oct. 12, 2018, interview with Amber, Nelson asked her again when she went to sleep, and she again said she didn't know, according to the transcript of the interview he reads from.

Gillespie's next line of questioning seeks to refute the defense teams' contention that Amber's tone changed regarding whether Staley might have killed her child.

Nelson said Amber was shocked when he told her blood had been found in the crib Oct. 11. During the next day's interview, she began to believe Staley did kill Wilder.

"I wish he would have killed me, not my baby," Amber told Nelson at a later time.

Daniel objects to this, and the judge sustains it.

Gillespie has Nelson look at a report written by WFPD Sgt. Charlie Eipper so the detective can testify about whether there is a reference to Staley crying.

Nelson said there is no reference to Staley crying at the scene in the report.

This tracks back to Daniel's efforts Tuesday to try to show that Nelson was in error about when Staley cried. An EMT testified earlier in the trial that he did not appear affected or concerned by Wilder's death. Others have noted a lack of response from him.

The defense followed up with questions that led to the witness agreeing that people react differently in grief.

Gillespie passes the witness, and Daniel starts questioning him again.

The defense attorney has Nelson hunting for part of an interview transcript to find a time frame for how long she swam before going to bed.

Daniel contends Amber told the detective she swam 25 minutes and then went to bed.

Nelson testifies that he can't find that information in the transcript.

The detective is allowed to step down from the witness stand at 10:33 a.m., but he was not released from the rule not to talk about the case.

5 p.m. Tuesday: With the jury gone, DA Gillespie brings up that part of text messages in evidence in the trial have been redacted to take out sexual relationship references.

The defense requested those redactions before the text messages were presented to the jury.

The trial is over for the day.

4 p.m. Tuesday: Detective Chad Nelson has been on the stand about three hours when a defense attorney gets a shot at cross examination.

Daniel questions him about meetings concerning the Wilder murder case with the DA's Office and the infant death questionnaire from the day of 2-year-old Wilder's death.

Nelson testifies that he interviewed both Amber and Staley for the same questionnaire.

Daniel asked him, "I don't mean to ask this in a confrontational manner," but Amber, "bless her heart," was attired in a T-shirt and underwear but was not wearing pants during Nelson's initial interview of her.

According to a prosecutor's opening argument Monday, Amber discovered Wilder dead just after she woke up the morning of the child's death.

Nelson said he has no recollection of that. He also didn't recall if an officer had told him there was blood on the rail of Wilder's crib at Staley's house.

Daniel produced the officer's report saying blood was on the rail of the crib.

Nelson said the report eventually became part of his documentation for the case as lead detective.

Daniel asked Nelson if officers meet with the DA before filing their reports.

"They don't come and make sure this is what the DA wants to put in the report?" Daniel said.

Nelson said no, they don't.

The detective testified that he was assigned to the Wilder homicide case for about a year and a half. He now administers sex offender registration for the WFPD.

Nelson told the jury he observed the autopsy of Wilder's body. When he spoke of it to Amber later, he told her the medical examiner had handled her child with compassion.

Daniel asked him if he had heard anything about Wichita County switching from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas because the Wilder autopsy findings were undetermined.

Nelson said no, he didn't know where autopsies for Wichita County were done now, and he hadn't heard about SWIFS.

The cross examination became heated on Daniel's part with him telling the detective at one point that he could "dodge" a particular question about Staley if Nelson wanted to.

The issue had to do with Staley crying or, as some have said, not appearing particularly affected by Wilder's death.

The defense attorney had Nelson read from another officer's report that said Staley was crying and dry heaving.

Daniel is seeking to tear holes in Nelson's previous testimony about Staley not giving a full, videotaped interview to police.

Wichita Falls attorney Bruce Harris advised Staley not to do the interview, Daniel said.

Nelson's glasses are off for a bit, and he is sipping from a water bottle as Daniel continues his full-on assault on the detective's testimony and even whether he did his job right in the Wilder investigation.

The defense attorney is all but leaving teeth marks in the air while Nelson works to hold his own on the stand.

"You're the lead detective?" Daniel said.

Until May 11, Nelson said. The detective said he needs to look through a long report to respond to one of Daniel's questions.

"You can't tell me the items taken out of that crib?" Daniel said, referring to Wilder's crib at Staley's home.

The judge recesses the trial for the jury just as Nelson is either finishing his fourth hour on the stand or about to. It is 4:58 p.m.

3:05 p.m. Lead detective Chad Nelson continues his testimony after the break, saying he interviewed Amber's mother and her sister in late October 2018.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie does not question Nelson about those interviews.

He also sent Staley's phone and his Mac Mini, and Amber's phone to Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences' crime lab in Dallas, Nelson testified.

The detective testifies that he also interviewed Staley's sister and mother. During his interview of Nancy Staley, James Staley's mom, the defendant calls her many times.

Nancy answers the phone, "Hello, James."

Nelson testifies he can hear James telling her to, "Stop talking to us. Hang up the phone. Call his attorney."

Gillespie presents various evidence in its packaging, such as buccal swabs used to collect DNA for testing from inside a person's cheeks, that Nelson confirms SWIFS analyzed in the organization's crime lab.

The bespectacled detective is a 19-year veteran of the Wichita Falls Police Department.

Nelson testifies that a warrant was executed by law enforcement authorities in Okmulgee, Okla., where Staley was living at the time to collect a DNA sample with a buccal swab. The sample was collected in March 2019 at the Okmulgee Police Department.

In May 2020, the murder of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, hit a temporary roadblock.

Nelson testified that the killing was classified as a cold case, pending the processing of electronic devices the WFPD collected for it. He was off the case as of May 11, 2020. In addition, the WFPD was waiting for a report from an expert, too.

Resources to forensically analyze the devices were limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to delays in getting evidence processed and back to agencies, Nelson testified.

The state has three attorneys for the Staley trial: DA Gillespie, Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner and Special Prosecutor Eric Nickols. Tanner and Nickols were brought on board specifically for the Staley trial.

Fort Worth defense attorneys Terri Moore and Mark G. Daniels sit at the defense table with Staley in a chair to their right.

Testimony is taking place before Senior District Judge Everett Young. He is the fourth judge assigned to the murder case. Three other judges had recused themselves by the time Young came to the case in the summer of 2021.

2:00 p.m.: WFPD Detective Chad Nelson is testifying about interviewing Amber McDaniel, then Amber Odom, about two hours after the discovery of Wilder's body.

The prosecution shows a video clip of Nelson's interview with Amber. She breaks down into sobs and heartbroken screams.

He mentions to her during the interview that there was blood in the crib.

Nelson, lead detective in the WFPD investigation, said she responded: "Was there blood? Did James do something?"

Nelson told jurors that he sought to be sensitive to Amber's emotional state. She told him she had a photo to send him. Someone called her phone, located it and it was given to her.

She later sent Nelson a photo of her son with signs of injury that has been attributed to Staley in allegations of injury to a child, the detective testified.

Neither Staley nor an attorney for him have ever reached out to offer to provide a full interview to police, Nelson testified. The detective later interviewed Bradley Prigmore, Staley's friend, about a text message thread in which the defendant wrote disparagingly of Wilder.

On Oct. 12, Nelson learned Amber wanted to speak to him again to show him messages between her and Staley. He interviewed her again in the WFPD and asked her to screenshot and send him the messages.

In addition in Plano, Nelson interviewed Tara Campisi, mother of Staley's then 4-year-old daughter.

Nelson testified that Everett Baxter Jr., who taught him in a criminology course, was brought on board in early 2019 as an expert for the case because a latent print and suspected blood was found on the pillowcase for Wilder's pillow.

He learned the pillowcase material was delicate, and the WFPD would only have one shot at getting certain evidence.

Nelson learned the print would be good for excluding one person in the household. He worked with another expert to find out what would be needed for further analysis. Further impressions or prints were needed from Amber, who signed a consent form for them in October 2019.

Attorney Bruce Harris contacted Nelson after Wilder's death in October 2018 to ask if Staley could remove the crib from his house, the detective told the jury. Nelson said no.

A search warrant was supposed to be served on Staley's home in the 2000 block of Irving Place, Nelson told the jury. Information was received that resulted in the WFPD speeding up serving the search warrant.

The judge did not allow whatever the new information was to be heard by the jury upon a hearsay objection from defense attorney Mark G. Daniel.

Upon arrival at Staley's house, Nelson was concerned when he saw a trailer to move stuff there, he testified.

The judge gave the jury a short break at about 2:45 p.m.

1:15 p.m.: The prosecution calls WFPD detective Chad Nelson to the stand after the jury returns from the lunch recess.

Nelson was the lead detective who responded to Staley's home the day of Wilder's death Oct. 11, 2018.

Nelson testified that he heard the kind of agonized screaming rarely heard as he went up to the Staley house. Amber -- then with the last name Odom -- was sitting on a white couch in the formal living room inside, screaming and cuddling her deceased child, who was wrapped in a blanket.

A police officer already at the scene told Nelson where Staley was, Nelson told the jury. Staley is in a closet sitting on the floor in a fetal position with his hands wrapped around his knees and his head bowed.

"I was wondering why he was there and not with his girlfriend," Nelson testified.

The closet had a desk and computer in it, and photographs show it appears to be equipped like an office.

On the way to Staley, Nelson passed the bedroom where Wilder was found deceased and noticed a small stain on the floor there.

Nelson had a child death questionnaire used by the WFPD used for any type of child death investigated, he told the jury. He didn't think Amber was in an emotional place to be able to respond to the questionnaire.

Nelson said he saw a pocketknife in the closet. Staley was cooperative during the limited interview the detective recorded on his iPhone.

Texas is a one-party consent state, allowing a conversation to be recorded if one party consents to it.

Nelson felt despair when he later realized he couldn't retrieve the report from his phone, he told jurors. So he made a report on the interview.

Staley told the detective that Amber put Wilder to bed between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Oct. 10, 2018. Amber and Staley went swimming and drank multiple alcoholic beverages.

Staley told Nelson he fell asleep on a couch in the living room between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Oct. 11, 2018. He didn't know when Amber went to bed, but he stayed up eating ice cream sandwiches and chips and salsa because he was not ready to go to sleep yet.

Staley told the detective that he has a hard time going to sleep because of the mood stabilizers he takes. Nelson testified that at first Staley said he checked on Wilder, but later said he didn't check on the little boy.

The detective asked Staley about drugs anyone in the household is taking, and he said he was taking Adderal, Xanax and Lexapro.

Staley was awoken that morning by Amber's screaming, Nelson testified. Staley signed a consent-to-search form voluntarily.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel asked Nelson about the consent-to-search from and if it allows police to search "every nook and cranny."

Nelson confirmed that it did and, at the request of Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie, reads the form aloud to the jury.

Staley asked, "What criminal proceeding?" when Nelson read that phrase from the form, the detective testified. He told the defendant that every death investigation is a criminal investigation until otherwise determined.

"For the first time, I saw him cry," Nelson told the jury.

11:38 a.m. Tuesday: Murder defendant James Irven Staley III's childhood friend just took the stand to testify against him for the prosecution.

Bradley Carson Prigmore, once a high school and college tennis standout, told jurors that Staley texted him and others in a group text a video of Wilder and a message that he thinks the child is "a [gay slur]."

Staley sent the video and texts at some point before Wilder's death. The video shows Wilder running while appearing to be upset. He is running behind Amber.

"Kid needs an ass-whooping and a daddy," Prigmore said, reading a message from Staley in the group text.

More:'No James': First day of testimony highlights Wilder's feelings toward Staley

Staley texted that the child belongs to a "chick" he's been dating. He indicated by text that he thought Wilder was coddled and needs to grow up.

Prigmore told jurors that when he heard about Wilder's death, he provided the messages and video to someone to give to Amber. He later provided the same information to police.

About Staley, Prigmore testified, "I believe him to be manipulative."

He told the jury that Staley has a dark sense of humor, but the messages and video went beyond that. So he turned them over to someone.

A defense attorney questioned how concerned he was since he did not immediately provide the video and texts to police upon receiving them.

Prigmore testified that no, he did not give them to police right away.

Prigmore pleaded guilty to injury to a child about a year ago and is serving 10 years of deferred adjudication probation as part of a plea bargain. If he successfully serves his probation, Prigmore will avoid a conviction on his record.

Testimony is to resume at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

9:30 a.m. Tuesday: An evidence technician for the Wichita Falls Police Department continues testifying about the extensive forensic evidence she collected for the case.

For instance, she collected impressions of every surface of the hands of Wilder's mother, Amber McDaniel, as well as her DNA, which were supplied without a warrant.

The same material was collected from James Irven Staley III, who is accused of murdering Wilder. But a warrant or warrants were required.

Lisa Tanner, one of the prosecutors, shows Wilder's crib that was in Staley's Wichita Falls home in the Country Club area. The white crib was dragged out so that the jury can view it.

More:UPDATED: Wilder's mother charged with child endangerment, evidence tampering

The 2-year-old boy's body was found on the floor outside of the crib by Amber on the morning of Oct. 11, 2018, according to Tanner's opening statement.

Tanner put photos of the white crib sitting in the bedroom in Staley's home on a screen for the jury to view.

The tech testifies that it was important to get a photo of the crib so she could show the scene of the child's death accurately as possible.

She told jurors that there was no blood visible on the railings of the crib. The evidence tech also made sure to capture on camera a stain on the floor, and she collected a king-sized pillow from the crib.

The technician, who has 17 years of experience, holds up the pillow and says it is marked from later testing.

5:30 p.m. Monday: It was an emotional day in court for 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel’s family.

One of Wilder’s grandparents was the first witness in the murder trial for James Irven Staley III in connection with Wilder’s death Oct. 11, 2018.

He testified that Wilder’s death destroyed his family.

He broke down into tears when telling the jury the last thing Wilder ever said to him the day before the child died: ”No James, Pawpaw. No James’ house.”

Wilder’s mother, Amber McDaniel, woke up Oct. 11, 2018, and found her son dead in a bedroom at Staley’s house, according to a prosecutor’s opening statements.

A defense attorney later contended that Wilder also said a phrase similar to, ”No James,” while speaking of a friend of his mother and a girlfriend of his father.

Amber and Wilder’s father, Robert "Bubba" McDaniel Jr., were not together at the time of the child’s death. She was seeing Staley, and she and Wilder were staying there when he died.

At the end of the day in court, jurors viewed photos of the dead child taken by an evidence technician who works for Wichita Falls police.

One of the child’s family members wept, and another shielded her eyes from the graphic photos.

Testimony will continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

12:30 p.m. Monday: The defense and prosecution made opening statements in the trial Monday, and Staley entered a not guilty plea before the jury.

James Irven Staley III sat quietly during the proceedings Monday, listening as a prosecutor described the “horror” of the allegations against him.

“This defendant smothered the life out of that sweet little boy,” Lisa Tanner, one of the prosecutors, told the jury.

Tanner read jurors electronic messages Staley wrote about Wilder, such as, ”Scumbags and [off color term] need to be culled, and he’s both.”

Tanner said Staley referred to Wilder with a racial slur in those messages, too.

“You’ll see how he felt about Wilder McDaniel,” Tanner said.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel told the jury that prosecutors shopped around for expert opinions in the case to support their theory that Staley suffocated Wilder.

Daniel called into question the validity of some experts and their opinions.

As for Staley, Daniel said he has a dark sense of humor and a foul mouth.

“James does not have very good judgment” and “says inappropriate things,” Daniel said.

The judge recessed the trial for lunch until 1:30 pm Monday.

Check back with www.timesrecordnews.com for more coverage of this trial.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact her with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Staley trial