Disclaimer: Some evidence that may be shown during the trial could be graphic in nature.

COURT IS IN A SHORT RECESS

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Tuesday marks the sixth day jurors will have spent in the courtroom weighing Megan Boswell’s fate.

Boswell faces numerous charges in the death of her baby daughter, Evelyn Boswell, whose remains were found in Sullivan County on March 6, 2020 after an AMBER Alert. Among those charges are two counts of felony murder and one count of first-degree murder.

More than a dozen witnesses have been called, including members of law enforcement, friends and family of Boswell and members of the media.

Jurors have been shown several pieces of evidence and photos of Evelyn when she was found.

Monday was spent watching hours of police and news interviews with Boswell in February 2020 after Evelyn was reported missing.

Witness: Chris Wilhoit

Chris Wilhoit, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Criminal Investigations at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) Johnson City Field Office, was the first witness called on Tuesday. Wilhoit was in the same role in February 2020 when Evelyn was reported missing.

Wilhoit spoke with Boswell late on Feb. 23, 2020 at the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO). Wilhoit said he began talking with Boswell outside when she began speaking with him about Evelyn. He asked her to go into the sheriff’s office so he could collect a statement from her in the lobby.

Wilhoit said he took an audio recording of the interview, which ended shortly after midnight on Feb. 24, 2020. Wilhoit also took his own notes.

The recording was entered into evidence and played for the jury at the request of Deputy District Attorney William Harper.

In Wilhoit’s interview, Boswell told him her mother, Angela Boswell, came to pick up Evelyn to take her camping with her and her boyfriend in Mendota between Dec. 14-16, 2019. According to Boswell, she had asked Angela to watch Evelyn so she could have a break. Boswell told Wilhoit that she packed up a basket of items for Evelyn, and she handed the child off at her former trailer home.

Boswell claimed she was supposed to get Evelyn back the next day, but Angela told her the next day that she was a “bad mom” who did not deserve Evelyn. According to Boswell, Angela told her that Evelyn was with someone who would take better care of her and give her a better life.

Boswell said Angela told her she and her boyfriend were going camping in Mendota, and she encouraged Wilhoit to look in that area.

“I’m not saying this isn’t feasible, but I’m confident that you know more than what you said to me,” Wilhoit told Boswell after she asked him if he thought she was a bad mother.

Wilhoit later expressed disbelief about parts of Boswell’s story, but she continued to tell him that Angela had given Evelyn to someone else. However, she told Wilhoit that Angela never told her who Evelyn was with.

Wilhoit asked why she had not told this story before, and Boswell said she did not know if Evelyn wanted to be with her because people told her she was a bad mom.

In the recording, Wilhoit asked if Evelyn was alive. Boswell told him yes and that her best guess was that the child was around Mendota.

He repeatedly encouraged her to tell the truth and said there would be no reason for her to not share the full story before. Despite her claims that she was being honest, Wilhoit reminded her that she had claimed to tell other investigators the whole truth before.

Boswell asked him about the possibility of Angela trying to tell someone that Evelyn could be adopted, but Wilhoit said Angela would not have the ability to give her up for adoption.

Wilhoit read her statement back to her to get approval and review her claims. After the recording ended, Harper asked Wilhoit to identify a document. Wilhoit identified it as a copy of the statement with Boswell’s signature and his own. The statement was entered into evidence.

Harper asked if there was ever any evidence that Evelyn had been given to someone around Mendota. Wilhoit said there was no evidence to suggest that claim that he was aware of.

Boswell’s attorney Gene Scott asked Wilhoit if he knew how long Boswell had been at the sheriff’s office before their interview, which he did not. Wilhoit said he was aware of previous interviews, but he was not present for them.

Wilhoit also told Scott that he did not know of any time that a phone provided to Boswell by authorities would have been used to track her.

Wilhoit stepped down from the stand with no further questions from either side.

Witness: Paul Durant

Paul Durant was the next witness called. Durant is a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Johnson City. Durant told the jury he specializes in crimes against children as a special agent.

Durant told Assistant District Attorney Amber Massengill that he was assigned to the Evelyn Boswell case in February 2020. Part of his role was reviewing interviews, notes, digital devices and other documentation to assist in finding Evelyn.

Durant also told Massengill that the FBI uses forensic software to extract information from items like phones tied to investigations. At Massengill’s behest, he explained various ways in which the FBI obtains information from devices tied to cases.

Massengill asked Judge Jim Goodwin that Durant be qualified as an expert in digital forensics analysis in the court’s eyes. Scott requested to ask his own questions of Durant before he was qualified as an expert.

Scott asked Durant to describe any training courses in digital forensics that he had undergone, which Durant supplied.

The legal teams approached Goodwin’s bench to discuss Durant’s potential expert status. Goodwin asked him how many devices he had performed extractions on. Durant said he had extracted information and evidence from roughly 30 cell phones and 20 computers.

Goodwin ruled that Durant would be considered an expert in digital forensics analysis.

Massengill asked him multiple questions about how information is extracted and how much can be obtained for law enforcement through legal processes. Durant said he has also performed extractions from social media accounts with search warrants.

In the Boswell case, Durant extracted information from two cell phones and executed social media search warrant proceeds from Boswell’s Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Goodwin sent the jury from the courtroom before Durant’s testimony continued. Scott objected to the submission of some evidence the state hoped to present in Durant’s testimony. Massengill argued against him and provided Goodwin with a legal precedent.

Goodwin noted that Scott was correct in some respects but ultimately overruled his objection. The court then entered a brief recess.

Durant reads Boswell messages

Durant told the jury about the certification establishing that the records pulled from the devices and social media accounts are accurate and legal. He told the court that he reviewed various conversations from the phones and accounts that were relevant to Boswell’s case.

Durant first reviewed a Dec. 8, 2019 conversation over Facebook between Boswell and Haley Sperow. He then identified two more Facebook conversations on Dec. 18 and 27, 2019 between Boswell and another woman.

In the later messages, Boswell tells the woman that she is struggling to pay her for something due to an ongoing custody battle with Evelyn’s father.

In a Jan. 13, 2020 conversation with Ashley Rosenbalm, Boswell claimed she lost custody of Evelyn to Ethan Perry, who was previously thought to be Evelyn’s father.

In a Jan. 26, 2020 conversation with Christopher Hall, Boswell told Hall that Evelyn is doing good but is “mean as [expletive]” and claims Evelyn hates her.

Boswell messaged another person on Feb. 18, 2020 saying that Perry would not let her pick up Evelyn. She also admonished the recipient saying Boswell’s family’s life is not her business and sent her a picture. The picture featured Boswell and Evelyn, and Boswell claimed it was taken the previous weekend.

However, Durant said he reviewed data and information and was able to determine that the photo had actually been sent by Boswell to Perry on Nov. 30, 2019.

A Feb. 22, 2020 Facebook conversation begins with someone messaging Boswell saying she was praying for her and encouraging her to be honest about whatever happened with Evelyn. Boswell responded and claimed she was being “100 percent honest” about the situation.

Durant also identified a conversation on Dec. 27, 2019 between Boswell and her former boyfriend Hunter Wood. Boswell messages Wood telling him to text her again because of a phone swap. She also describes to Wood a situation with Perry in which she told Wood that Evelyn would stay with Perry.

Another Facebook conversation involving Boswell and Wood occurred on Feb. 19, 2020, in which Boswell messaged him that she was not sure why he was mad at her. She told him that she loved him and was pregnant with his child. She also asked him for a place to stay. At no point in the conversation shown to the jury did Wood respond.

Durant identified another conversation on Feb. 22, 2020 between Boswell and Wood. In it, she asked him to bring her a change of clothes and told him the TBI was searching for Angela in North Carolina. In the messages, Wood responded a few times and asked Boswell to assure him that Evelyn was safe and would come home.

Boswell then sent a long series of messages and brought up Mendota. She asked him to take her there, to which Wood told her to have someone else take her. Boswell brought up a place in the area where her mother was previously arrested, but Wood asked what that had to do with Evelyn.

As the conversation continued, Wood asked for an update, and Boswell claimed she had learned that Angela left Evelyn somewhere. She began to tell him that if he did not help her search in Mendota, she would steal a car to go look. Afterward, as part of a long stretch of messages, Boswell told Wood that the TBI had a development in the search.

After the legal teams approached Goodwin, he sent the jury to lunch, and the court entered a recess until 1:15 p.m.

Durant continues testimony

When the trial resumed, Durant continued to review photos and messages. Those included a picture of Boswell and Wood in Blowing Rock, North Carolina on Jan. 20, 2020 and a message Boswell sent to another person verifying that is where they went.

The prosecution also presented several Instagram photos of Wood that Boswell posted, some of which expressed excitement for a new home that the two would share.

Massengill then began to ask Durant if he reviewed conversations with Perry and if he knew who Perry was in regard to Boswell. Durant affirmed that he had checked those conversations and knew who he was. Durant told the jury that Boswell sent Perry at least a dozen messages every day (typically about Evelyn) from Nov. 1, 2019 until Dec. 3, 2019.

After Dec. 3, 2019, Durant said those messages dropped off significantly and no new images of Evelyn were sent to Perry after that time.

Scott had no questions for Durant, and he was released but could be recalled if needed.

Witness: Marla Gray

Marla Gray, the next witness called, is a special agent assigned to analysis with the TBI crime lab in Knoxville. She told Deputy District Attorney William Harper that she has worked about 1,600 cases in the forensics field during her time with the TBI and has been qualified as an expert witness in previous cases, some in Sullivan County.

Goodwin approved qualifying Gray as an expert in serology (examination of blood serums) and forensic analysis.

She informed the jury of the TBI’s processes and procedures when handling evidence for cases at its labs. Gray told Harper she received multiple items that were sent to the lab as part of the investigation into Evelyn’s disappearance and death.

Gray said her first task was to build a genetic profile for Evelyn using items of hers while she was still considered missing. Gray was looking for items that may have had her drool on them at one point to extract DNA.

Harper provided Gray with a copy of a report she wrote with her first findings while attempting to build Evelyn’s genetic profile.

Gray confirmed she was sent the trash can that Evelyn’s body was found in. According to Gray, the trash can was sent to the TBI’s crime lab in Nashville for latent print testing. Gray said swabs were also collected from the trash can to test for DNA.

She was also sent items from the trash can and the bags inside. Gray said TBI Special Agent Brian Fraley called her on the night that Evelyn was found to confirm that DNA would be extractable from the partially decayed body.

Gray said once she was able to verify Evelyn’s DNA through other clothing, she did match it to Evelyn’s belongings when she was found.

Harper also produced a copy of a March 25, 2020 report that Gray penned. In that report, Gray listed her findings for the items in the trash can. The first item she showed the jury was the chewing gum taken from inside the trash can. Gray said when she performed analysis on the gum, it was a match for Boswell.

The next item Gray was given was a cold and cough medicine bottle found in the trash can. From the exterior, Gray said there was a mixture of DNA, at least one unidentified male. The findings of that item did not provide any matches.

A Dasani water bottle was also examined by Gray. She said the mouth area and inside of the cap came back with a mixture of DNA, with Boswell being the main contributor. A Great Value water bottle was also analyzed. In that bottle, Gray said there was a positive match for Evelyn. A third water bottle was also handed to Gray, and she said testing returned a match for Boswell. A fourth water bottle was also tested, but Gray said not enough DNA was found to identify a contributor.

Next, the prosecution had Gray share her findings when she tested a white pillow. She said it was positive for a mixture of DNA profiles. The center found a mixture of Evelyn and an unidentified male. The outer areas of the pillow also returned a mixture of inconclusive DNA from three people.

A stained pillow was given to Gray next. However, she said analysis was inconclusive on which DNA profiles were present on it, and the stains were determined to not be blood.

Gray also analyzed a baby bottle that was recovered. The nipple and exterior returned matches for Evelyn’s DNA. Three blue gloves were tested; however, limited DNA profiles resulted in inconclusive results. She did note that an unidentified male’s DNA was found inside two of the gloves in a mixture. Harper asked Gray to confirm that Evelyn’s DNA could not be confirmed to be on the gloves, which she did. Hairs were also found on the gloves, but Gray said the TBI does not test human hair.

Gray said she spoke with other investigators multiple times about which items had value as evidence. She told Harper that due to the amount of decomposition fluid on the blanket Evelyn’s body was wrapped in, it was initially not tested. Gray said decomposition fluid can effectively scramble testing. However, she and other agents later decided to test areas of the blanket that were not stained, but the results were inconclusive.

Harper then asked Gray about the aluminum foil that was found wrapped around Evelyn’s head in the trash can. Gray told the court she conducted tests on the pieces of foil. She said despite numerous tests and blood being present on parts of the foil, the lab was unable to return any conclusive DNA results so they were sent to another lab.

Gray conducted testing on other items in the same bag as Evelyn, including a tissue, a black spoon and baby food. The tissue was stained with what appeared to be blood, and Gray said results returned a definitive match for Boswell.

Gray was also assigned to the TBI’s violent crime response team in 2020. At the time, she executed a search of a red Chevrolet Cruze in Middlesboro, Kentucky. However, she said no blood or evidence was collected from the vehicle.

On Feb. 28, 2020, Gray was also part of a team searching for blood and Evelyn at Boswell’s former Sugar Hollow Rd home. According to Gray, no blood or items of evidentiary value were found or collected.

Scott began his cross-examination and asked Gray to confirm that the inside of two of the blue gloves from the trash can had unidentified male DNA inside. She told him, yes, they did.

Gray told the jury that the TBI lab follows testing guidelines put in place by the FBI, and labs with the same accreditation would not have better testing capabilities.

Scott also asked if Gray could provide her notes on hairs that were collected along with the gloves but not tested. She told him her notes stated the hairs were dark in color. She also confirmed to Scott that male DNA was found on the medicine bottle and in the center of the white pillow with Evelyn’s.

Gray told Scott she was never provided Wood’s DNA, but she did not need it due to the limited traces of male DNA found. Harper asked her why she did not need Wood’s, and Gray testified that there was not enough male DNA present on any of the items to match it to any male’s DNA profile.

Gray was released from the witness stand.

Witness: David Hoover

The next witness called was David Hoover, who works as a special agent forensics scientist in the latent print division at the TBI’s Nashville crime lab. He estimated that he had conducted tens of thousands of print examinations in his nearly 25 years at the crime lab. He told Harper he has previously been qualified as an expert witness in the field of latent print identification.

Goodwin declared Hoover an expert in the trial.

Hoover defined latent prints left by the hands and feet to the jury and how they are left on pieces of evidence. He also explained what examiners look for when analyzing latent prints for identification. Hoover said latent prints include more than just fingerprints; identification can be made with latent prints from the palm, knuckle joints and even feet.

He told the jury that rough and dirty surfaces break up the oil and traces left behind to form a latent print so smooth, clean surfaces make the best testing sites.

Harper provided Hoover with the trash can Evelyn’s body was found in on March 6, 2020, Hoover confirmed that he tested the trash can for latent prints. He told jurors that he tested the trash can itself, a manufacturer’s sticker on the side of the can and pieces of the rim that he removed.

While referring to his notes, Hoover told the court that he put the trash can through a full gauntlet of latent print testing. He found a palm print on the sticker and a partial fingerprint from the very tip of a finger was found on the rim. He was confident the palm print on the sticker was a child’s due to the sticker, and he was able to exclude it as Boswell’s by using a comparison. The fingerprint on the rim was inconclusive because of the location on the body.

Hoover said at the time of his initial testing, he did not have good rolled prints for Boswell for comparison. However, law enforcement did provide him with better prints at a later time. Hoover said the additional prints still were unable to aid in his comparison.

A different technique was employed to get usable prints from Boswell that would allow him to compare the rim fingerprint, but again, Hoover said results were inconclusive.

Eventually, Hoover traveled to Blountville himself to collect prints from Boswell himself that were of a good enough quality for comparison. After collecting the prints himself, Hoover testified that he was able to match the fingerprint on the rim with Boswell.

Harper then asked Hoover to share his findings from testing the pieces of aluminum foil wrapped around Evelyn’s head. Hoover said his initial findings did not discover any usable fingerprints due to the wrinkles on the foil and the trash and decomposition covering parts of the foil.

However, Hoover later learned of additional pieces of aluminum foil that were not tested. He was able to find two prints, one of which was unidentifiable. The other fingerprint matched Boswell’s left middle finger, according to Hoover.

Hoover tested other items in the trash can, like a candy wrapper, but no matches were made. He also tested the trash bag Evelyn was found in and stated that he did find identifiable fingerprints: Boswell’s right middle and ring finger.

One other unidentifiable impression was also found on the trash bag, but Hoover said it could not be determined from what part of the body it originated or matched to an identity.

Hoover told Harper that the only print he could identify as not being Boswell’s was the small one on the sticker.

The court then entered a short recess.