Disclaimer: Some evidence that may be shown during the trial could be graphic in nature.
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The second day of Megan Boswell’s murder trial began with Judge Jim Goodwin’s answer to a dispute that sent the jury to their hotel early on Wednesday.
10 total witnesses were called on Thursday, and the jury saw several new pieces of evidence. Those included videos of interviews with Boswell conducted by authorities, messages sent by Boswell to other people and drone footage of her father’s property where Evelyn Boswell’s remains were found.
A thorough breakdown of the day can be read below with video of each witness’s testimony.
Court resumed at 8:30 a.m. Thursday with Goodwin’s decision to play portions of a police interview referenced by a witness Wednesday that led to a request by Boswell’s defense attorney Gene Scott.
“For the fundamental fairness issue, I’m going to find that the entire video is going to be allowed,” Goodwin said.
Megan Boswell faces 19 charges, including one count of first-degree murder and two counts of felony murder, in the death of her infant daughter Evelyn Boswell’s death. Opening statements were heard Wednesday, and the first witness was called; however, a legal dispute ended court early.
Judge Jim Goodwin dismissed the jurors around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday after Boswell’s attorney requested that he be able to cross-examine Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agent and witness Brian Fraley about a Feb. 2020 interview he said he had with the defendant. Fraley was the first witness called in the trial.
While Deputy District Attorney William Harper was examining Fraley on Wednesday, Fraley described the clothes Boswell had told authorities that her infant daughter had been wearing and said those perfectly matched what investigators found her in when her remains were recovered.
Fraley also told the court that Boswell told investigators that she knew Evelyn was dead during that interview. The court entered a recess shortly after that, and Boswell’s defense attorney, Gene Scott, told Goodwin he had a request prior to the jury’s return.
Scott asked to be able to cross examine Fraley about the interview since its introduction to the court, to which Harper argued that he had not mislead the witness and that Fraley had offered more information than what he was questioned about. Harper also contested saying no formal evidence or statement was introduced. Scott hoped to make the entire interview available to jurors.
“It’s my position that the jury should hear it. The state believes it’s hearsay,” Scott told News Channel 11 after Wednesday’s proceedings. “The judge will make that decision, and we’ll move on.”
Scott tied the request back to one of the first things the state did on Wednesday when they moved to dismiss Count 18 against Boswell, one of her numerous False Report charges.
The move frustrated Goodwin, who said the matter should have been addressed in pre-trial hearings. Goodwin decided that in order to make a fair ruling and ensure there were no issues when it came time for appeals, he needed to watch the entire 2-hour interview and consider the law.
On Thursday morning, Goodwin told both legal teams he had decided to play portions of the interview for the jury and would allow Scott to cross-examine Fraley.
“Mr. Scott, when you cross-examine, Special Agent Fraley, you’re allowed to play that video and comply with the rule of completeness,” Goodwin said.
Scott began to cross-examine Fraley and quickly launched into playing portions of the interview on the screen for the jury.
On the first day of Boswell’s trial, the state had dismissed a count of false report against her, Count 18. According to the presentment of charges, Count 18 alleged that Boswell told investigators on Feb. 25, 2020 that Evelyn died after either her or Wood rolled over onto her while sleeping and that she did not know where the body was.
The video played for the court shows portions of that interview between Fraley, Boswell and Sullivan County detectives.
In the video, Boswell can be heard crying and speaking to police. She described a onesie and blanket that Evelyn had been wearing when she said she last saw her.
Fraley can be heard asking Boswell about Evelyn’s whereabouts and additional information in the Feb. 25, 2020 interview. She makes references to her ex-boyfriend taking Evelyn away, and at one point says she woke to find Evelyn not breathing.
Boswell claimed Evelyn’s eyes were open but not bloodshot or bruised. She said the baby was not cold when she discovered her, nor was she crying or making noise. She also claimed that when she found Evelyn not breathing, she attempted to give her CPR but to no avail. Boswell told police on Feb. 25, 2020 that she was not sure what day Evelyn had died.
She claimed in the interview that she did not know where her then-boyfriend, Hunter Wood, had taken the baby or how he had disposed of the body.
“Megan, you’ve lied to us for six days now. I need you to be truthful with me today,” Fraley said in the interview.
Boswell said in the interview that she was afraid to call anyone and did not want to know what Wood had done with Evelyn. She told Fraley then that Wood had left when it was near dark and returned when it was dark.
She suggested to police that they go search her father Tommy Boswell’s property, but she said she did not know where Evelyn would be there. While being interviewed, she claimed that she had wrapped Evelyn’s body in a blanket because she “didn’t want her to be cold.”
Boswell told investigators in the interview that she believed Wood would have taken the body to somewhere near the docks at her father’s property.
Throughout the video, Boswell can be heard telling Fraley that she did not know where Evelyn was for certain.
When asked what Wood would say if police were to talk to them about what she said in the interview, Boswell said he had warned her not to say anything and that he did not want to go back to jail. She also claimed they had not been dating long and had only met in December when she applied for a job.
Boswell told Fraley that Wood had a limited relationship with Evelyn, having barely interacted with her. She said in the interview that Evelyn had slept in the bed between herself and Wood one time.
Fraley then brought out a map of Tommy Boswell’s property and had her mark places she thought Evelyn might be. He also had her reiterate what she had been wearing, which Fraley testified on Wednesday matched the description of the onesie and blanket she was found in.
Boswell told investigators she assumed they would arrest her after she told them Evelyn was dead. Fraley told her she had not been helping herself, but that the authorities were focused on finding Evelyn.
Fraley told her it would be best for her to tell the truth so that he could tell the district attorney’s office that she had stopped lying and helped investigators find Evelyn. He also noted that it did not look good after she had gone on the news and made comments about the TBI.
He reiterated in the interview that she was not under arrest at the time and said multiple times that she had to tell the truth.
After the video concluded, Scott began cross-examining Fraley. Scott moved that the video be added as an exhibit of evidence.
He asked Fraley to specify when Boswell told investigators that Evelyn was dead. Fraley testified that he already had that in his notes because she had informed other investigators that the baby was dead.
Fraley confirmed that Evelyn’s mother, Angela Boswell, was brought to the interview and could be seen in the video. He also clarified that the “he” repeatedly referenced in the interview was Hunter Wood.
Photo: TBI Special Agent Brian Fraley was cross-examined by Megan Boswell’s attorney, Gene Scott, on Thursday after the jury was shown a portion of an interview he had with Boswell on Feb. 25, 2020.
A technical issue at the courthouse briefly interrupted the live stream of the court proceedings.
Scott began asking Fraley questions about the discovery of Evelyn’s body. He said he realized there was more weight to the trash can than normal and had removed some of the top items, at which point he saw Evelyn’s leg. He then said he waited for forensic teams to arrive for the removal of her body.
Fraley recalled finding a bread bag in the trash bag with a date that gave investigators an idea of how long it had been there. He continued to answer Scott’s questions about how Evelyn’s body was found and placed onto a body bag that police had set on the front porch of the playhouse.
Scott showed Fraley one of the photos entered into evidence on Wednesday of the playhouse. He asked Fraley to use a pointer to show the jury where the body bag was placed on the porch, which Fraley did.
Scott asked Fraley to clarify if there was a pile of wire on the front porch, which was also visible in another photo that Scott had entered into evidence. Fraley said yes, it looked to be wire. After Fraley identified a photo of Evelyn’s body being removed from the trash can, Scott asked him what had been done with the wire since it was no longer in the same spot.
Fraley answered that the wire had been moved to create room for body bag as Evelyn’s body was removed. He confirmed that there did appear to be some leaves and grass or hay underneath the wire. Fraley also pointed out some pupae that he said appeared to be visible. Fraley mentioned pupae, a form of insects between larvae and adult, repeatedly in his Wednesday testimony by stating there had been multiple found with Evelyn’s partially decayed remains.
Scott asked Fraley to confirm that Evelyn was found in a trash bag inside the trash can, which he did. However, Fraley did not remember seeing leaves in Evelyn’s hair when removing her from the trash can.
During his testimony, Fraley said as minimal movement was done as possible once investigators realized Evelyn was in the trash can. He maintained that once the blanket in the trash can was removed and the order of decay was noticed, investigators stopped removing the items and made an effort to prevent the body from being moved inside the trash can.
Scott asked if it was possible, despite the care investigators took, that Evelyn’s body could have moved inside the trash can. Fraley said it could have.
Scott then moved on to the collection of evidence at Tommy Boswell’s property. Fraley confirmed he did collect several items himself and estimated it could be dozens.
Scott had no further questions.
Deputy District Attorney William Harper began his redirect and asked about the position of a black trash bag in the can that had to be removed before Evelyn was found. Fraley said the other bags in the can had been “compressed” and appeared to have been pushed down.
In answer to Harper’s question, Fraley stated the body was carefully treated and the can was handled gently once they were sure Evelyn was in it.
Scott had one further question about the position of the trash can that Fraley answered.
Fraley was released but remains a subpoenaed witness and could return to the stand.
The second witness called by the state was Boswell’s father and Evelyn’s grandfather, Tommy Boswell.
Harper had Boswell confirm his Muddy Creek property as his home and his relation to both Boswell and Evelyn. He also confirmed that Angela Boswell, ex-wife since 2016, is Megan Boswell’s mother.
Tommy Boswell said his daughter stayed primarily with his parents, who live on the same property as him.
He also pinned Megan Boswell’s time spent in the foster care system on her mother and Boswell not going to school. Tommy Boswell also confirmed that Evelyn was born while Megan Boswell was in foster care.
Photo: Tommy Boswell was called as the second witness in his daughter Megan Boswell’s murder trial.
Harper asked Tommy Boswell about what it was like when his daughter later came back to live with him, and he described supporting her, buying her a car and helping her with expenses for Evelyn.
Tommy Boswell said Megan and Evelyn lived with him for a few months, but Megan did not clean her room. Between that and the other people living in the house, including his fiance at the time and other children, he had Megan leave. He testified that he thinks Megan stayed with his mother briefly afterward.
Harper placed a diagram of Tommy Boswell’s property up on the screen and had him identify various structures.
After Megan stayed with his mother, Tommy Boswell said Megan went to live in a trailer park that is owned by their family. He told Harper that Megan was gifted a trailer and did not have to pay bills. As far as he knew, only Megan and Evelyn lived there.
Tommy Boswell said he had tried to push several details out of his mind after struggling to recall some things. He then began to cry and grabbed a tissue as Harper asked him to describe the state of the trailer when he visited. According to Tommy, there did come a time when he informed Megan that if she was going to live with Hunter Wood, she needed to move out so the trailer could be rented.
Tommy said the trailer required heavy cleaning after Megan moved out. He himself did not clean it out, but he noted that several things were hauled away and part of the floor required replacing.
As far as he knew, Tommy said he believed Megan was living with Wood then. When she moved out of the trailer park, Tommy said he had not yet met Wood. He claimed he did not meet Wood until after Christmas in 2020 on a trip to Pigeon Forge.
Evelyn was not with Megan on that trip, which Tommy said he found unusual. Tommy testified that Megan claimed the baby was with Ethan Perry, an ex-boyfriend that she claimed was Evelyn’s father. Tommy said he had not seen Evelyn since Thanksgiving.
After the trip, Tommy said he saw Megan only a few times but never Evelyn. When he asked her where Evelyn was, Tommey claimed Megan continued to say she was with Perry. That ultimately led him to giving her an ultimatum so he could see his granddaughter, Tommy told Harper.
He described calling the Department of Children Services (DCS) and telling them how long it had been since he saw his granddaughter. After reporting it to DCS, Tommy said it was not long before law enforcement met with him.
Tommy told the court he complied with law enforcement “100%.” After getting law enforcement involved in February 2020, Tommy said he stayed in touch with police throughout the search for Evelyn.
Harper asked Tommy about March 6, 2020, the day Evelyn was found. He claimed that Megan and his then-fiance, Ashley Rosenbalm, used to swap phones often. Tommy claimed that they thought law enforcement could use the phones and also began recalling a time he saw a vehicle backed up to a shed on his property its door open.
When law enforcement arrived, they looked at the shed, and he also suggested they check out the playhouse, which Tommy’s father had built for Megan in the 2000s with leftover lumber from a barn. Tommy did not recall ever knowing of anyone being in the playhouse since Evelyn had gone missing.
Tommy also described how his property can be accessed. He told the jury there is a fence and gate that requires a key fob to open. He said that Megan did have access, but he never gave a fob to Wood.
He also did not recall Wood ever being on his property without Megan.
Harper then began using drone footage of Tommy’s property taken by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office as evidence. Harper showed the drone footage, which begins at the gate to the property, to the jury.
A trailer on the property was labeled in the video as “O’Mommy’s,” which Tommy clarified was a nickname for his mother that the Boswell family used. He also clarified that a camper seen in the drone footage was not on the property in 2020.
Before Scott began asking Tommy his questions, Goodwin sent the court into a 15-minute recess.
Court resumed at 11:04 a.m. Thursday with Scott beginning by asking Goodwin to impeach Tommy based on convictions of two felonies, one for kidnapping and one for aggravated assault, that he was convicted of in 2014. Scott said that while it has been a significant amount of time since those convictions, the delay in Megan’s trial should factor in.
If a witness is impeached, it discredits their testimony in the court.
Goodwin allowed Scott to ask Tommy about those convictions, and Tommy returned to the stand. The jury also returned to their box.
Scott began asking Tommy questions about his previous convictions, to which Tommy asked what that had to with the Evelyn case. He was instructed to answer the questions.
As Scott asked about the convictions, Tommy said he had not broken the law since 2012, even saying he did not have any speeding tickets since then.
Harper and Scott briefly spoke with Goodwin about the line of questioning. Afterward, Scott started to ask about drone footage taken and the property. Tommy confirmed the footage was taken after Evelyn’s body was found and also that someone could walk onto the property on foot without having to pass through the gate.
He also admitted that if someone took or used Megan’s gate key fob, they could acccess the property.
Tommy said he was present for a search on his property before Evelyn was found, during which a K-9 unit was used. He said while he watched some of the search, he did not see the whole operation. Tommy said he saw the K-9 and searchers looking on another part of the property but not near the shed or playhouse.
He also stated that he did not kick Megan and Evelyn out since she was able to stay with his mother and had a trailer waiting on her.
Tommy said he did see Megan’s car by the shed at some point but never saw her himself, which later prompted him to call investigators and see if they could find any sort of clue in there. While there, he asked them to check the playhouse where Evelyn was found as well. Tommy said he had not been in the playhouse for years.
He also stated he did not believe Evelyn was on his property when he called the investigators.
Boswell was released but was instructed that he could be recalled as a witness.
The next witness called was Austin Feller. Harper asked Feller if he had lived at a trailer park on Sugar Hollow Road in 2019. Feller said he had been because he was told he could live there for free if he did maintenance.
Feller told Harper he never met Megan Boswell in person and that he believed she had been living there before he moved in. When handed photos of a trailer, Feller confirmed that they were images of the one Boswell had lived in.
Harper asked if Feller had been asked to clean out Boswell’s trailer, and he said he had. Feller did not recall exact dates, but he did remember what the cleaning process was like.
He described dirty diapers, feces on the ground, waste in the fridge and oven, and other manners of filth being inside. Feller said he took pictures of the inside when he helped clean it, but he stated he no longer has them.
Harper then provided Feller with the pictures of the inside of the dirty trailer, and Feller confirmed they were in fact the ones he had taken. Harper moved to place those into evidence and placed them on the screen for the jury.
The first picture shown was a bedroom, followed by a hallway into what Feller believed to be Evelyn’s room. Feller said everything in the photos was exactly as he found it. Scott made an objection that Feller had no way of knowing which room was Evelyn’s, which Goodwin sustained. The jury was instructed not to take whose room Feller believed was whose into account.
More photos, including another bedroom, the living room, another hallway, and the kitchen were shown. In each photo, clutter and items could be seen littered about. Feller reiterated at Harper’s question that he did not move or place any items.
Feller said the floor had to be ripped out and was forced to use a respirator to enter the home due to the odor.
When Scott began examining Feller, he struggled to recall the exact dates he moved into the trailer park and cleaned out Boswell’s trailer.
Scott asked Feller why he took photos inside.
“Just cause it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” Feller said. He told the court he sent the photos to Tommy Boswell and others to show the state of it.
Feller was released from his subpoena and dismissed from the court.
The state then called James Lewis as its next witness. Lewis is a supervisor with DCS and has been with the department for six and a half years.
Lewis said he was an investigator with DCS in February 2020. He told the jury that his role was to investigate referrals DCS has received of abuse or neglect. DCS investigators review the reports they are given and then start investigating the allegations, Lewis said.
On Feb. 18, 2020, Lewis said he received a referral for 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell. Harper asked about the allegations of that referral, but Scott made an objection prior to Lewis answering. Lewis was allowed to continue answering.
Photo: James Lewis, a DCS employee who worked as an investigator in February 2020, was called to the stand as a witness.
Lewis said the referral contained allegations of abuse of Evelyn Boswell.
According to Lewis, DCS investigators typically reach back out to the person who made the report and then begin making contact with other people familiar. Lewis said he learned Megan Boswell was the mother of the child and was able to locate her.
Lewis obtained Evelyn’s birth certificate as part of the investigation. Harper provided Lewis with Evelyn’s birth certificate, and he confirmed it was the same he had previously obtained. The birth certificate was entered into evidence.
Lewis told the court he went to visit a two-story Blountville home to speak with Boswell and found her there with patrol officers already present. He described it as a well-kept and nice home. Evelyn was not at the home at the time, according to Lewis.
According to Lewis, his job was to relay the allegations against her from the DCS report and also ensure Evelyn’s safety. He asked Boswell where Evelyn was, to which she replied Evelyn was with Perry, “the alleged father,” as Lewis described.
Boswell did not provide Lewis with any way to contact Perry, he testified.
When asked to describe Boswell’s demeanor during their interaction, he said she did not seem to be concerned. Lewis said he then asked for evidence that a child had been with her, at which point he was invited inside. Lewis said no safety concerns were seen or anything out of the ordinary.
Boswell told Lewis that she didn’t have a crib or some of the items that would be associated with having a child because they were elsewhere. Lewis told Harper that Boswell showed him one new child outfit that hadn’t been worn and a “memory box” in a bedroom but no other child items, aside from a “sippy cup” downstairs. Lewis said he did take photos, which the state provided.
Those photos were entered into evidence and shown to the court. They included the “sippy cup,” the Blountville home she had been staying at, the memory box and the outfit. The photos showed Boswell holding a green cup, which Lewis said was the only type of silverware, cup or kitchen item shown to him.
The bedroom photo depicted what Lewis said was the room Boswell claimed she had been staying in with Preston Wood. The next showed the memory box, which Lewis said included pictures of footprints, a rattler and other items. Last was the photo of the child outfit, which Lewis said still had the tags on it.
Goodwin sent the court into recess for lunch until 1:15 p.m.
When court resumed, Lewis said DCS then began searching for Perry, but he only found his parents and no Evelyn.
Lewis then recalled interviewing Boswell with Sullivan County detective Tracy Haraz on Feb. 18, 2020. Harper entered that interview into evidence and played it for the jury.
In the video of the Feb. 18, 2020 interview, Boswell can be seen maintaining that Evelyn was with Perry. She told them the last time she had seen Evelyn was weeks ago in January 2020.
Haraz asked her why she had said she was going to meet Perry the next day, to which she claimed she would try to contact him and arrange a meeting.
Lewis and the Haraz informed Boswell that they had contacted Perry, who said he had not seen Evelyn. Perry had reportedly told investigators that he had seen Megan on New Year’s but Evelyn was not there. Perry said Boswell had told him that Evelyn had the flu, but Boswell said in the interview that that was not true.
She said in the Feb. 18, 2020 interview that she and Perry did not communicate much and claimed he did not respond to her whenever she would reach out, including with questions about Evelyn’s whereabouts.
Boswell told investigators that Perry did not keep in touch with anyone much while he was with the United States Army. She also claimed she thought Perry was still in the Tri-Cities and did not know he had gone back to an Army fort in Louisianna.
An investigator also expressed concern with a possible broken arm that Evelyn had. Boswell said it could have just been bruised because Evelyn was never taken to a hospital to verify if the arm was broken. She said she had never hit her daughter.
When asked about why there were few items at the Blountville home, Boswell said she had shown Lewis all of her clothes that were there and the sippy cup, but said only some of Evelyn’s stuff was at that house.
She told investigators that she and Perry had broken up sometime in November 2019.
“I don’t know what’s going on, and I want to know what’s going on,” Boswell said in the interview.
Boswell asked what would happen after an AMBER Alert was issued, and the Sullivan County detective told her Evelyn must be found. Haraz said in the video that she had never encountered a situation like Boswell’s.
When asked if Wood had been jealous that Evelyn was someone else’s baby, Boswell said he had not been. Boswell also said she and Perry would argue, sometimes over Evelyn’s parentage. She said she would tell him that she would get DNA tests and that he was sure Evelyn was his child.
Lewis said the DCS investigation continued, but he was not able to locate Evelyn. He also never received a report from Boswell that Evelyn was missing. Lewis also told Harper that Boswell never produced Evelyn for him, despite a court order.
Additionally, Lewis said there had never been any custody court filings related to Boswell or Evelyn in Sullivan County that DCS knew of.
When Gene Scott began cross-examining Lewis, he asked about the timing of his interactions with Boswell on Feb. 18, 2020. Lewis was released as a witness, and the next witness took the stand.
The next witness to take the stand was Casey Saults, who knew Boswell through foster care. Saults told Assisstant District Attorney Amber Massengill that Boswell was a foster child to Saults’ parents.
Saults remembered when Boswell gave birth to Evelyn while she was in foster care.
Massengill then asked Saults about her previous job at the same time at a Premier Pediatrics in Johnson City. Saults worked as a receptionist at the office. She told Massengill that Boswell brought Evelyn to that office for wellness visits.
According to Saults, from the time a child was a newborn until about the time they turned two, periodic doctor visits would be scheduled at the office. She also confirmed that records were kept at the office and scheduling was done often.
Massengill asked if Boswell brought Evelyn to her scheduled appointments after she was born, to which Saults said yes, she did. Scott then raised an objection. Massengill rephrased and asked if Boswell brought Evelyn to her early scheduled appointments and up until near the end of 2019. Saults confirmed she had.
Saults told Massengill that her aunt, Sue Whitson, would sometimes watch Evelyn for Boswell toward the end of 2019. She recalled one instance in which Whitson reached out to her about a diaper rash that Evelyn had.
Saults showed a picture of the diaper rash to a nurse at the pediatric office. Massengill asked what the nurse said should be done, but Scott objected. At that point, Massengill switched gears and asked if Boswell brought Evelyn to her 12-month pediatrician appointment.
Boswell did not bring Evelyn to that visit, according to Saults.
An appointment card for December 2019 with Saults handwriting was entered into evidence. Saults said she reached out to Boswell over Facebook Messenger after they did not come to the appointment.
Massengill produced a photo of the messages between Saults and Boswell on Dec. 5, 2019, which was entered into evidence and shown to the jury. In the message thread, Boswell answered Saults by saying she thought the appointement was the next day.
Saults told Massengill that she believed she did reschedule an appointment for Evelyn at the pediatrician’s office but did not recall the exact date. Based on more photos of the messages between the two, Saults realized she had rescheduled for Dec. 6, 2019, the next day.
After entering the messages into evidence, Massengill began showing photos of the conversations to the jury. In the messages, Boswell claimed work was preventing her from getting to the appointment on Dec. 6, 2019.
On Dec. 11, 2019, Boswell asked Saults over Messenger if another family member could bring Evelyn to an appointment, to which Saults said that would be fine.
Another Messenger conversation on Dec. 13 between the two continued the trend of Saults asking about an appointment. Boswell wrote that she would be switching to a different pediatrician who was closer.
Saults said the last time she saw Evelyn was Nov. 28, 2019, shortly after the baby had turned 1-year-old. Evelyn appeared healthy and was able to “toddle around” on that day.
Tim Horne from Boswell’s defense team took over cross-examining Saults. He asked her to confirm that doctors and employees of medical offices are required to report any signs of abuse. She said that was correct, and no signs of abuse on Evelyn were ever noticed.
Horne asked if the “substance” of her testimony was that Evelyn always appeared healthy and that Boswell missed an appointment with her in December. Saults agreed.
Saults was released as a witness with no further questions.
Dr. Barbara Pugh, a retired pediatrician of 37 years who owned Premier Pediatrics in Johnson City in 2019, was the next witness called. Dr. Pugh was Evelyn’s pediatrician.
Dr. Pugh said while her partner was the one to see Evelyn for her first visit at the age of eight days old. However, Dr. Pugh was her normal pediatrician.
Up until December 2019, Dr. Pugh said Evelyn was seen regularly at the office. Her last visit was in October 2019 when she was about 10 and a half months old.
Dr. Pugh described Evelyn as healthy and advancing well as a child at her last check-up.
Premier Pediatrics was later sold to another provider, but the records were still available. Dr. Pugh identified Evelyn’s medical records, which were entered into evidence.
Horne began cross-examining Dr. Pugh and reiterated what he had asked Saults about reporting abuse. She said there had been nothing warranting a report of abuse whenever her office saw Evelyn.
Dr. Pugh was excused, and the next witness was called.
Prosecutors called Paul Miller to the stand. Miller, a Johnson City resident, was at one time married to Ethan Perry’s grandmother. Miller told Harper that at one point he did believe Evelyn was Perry’s child.
Miller said Perry lived with him from the time he was born until he was about 11 years old. He also said he knew Boswell from their time dating.
In October 2019, Miller said he met Evelyn, who he believed was his great-granddaughter. In December 2019, Miller asked Boswell to come to his house wanting to give Evelyn gifts. However, Evelyn did not appear with Boswell.
Boswell told Miller that Evelyn was sick with the flu and didn’t want to expose others. Miller asked for a video of Evelyn opening her gifts but said he never received one.
Miller told Harper he did not see Evelyn again.
Horne verified with Miller that Boswell posted photos of Evelyn often. He asked if based off those photos, Miller thought that Boswell enjoyed being a mother or believed there were any signs of abuse. Miller said from what he saw, Boswell appeared to love the child and did not have any reason to be concerned before December.
Miller stepped down after the cross-examination. Goodwin called a 15-minute recess.
The distict attorney’s office called Steven Lawrence as the next witness. Lawrence said he knew Boswell through his younger sister, who was friends with Boswell in high school.
Lawrence was aware Boswell had a daughter.
Lawrence was building apartments on Dec. 8 when Boswell visited him. Lawrence’s sister had since passed away, and Boswell was visiting because he was naming the building after his sister.
According to Lawrence, Boswell reached out to him for help during the time Evelyn was considered missing. He told Harper that he picked up Boswell and dropped her off at the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Lawrence returned later to pick Boswell up and spoke with her while driving.
Lawrence said he remembered asking Boswell if Evelyn had been missing back when they spoke in December. He claimed she said Evelyn had been missing then during the car ride.
Scott and Horne had no questions for Lawrence, and he was released.
The next witness became emotional before she even began testifying. The state called Audrey Gibbs, who could be seen crying the moment she took the stand.
Gibbs, a Kingsport resident, knows Boswell from school. She said they met in 7th grade and attended one year of high school together.
Gibbs said she visited with Boswell and Evelyn almost every day in 2019 and took trips with both of them.
She said “there were some things” that she would notice about Boswell’s capability as a mother, such as occassionally taking a while to change a diaper and one time not buckling Evelyn’s car seat in. Overall, Gibbs said Boswell appeared to be a good mother, though.
Gibbs moved to Knoxville in November with the father of her child and gave birth herself on Dec. 9. She told Harper that when Boswell came to visit her with another friend in the hospital, Evelyn was not with her – marking the first time Gibbs had not seen them together.
Gibbs said Boswell was acting odd and kept repeating how much she loved Gibbs while Gibbs shared her birthing story. She also told Harper it was strange that Evelyn was not there because she knew it was hard for Boswell to get a babysitter.
The two kept in contact over Instagram primarily afterward, but Boswell would continue to say that Evelyn was with Perry and did not show any new pictures of her.
Harper produced Instagram messages between the two on Jan. 19, 2020 and showed the messages to the courtroom. In them, Boswell reached out to Gibbs.
Gibbs asked how Evelyn was doing, and Boswell said “Good” but that she was with Perry. They spoke about trying to arrange a time for their children to meet.
Prosecutors gave Gibbs another conversation on Instagram from Jan. 24 and 26, 202 between the two and had it entered into evidence. In that conversation, Boswell told Gibbs that she was pregnant. Gibbs reacted and expressed joy that Evelyn was going to have a sibling.
Gibbs last saw Evelyn at her baby shower on Oct. 31, 2019.
The defense had no questions for Gibbs, and she was released.
The state called Bailey Hawkins as its next witness. Hawkins, a Blountville resident, met Boswell in elementary school. They maintained a friendship for the remainder of their teenage years, and Hawkins said they saw each other each week after Evelyn was born.
Hawkins told Massengill that before Thanksgiving 2019, she never saw Boswell without Evelyn.
She believes the last time she saw Boswell and Evelyn was at the Speedway in Lights at Bristol Motor Speedway in November. She told prosecutors that Boswell began working at Hunter T’s Chicken Shack in December and that she seemed to “always be there.” Hawkins said Boswell told her that her grandmother watched Evelyn while she was working there.
Massengill gave Hawkins copies of text messages between her and Boswell on Dec. 5, 2019. In those messages, Boswell told Hawkins she had been working and then hanging out with Preston Hunter Wood. Boswell went on to tell Hawkins how much she liked working at the restaurant and being with Wood.
Boswell described going to work at Hunter T’s Chicken Shack early in the day and enjoying being with Wood and his father. Over the course of the conversation, Boswell indicated that her grandmother was watching Evelyn.
Next, Massengill presented text messages between Boswell and Hawkins on the morning on of Dec. 6, 2019. Boswell told Hawkins she would be hanging out with Wood and later informed her that she spent four hours talking with him.
Further text messages between Hawkins and Boswell on Dec. 7, 2019 were then reviewed. In those, Boswell told her that other employees did not like how Wood gave her free things and treated her differently. Later, when the two of them were supposed to meet, Boswell told Hawkins that she had left Evelyn with Perry’s grandmother. Hawkins told Massengill she had never known Boswell to do that.
Hawkins said she was not sure if Boswell and Wood were in a relationship at that point.
Text messages from late at night on Dec. 13, 2019 show Boswell asking Hawkins to ride around with her because she is upset. When asked what was wrong, Boswell did not give her an exact response.
Throughout all the messages, Boswell indicated that Evelyn was with either her grandmother or Perry’s grandmother. At one point, Hawkins said Boswell had told her that Perry had come back to town and was attempting to get some type of custody of Evelyn. Hawkins told Massengill that Boswell never seemed upset by any of the alleged custody challenges.
On Dec. 14, 2019, the two were texting again. Boswell told Hawkins that she was upset because of Perry taking Evelyn and how it was hard for her to see Evelyn’s things. Boswell told Hawkins that there would be a court date in January 2020 regarding custody of Evelyn. Over text, Boswell told Hawkins she was getting a hotel to avoid seeing Evelyn’s things at home and asked if Hawkins would stay with her that night.
Hawkins did stay with Boswell and said she was acting “tired and disassociated” and did not talk much. Both women fell asleep early and did not speak for very long, Hawkins said. The pair got Pal’s the following morning and split soon after, according to Hawkins.
On Dec. 15, 2019, Hawkins asked Boswell over text if she wanted to get dinner with her. Boswell responded saying she was with Wood and would let Hawkins know when she had her car again. Hawkins said it seemed that Boswell had been staying with Wood and was not sure when she left her trailer.
The two of them rode to Knoxville together to see Gibbs after Gibbs gave birth. Hawkins described Boswell’s demeanor as “erratic” and said she was acting out of character, telling both friends how much she loved them.
Hawkins and Boswell texted on Dec. 23, 2019 as well. At that time, Boswell said she was at Miller’s home, and Hawkins asked if Evelyn was with her. Boswell said Evelyn was there and “doing good.”
Hawkins, who began crying at this point in the testimony, texted Boswell asking for pictures of Evelyn while she was with Perry’s grandparents. Goodwin called for a brief recess to give Hawkins a break.
Court resumed shortly before 5 p.m., court resumed and Hawkins continued her testimony. In Jan. 9, 2020 text messages, Hawkins asked Boswell about Evelyn’s custody.
On Jan. 20, 2020, Boswell told Hawkins over text that she had gone to Blowing Rock, NC that day.
Text messages from Jan. 24, 2020 show Boswell told Hawkins that she and Wood might be expecting a child. Hawkins asked about Evelyn and told Boswell that she wanted to see her. Boswell told her she planned to pick up Evelyn the next Monday.
The two texted again on Jan. 29, 2020. Hawkins asked Boswell if she had Evelyn, and Boswell said she was currently with a family member. Hawkins told Boswell she missed seeing Evelyn and hadn’t seen her in a long time.
Hawkins told Massengill that she had not seen Evelyn in about two months at that point and was becoming worried. Hawkins said Boswell was no longer posting pictures of Evelyn and Boswell would only talk about Evelyn if someone else brought her up.
Hawkins said she considered contacting DCS but did not due to how close of friends she was with Boswell. While crying, Hawkins said Boswell would always tell her that Evelyn was with Perry or her grandmother.
Hawkins texted Boswell on Feb. 22 after Evelyn had been reported missing. Hawkins struggled to read the texts for the court, requiring Massengill’s help. In the Feb. 22 texts, Hawkins asked Boswell why she had not told her what was going on. Boswell said she was worried that whoever had Evelyn would do something to her.
Hawkins also asked Boswell how she and Wood were, writing that statements Wood made to media about Boswell, Evelyn and the AMBER Alert were false. Boswell told her Wood had had threats to his business.
Boswell then began telling Hawkins that she couldn’t discuss some things when asked more about the last time she or Wood saw Evelyn.
The last document Massengill gave Hawkins was a receipt from a hotel that Hawkins paid for Boswell to stay at one night.
Goodwin decided to send the jury to their hotel for the night after that. Hawkins was informed she would need to return Friday morning to finish her testimony. Parties are expected back at court at 8:30 a.m. The jury will return at 9 a.m.
