FORT WORTH (KFDX/KJTL) — The punishment trial for Amber McDaniel, the mother of deceased Jason Wilder McDaniel, is set to begin Monday, September 11, 2023 in Tarrant County in Fort Worth.
Amber pleaded guilty to one count of endangering a child and one count of tampering with evidence in April of this year.
Markeshia Jackson is at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, where we could soon reach the end of a case that’s consumed so many for the past five years, as a jury will decide what happens to McDaniel.
Amber McDaniel, formally known as Amber Odom, began dating James Irven Staley the III in 2018 and moved in with him sometime that same year on Irving Place in Wichita Falls.
On the morning of October 11, 2018, Amber discovered Wilder on the floor of the room he was sleeping in, outside of his crib and unresponsive. Wilder was pronounced dead on the scene.
The following day, Wilder’s body was sent off for an autopsy that would later list the cause of death to be undetermined.
Eleven days after Wilder was found dead, the Wichita Falls Police Department returned to the residence with a search warrant and collected evidence. It was later determined that Wilder was smothered to death, and the suspect was believed to be Staley.
It then took two years for Staley to be arrested in 2020 and first charged with murder.
Amber would then come back into the spotlight in 2021 when she was arrested on charges of endangering a child and tampering with evidence after police discovered deleted text messages between her and Staley – messages that showed Staley’s hatred toward Wilder and his will to hurt him.
Prosecutors believe Amber turned a blind eye to Staley’s dislike of her son.
Those are the charges Amber will be awaiting her punishment on this week at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, which is no strange place in this case. This is where Staley was found guilty of capital murder of Wilder back in March after he was granted a change of venue from Wichita County.
He was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life on March 13, 2023.
Amber even testified against Staley with no plea deal on the table for her; she testified against Staley of her own accord, and everything she said can be used against her.
That left folks wondering what’s next for Amber? She’s facing a sentence ranging from probation to a total of up to 12 years behind bars on the two felony charges filed.
Today, we expect that jury to be selected. Markeshia will be bringing you live reports all week long, and our Digital Reporter Josh Hoggard is here as well and will be live blogging the entire trial.
We will bring you coverage from beginning to end, so stick with us on air and online.
