Trial date set for Wilder's mom, who admitted to not protecting him from James Staley
Amber Nichole McDaniel's punishment trial has been set for Sept. 11 in 30th District Court to allow a jury to determine her penalty for endangering her son, Jason Wilder McDaniel, and tampering with evidence, according to court documents.
The prosecution and defense have informally agreed to move her trial to another county, citing pre-trial publicity. No documents for an official change of venue turned up online as of Wednesday morning.
McDaniel, 33, is slated to appear 9 a.m. Friday in 30th District Court for a pretrial hearing.
She pleaded guilty last month to charges connected to the death of 2-year-old Wilder on Oct. 11, 2018, in Staley's Wichita Falls home. She waived her right to the guilty-not guilty phase of a trial, so the proceedings will be solely for the punishment phase.
McDaniel faces two to 10 years in prison for tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and six months to 24 months in state jail for child endangerment, a state jail felony.
Defense attorney Mark Barber has applied for probation on her behalf. McDaniel has not previously been convicted of a felony and is eligible for probation.
She was free Friday from the Wichita County Law Enforcement Center on $60,000 in total bonds, according to online jail records.
Her attorney has made some apparently routine filings ahead of her trial. For instance, Barber has requested the state's witness list and all evidence in the case from Wichita County Assistant District Attorney Kyle Lessor.
Barber has also requested notice from Lessor as to whether the prosecution intends to introduce evidence of other alleged wrongdoing committed by McDaniel.
More: UPDATED: Wilder's mother charged with child endangerment, evidence tampering
Her punishment trial will come after Wilder's family members endured several days of often difficult testimony, photographs and videos, as well as some taking the stand, themselves, during Staley's trial at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth.
David Taylor, McDaniel's stepfather, was the first witness for the prosecution, taking the stand Feb. 27 to testify about the child who called him "Pawpaw."
It is of note McDaniel waived her right to avoid incriminating herself and testified in the trial of James Irven Staley III, who was convicted in March of murdering Wilder.
Prosecutors say Staley smothered Wilder with a pillow and then staged the death scene to make it appear as if he died from falling out of a crib. Staley, 40, was convicted of capital murder of a child under 10 and sentenced to life in prison without parole on March 13 in a Fort Worth Court.
During sometimes tearful testimony in Staley's trial, McDaniel told the jury about failing to protect her son from Staley and deleting some electronic messages between herself and Staley during their short, tumultuous relationship.
Scion of a wealthy Wichita Falls oil family, Staley was arrested two years after McDaniel found her child's body on the floor of a bedroom in Staley's Country Club area home.
More: A mother's tears, a mother's punishment: What will happen to Wilder's mom?
McDaniel also wept during her guilty pleas April 28 before 30th District Judge Jeff McKnight, who offered her a box of tissues. Her husband Robert "Bubba" McDaniel Jr., 40, was in court to support her.
A Wichita County grand jury indicted McDaniel in July 2021 on charges of tampering with evidence and child endangerment.
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 Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Punishment trial date set for Amber McDaniel
