LIVE: Third day of Megan Boswell trial begins
by:
Murry Lee
Posted: Feb 7, 2025 / 08:54 AM EST
Updated: Feb 7, 2025 / 11:18 AM EST
Court resumed at 9 a.m. when the jury returned.
Witness: Bailey Hawkins
The defense began by cross-examining Hawkins, who had been a friend of Boswell’s for years and also knew Evelyn. Tim Horne, one of Boswell’s attorneys, asked her if she ever noticed any signs of abuse on Evelyn. Hawkins told him she did not, and the only concern she ever had were a few times when Evelyn’s car seat was not properly buckled.
Hawkins said Boswell never expressed any desire to not have Evelyn and appeared to care for her daughter.
After several questions from Horne about Boswell’s relationship with Evelyn, all of which Hawkins answered in a way that indicated Boswell loved her daughter, the defense asked Hawkins if she was knew if Boswell ever spanked or hit Evelyn. Hawkins said no.
When the prosecution took back over examining Hawkins, Assistant District Attorney Amber Massengill asked if she knew Hunter Wood and if she knew that Boswell was in a relationship. She answered yes and told the court she never saw Wood with Evelyn.
Hawkins was released as a witness.
Witness: Crystal Crawford
The next witness called to the stand by the state was Crystal Crawford. Crawford identified herself as an employee at the Econo Lodge in Kingsport, where she’s worked for 10 years. Part of her job responsibilities include checking guests in and out of the hotel at the front desk and keeping records.
The state produced a document showing Boswell checked in and out of the hotel three times in 2019 and once in 2020. The hotel stays were on:
- Oct. 11-12, 2019
- Dec. 14-15, 2019
- Dec. 15-16, 2019
- Jan. 5-6, 2020
Prosecutors also produced a registration card for Hawkins for her stays at the Econo Lodge.
Crawford said she recognized Boswell from staying at the hotel and believed she began conversation with Boswell around her third visit. The two spoke for about 20 minutes.
While speaking with Crawford during one visit, Boswell said her child was with her father. Crawford told Massengill that she never saw Evelyn at the hotel.
Crawford told the court that Boswell never seemed concerned when she was at the hotel.
The defense had no questions for Crawford, and she was released as a witness.
Witness: Katelyn Jones
Prosecutors called Katelyn (Jones) Carter as a witness next. Carter , a Kingsport resident, said she and Boswell were friends when Jones was in college. They met in middle school but reconnected when Carter was in college.
Carter said she had been around Evelyn about four or five times, and Boswell and Evelyn were typically together.
The last time Carter and Boswell spent time together was in early December. She recounted a trip to a Chili’s restaurant that the two of them and Evelyn took. While sitting in a booth together, Carter said she could tell Evelyn was dirty and smelled worse than a typical baby, in her opinion.
Carter said when Boswell began working at Hunter T’s Chicken Shack in Blountville, she was not dating anyone. Shortly after, Carter said she began dating Wood, and Carter said it appeared Boswell was not spending time with Evelyn anymore.
Carter told prosecutors she became concerned because Boswell had always had Evelyn with her before, but suddenly the child was not around. Boswell would go to places where people typically bring their children, like an aquarium, without her daughter.
The prosecution gave Carter photos of Boswell and Wood at an aquarium without Evelyn. Carter said Boswell sent her the photos. Massengill moved to have them entered into evidence, and Gene Scott, Boswell’s attorney, had a technical objection that the court sorted out.
The aquarium photos were shown to the jury, which pictured Boswell and Wood at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg in 2019. Carter did not recall the exact day Boswell texted her the photos but believed it was mid-December.
When Carter asked Boswell where Evelyn was, Boswell told her she was with Ethan Perry, who was believed to be the biological father of the child. Boswell told Carter that Perry had claimed emergency custody of Evelyn.
“She said that Ethan had saw photos of Evelyn with bruises on her forehead,” Carter said when Massengill asked if Boswell explained why Perry had taken the child.
In late December, Carter recounted meeting with Boswell at The Pinnacle in Bristol, Tennessee without Evelyn. While together, Carter said Boswell received a call from her father, Tommy Boswell, Sr., and told him she would be getting Evelyn back from Perry at the beginning of February.
Gene Scott took over cross-examination and asked Carter if the previous Chili’s experience was the only time she had seen Evelyn in that state. Carter said yes and told the court she never noticed any signs of abuse and that Boswell appeared to be a loving mother.
Carter said her friendship with Boswell ended in early January 2020 because Boswell did not have a phone, and their communication ended.
Scott attempted to nail down dates in December with Carter based on when her college exams and when they took place.
Massengill took back over examining Carter and asked if she remembered having an interview with law enforcement. Scott objected, and the legal teams conferred with Goodwin. Massengill moved on and asked if Carter remembered the last time she saw Evelyn, to which she said the trip to Chili’s was the last time.
The three of them went to Chili’s about three or four weeks after Boswell starting working at the Chicken Shack and was already dating Wood.
Carter was dismissed as a witness.
Witness: Gail Kyte
Boswell’s foster mother, Gail Kyte, was called as the next witness. Kyte is also the mother of Casey Saults, a witness called on Thursday.
Kyte, a Roan Mountain resident, said she was Boswell’s foster mother for four months from in late 2018 to early 2019. Boswell was 17-years-old and seven months pregnant when she came to live with Kyte.
Kyte said Evelyn was born while Boswell was her foster child, and Evelyn appeared to be developing and advancing nicely. Boswell took Evelyn to all of her medical appointments while they lived with Kyte.
Boswell later went to live with her father, Tommy Boswell, but Kyte said they stayed in contact. Boswell and Evelyn visited Kyte in September 2019, at which point Evelyn was “toddling” and taking a few steps on her own. That was the last time Kyte saw Evelyn.
Dec. 3, 2019 Facebook messages between Kyte and Boswell were shown to the jury. Those messages show Boswell asking Kyte if her sister, Sue Whitson, would be willing to babysit Evelyn so she could go back to school. Kyte answered saying she believed Whitson would.
Kyte said Whitson did watch Evelyn a few times.
Kyte was aware Boswell had started dating Wood because they both went to a Christmas play with her on Dec. 22. Boswell and Wood did not have Evelyn with them, and Boswell told Kyte that the child was with Perry and the two of them were splitting custody. Kyte told Massengill that Boswell did not seem upset or concerned.
Prosecutors then produced Jan. 13, 2020 messages between Kyte and Boswell. In the messages, Kyte asked how Boswell and Evelyn are doing. Boswell told her they were good and that Perry had half custody at that point. Kyte asked about Boswell and Evelyn visiting, and Boswell said it would take some time.
Boswell also expressed love and gratitude to Kyte and her family for the way they helped her and treated her as family.
Kyte also described a February 2020 phone conversation with Boswell’s aunt, during which they tried to determine where Evelyn was. Kyte said she attempted to contact Boswell to find out where Evelyn was and ended up speaking with Tommy Boswell. Kyte did manage to message Boswell over Facebook, who said she did not have a phone.
Kyte then called and left a message with a Department of Children’s Services investigator that said she believed Evelyn was missing.
Scott asked Kyte about Boswell’s time as her foster child. Kyte said the pregnant teenager was underweight when she came into her care, saying it was difficult to tell she was pregnant. Kyte said she took Boswell to appointments and was present at Evelyn’s birth. She told Scott that Boswell was loving and devoted to Evelyn and never saw any signs of abuse or neglect.
Boswell was fine with returning to her father’s home, Kyte told Scott.
Kyte was released as a witness.
Witness: Sue Whitson
Sue Whitson, Kyte’s sister, was the next witness called. Whitson, who lives in Elizabethton, told Massengill she knew Boswell and Evelyn through her sister.
Whitson recalled being asked by Boswell to babysit Evelyn three or four times. Boswell brought Evelyn to Whitson’s home.
Massengill provided Whitson with a picture of Evelyn that Whitson took in December the last time that she watched the child. The photo shows Evelyn in a blue shirt and pink pants inside. Whitson said Evelyn was a very healthy baby.
The last time Whitson watched Evelyn, Boswell picked her up late. Boswell later told her that she would not be needing her to watch Evelyn anymore. Whitson said Boswell told her that about two weeks after the last time she watched Evelyn.
Whitson did have concerns on the days she watched Evelyn. She described a bad diaper rash on the child, which she relayed to her niece, Casey Saults. Saults worked at a doctors office at the time and described the diaper rash herself while testifying on Thursday.
“I’d never seen a diaper rash look that bad,” Whitson said.
Each time Evelyn was dropped off, Whitson said the child was dirty. She also told the court that Evelyn would smell of urine when she was left with her.
Massengill gave Whitson a copy of Dec. 21, 2019 messages between herself and Boswell. Before showing the messages, Massengill asked Whitson if she was ever paid for watching Evelyn prior to the messages. Whitson said no, she had not been paid because of Boswell’s supposed custody battle with Perry.
In the messages, Whitson asked for payment from Boswell for babysitting. Boswell apologized and said she would pay her, attributing the hold up to the custody battle.
When asked by Scott, Whitson said she did not know Boswell “that well at all.”
She answered further questions about the timeline of when her babysitting ended.
Whitson was released, and the court took a 15-minute recess.
Witness: Erica Stacy
When court resumed, Erica Stacy was called to the stand. Stacy knows Boswell through her son, Caleb, who dated Boswell in spring 2019.
Stacy said she met Evelyn a handful of times and believes she had a relationship with her from times they would visit her Kingsport home. Stacy said she never saw Boswell without Evelyn before Thanksgiving 2019. Stacy said she offered to babysit Evelyn but never did.
Stacy’s son and Boswell dated for a few months, but Stacy stayed in touch with her because she said she wanted to help her. Stacy began tearing up at this point in her testimony.
She recalled Boswell and Evelyn coming to her home in September 2019 so she could put decals on Boswell’s car. That was the last time Stacy remembers seeing Evelyn.
Stacy did see Boswell in December 2019 when she wanted to give her a birthday shirt she had made for Evelyn’s first birthday. Boswell came to Stacy’s house to get the gifts but did not have Evelyn with her.
Massengill asked Stacy to put on gloves to remove evidence from an envelope. When she removed the evidence, Stacy began crying and informed the jury it was a shirt she had made for Evelyn for the child’s birthday.
The next piece of evidence she removed was a blue Baby Shark blanket that Stacy had put Evelyn’s name on for the child. Stacy, still crying, said the shirt was made for Evelyn to wear at a birthday party she believed was being planned, and the blanket was a gift for the child.
Stacy said that around the time Evelyn would be turning 1-year-old, Boswell would say Evelyn was “mean as [expletive],” which shocked Stacy.
Stacy said she also bought Christmas gifts for both Boswell and Evelyn, but Boswell did not come collect them.
In January 2020, Stacy saw Boswell again two times at church with Wood but did not see Evelyn. Each time she asked where Evelyn was, Boswell told her that the baby was with Perry. Stacy said it was strange to see her without Evelyn, but she described Boswell’s demeanor as happy.
Stacy learned Evelyn was missing after police showed up at her home hoping to speak with her, although Stacy herself was not at the home.
She later picked up and spoke with Boswell at another time (Stacy thought it may have been February) and asked where Evelyn was. She described Boswell as “emotion-less” and not crying, despite her answers that she did not know where Evelyn was.
Stacy told Massengill that the Boswell she saw on the news doing interviews after the AMBER Alert for Evelyn was issued was not the girl she had come to know. Stacy described Boswell’s behavior in those interviews as “rehearsed.”
Massengill produced messages between Stacy and Boswell from Jan. 8, 2020. On that day, Stacy texted Boswell that she had been “worried to death about you” and worried about her and Evelyn but received no reply.
The attorneys approached the bench, and Goodwin asked the jury to leave the courtroom for a moment.
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Defense is asking for a mistrial due to how 'screenshots' (i.e., Facebook messenger, Instagram) formatted to appear on screen before the the Jurors in the Courtroom -- a demonstrative Exhibit. Raw data has long been admitted as evidence.
Court denies request for mistrial!
ETA: Court in recess for lunch.
