FORT WORTH, Texas — 2:48 p.m. Wednesday, March 1: WFPD 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 faggot 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.

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 and 97th Assistant DA Judy Price.

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 faggot."

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.

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, asking Prigmore whether he gave the video and messages to the police.

Prigmore said he did not give them to police.

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 can 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