Details Emerge in Evelyn Boswell Case as Jury Hears from Former Investigators

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. - Four former investigators shared details with the jury on Saturday about the search for Evelyn Boswell, whose body was ultimately found in March of 2020.

The child's mother, Megan Boswell, 23, now faces numerous felony charges, including three counts of murder, aggravated child abuse and neglect and multiple counts of false reports.

The sequestered jury sat through the fourth day of proof in the case and heard from former Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Investigator Steve Williams, former SCSO Capt. Joey Strickler, former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Jeffery Blanton and former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent David Gratz. Since the case, all four men have moved on to other jobs.

Jurors watched and listened to a recorded interview between Williams and Boswell. In the interview, Boswell claimed that she last saw her daughter when she dropped her off with a former boyfriend Ethan Perry, who she also said was the child's father.

Perry, who Gratz said was cleared in the investigation, told the jury previously that he was not the child's biological father.

Defense attorney Gene Scott asked Williams if his client had requested an attorney. Williams replied that Boswell did not ask for an attorney.

Strickler, who described himself as a liaison between the SCSO and other participating agencies, said he interviewed Boswell twice on Feb. 20, 2020.

During the interview, which the jury watched, Boswell became emotional and spoke about her mother, Angela Boswell. She claimed investigators needed to speak to her mother, who she believed to have been driving in a BMW.

Gratz later informed the jury that authorities located the BMW in Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he then interviewed Angela Boswell and William McCloud, who was with her at the time. When asked by Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney General Amber Massengill, Gratz said he had cleared Angela Boswell and McCloud in the case.

Boswell also told Strickler about potential connections in Mendota, Virginia, and North Carolina. Gratz later said Boswell had also told him to go to Mendota, where authorities conducted extensive searches, but he said the community was cleared and nothing was found.

Blanton said he interviewed Boswell at the SCSO, but it was not recorded due to FBI policy of not recording interviews outside of FBI property. He said he took copious notes.

Boswell also told Blanton that Perry had Evelyn but admitted that his name was not on the birth certificate.

When asked about her demeanor, Blanton said Boswell was "very matter of the fact" and "completely unemotional." He added that she began to "tear up" when told she could be charged for lying to the agent. He said he later learned that the information Boswell shared was "not truthful."

Gratz told the jury about the process to search for Evelyn, including the issuance of an AMBER Alert. The TBI received a written request from Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus to investigate and participate in the search, Gratz said.

On the same day the AMBER Alert was issued, on Feb. 19, 2020, Gratz said he went to a trailer on Sugar Hollow Road where Boswell and her daughter lived in 2019. He met with Austin Feller, who previously told the jury that he cleaned the trailer after Boswell moved.

Gratz said new tenants had moved into the trailer. He noted that he found a stroller in a shed at the trailer park, which was taken into evidence.

The TBI agent also interviewed Boswell, who he said claimed Perry had her daughter. She said she had last seen Evelyn on Dec. 26. Gratz added that he told Boswell that Perry was actually living on a military base in Louisiana.

Gratz collected several items where Megan Boswell was staying with Hunter Wood. The items included photos and souvenirs from trips to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee, and Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

During another discussion, Gratz said he asked Boswell about whether Evelyn had any trouble breathing, which he said was based on expert advice on similar cases. Boswell denied her daughter had any breathing issues.

The jury also learned Boswell and Wood applied for an apartment on Jan. 4, 2020. The application was for three people, but Boswell said it was not for Evelyn. She claimed that she was pregnant and the third person on the application was for the unborn baby, Gratz said. Boswell claimed Wood did not want Evelyn to live with them, the former agent said.

Gratz also discussed the discovery and processing of the child's body at family property on Muddy Creek Road. The body was found March 6, 2020, in a trashcan that investigators said they found in a playhouse.

He said aluminum foil, which was found wrapped around the child's head, was taken to TBI labs, and the body was taken for an autopsy.

The sequestered jury will return to court on Monday. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.