Gillespie reacts to verdicts for Amber
FORT WORTH, Texas — Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie and his team spent countless hours on prosecutions related to the murder of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel at the hands of his mother's ex-boyfriend in 2018.
Gillespie spoke about getting justice for Wilder after a jury handed down verdicts Tuesday for Amber Nichole McDaniel, Wilder's mother, for child endangerment and tampering with evidence.
"Hopefully, Wilder can rest in peace," the DA said Tuesday afternoon in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center Tuesday.
“I think the justice that the justice system permits has been served," he said. "Ultimately, I believe justice is in the hands of God, and you can't bring back that little boy."
Amber had "a severe role in his death," Gillespie said. "I think that the jury saw that, and that's why they gave her the maximum for endangering a child."
Jurors took about two hours and 25 minutes Tuesday to find Amber, 33, guilty of endangering a child for allowing her son to be around the man who murdered him, James Irven Staley III. Wilder's death ended their tumultuous 75-day relationship during which they exchanged over 9,000 electronic messages.
More: Awaiting sentencing, Amber McDaniel transferred to Wichita County Detention Center
Child endangerment is punishable by up to two years in a state jail facility. There is no parole for a state jail felony, but there is a path to early release.
Gillespie noted the jury guaranteed Amber will be on probation for tampering with evidence so her behavior can be monitored.
The jury also found Amber guilty Tuesday of tampering with physical evidence and recommended the judge suspend a five-year prison sentence and put her on probation for the offense.
Amber deleted text messages she and Staley exchanged from late September 2018 through Oct. 10, 2018. Investigators testified they were important to their capital murder investigation of him.
Thirtieth District Judge Jeff McKnight is set to formally sentence Amber at 9 a.m. Monday at the Wichita County Courthouse. She was being held Friday in the Wichita County Detention Center.
More: The jury in Amber McDaniel's trial has spoken: What next?
Gillespie and his team prosecuted Staley for Wilder's Oct. 11, 2018, murder earlier this year. A Fort Worth jury found Staley guilty of capital murder of a child under 10 on March 13. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
The DA and the rest of the prosecution team faced off with two formidable defense attorneys likely paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend Staley.
The once wealthy Wichita Falls oilman with a morbid sense of humor and penchant for abuse smothered Wilder in his crib and moved the body to the floor to make it appear the child died as a result of a fall, according to testimony.
Amber testified for the prosecution in Staley's trial with no deal for immunity, admitting her guilt in the process. She testified that she deleted the text messages so she wouldn't be reminded of Staley or respond to his messages.
Staley's trial was moved to Fort Worth because of safety concerns and pretrial publicity. The investigation of Wilder's homicide, slowed by the pandemic and other factors, went on for about two years before Staley was arrested and charged.
The Justice for Wilder campaign kept the case to the forefront. Spearheaded by Robert "Bubba" McDaniel Jr., Wilder's dad and Amber's husband, supporters called for Staley's arrest. Police and the DA came under fire on social media.
During Staley's trial, disturbing videos and text messages came to light. The prosecution presented some of the same evidence again during Amber's trial.
Some of her family members testified in Amber's defense. They put themselves in the position of recalling the trauma surrounding Wilder's killing and experiencing difficult emotions, as well as weathering tough cross-examination questions from the DA.
Gillespie portrayed Amber as a manipulative, lying woman who hid Staley's abuse and threats to her toddler from her family and then deleted the text messages to protect herself.
She tampered with evidence and did not fully cooperate with police while fraudulently participating in the Justice for Wilder campaign, according to the DA.
Wichita Falls defense attorney Mark Barber presented Amber as the victim of a singularly manipulative psychopath and one of a line of hapless women he abused.
As for the messages, Barber reminded the jury that Amber, her attorney Jeff Eaves and an investigator looked at her cell phone together early on. But the police did not seek a search warrant for her phone. Amber voluntarily surrendered her cell phone and passcode several days after Wilder's death.
On April 28 in Wichita Falls, Amber pleaded guilty to child endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. She left her punishment up to a jury. McKnight ordered her trial moved to Fort Worth because of pretrial publicity.
Bubba was shot in Wichita Falls on Sept. 10, the day before jury selection in his wife's trial. He suffered a nonfatal wound to his arm. Police arrested the man they believe is responsible for the shooting on Sept. 11.
Bubba and Amber reunited after Wilder's murder, married and had another son, Phoenix, who is nearly 18 months old.
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: District attorney reacts to verdicts for Amber McDaniel
