James McDaniel is a bad, manipulating dude.  A felon on parole for the attempted murder of an off duty  police officer.  A career drug dealer.  A sexual predator.  Preying on the young, upper class, elite students of Southern Methodist University(SMU) in Dallas, Texas.  Running back room card games that also served as an alleged drug den for other students, primarily female, to be drawn into his world of cocaine, meth and non-consensual roofie sex.

Meaghan Bosch was a young, attractive  SMU coed with a good family, privilege, friends and dreams. She apparently also carried the demons that many young college students harbor  as they try to find their place in an often judgmental young college world of  peer pressure, acceptance and achievement.  Many take the road to achievement and success.  The unfortunate minority often get sucked into a less traveled but common road of acceptance through drugs and partying.  Sucked into a cocaine reality.  Easy prey for the likes of James McDaniel.

Meaghan allegedly knew James McDaniel and was  an active participant in his  SMU student driven back room poker and drug crowd.  Just before she went missing, she sent her ex-boyfriend a text that she was “at the home of a drug dealer“   She then missed a dinner date that evening.  Meaghan’s parents were alerted  the next day that she had never shown up.  They then reported her missing to the police.

After several days of searching,Meaghan’s body was found stuffed in a construction site porta-potty 90 miles south of Dallas.

The medical examiner of Dallas County has determined that Meaghan had cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone in her body at the time of her death.  It was ruled an accidental drug overdose.

James McDaniel is now on trial for the  death of Meaghan Bosch. The federal government contends that he provided the drugs to Meaghan that ultimately caused her overdose.   He is charged with a number of other weapons and drug related crimes as well. The specific charge in the indictment related to Meaghan Bosch reads as follows:

On or about May 10, 2007. in the Dallas Division of the Northern District Of Texas and elsewhere, the defendant,  James McDaniel did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances containing a detectable amount of  cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone, all Schedule II controlled substances, that resulted in the death of an individual, Meaghan Bosch, from the use of such substances.

It is a case that has garnered national attention.  At the time of her death, Southern Methodist University was under national scrutiny for not doing enough to prevent a rash of drug related deaths occurring on its’ campus of predominately upper class elite from Texas and across the country. Not quite fitting the stereotype of back room, poker dealing dens of coke, crack and meth heads.  Meghan was the 3rd drug related death at SMU within a 5 month period during 2006-07 school year.

This is a case that will apparently be built primarily on prior bad acts and a time line of  events which the federal government hopes in the juror’s minds, will  rule out any other possibility that anyone but James McDaniel could have provided Meaghan with the drugs that ultimately killed her.

There will be plenty of testimony that McDaniels was a drug dealer and that he knew Meaghan. There will be plenty of testimony that Meaghan was part of the same crowd that McDaniel routinely serviced. It does not appear that anyone will testify that actually saw him give Meaghan drugs.  No one will testify that saw her take the drugs that killed her.   No one will testify that saw him with her when she died or move her body after she died.

The prosecution case is that Meaghan was one in a long line of  SMU students McDaniel targeted with his poker and cocaine operation.  They contend that McDaniel used his back door game as a front to deal drugs to SMU students.  There has already been strong testimony from several students who bought cocaine from McDaniel.

The prosecution also contends that they believe McDaniel drugged and raped up to a dozen women he lured to his poker lair. Testimony to date in the case has shown that many as 15 students a day were allegedly buying cocaine from McDaniel.   Previous alleged “roofie” victims  have been allowed to testify as to their experiences.

What has yet to be determines is whether those who also claim to have been raped while drugged will be allowed to testify as to those facts.  A motion to exclude their testimony has been filed but not yet been ruled on.  Unless there is evidence that Bosch had been sexually assaulted by McDaniel, it seems unlikely they will be allowed to testify to create a pattern of conduct.

James McDaniels lawyer  stated that Meaghan was in fact seen alive in the area where her body was ultimately found, driven there by a neighbor of McDaniels.  In his opening statement he stated:

“We have a witness that saw her alive in Hewitt after she was with Mr. McDaniel,”

The prosecution claims that witnesses will testify Meaghan lay dying in the throws of a drug overdose at McDaniel’s place while people begged him to take her to a hospital. He refused to do so. It is unclear if these witnesses actually saw Meaghan pass away or how they fill in the gaps between what they saw and the discovery of the body.  It is unlikely McDaniel will testify in his own defense.

James McDaniel may or may not have provided Meaghan Bosch the drugs that caused her overdose.  I think the prosecution has a decent circumstantial case but there are timeline holes that could be enough to create reasonable doubt.  I  suspect James McDaniel will be convicted in Meghan’s death regardless. He will receive a lengthy prison term.  It may not  be because the federal government proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt but because they will be able to bring it close enough for the jurors to justify making  James McDaniel pay for the numerous other uncharged sins of his past.

It reminds me of a Law and Order episode where a mob boss who was a suspect in numerous murders,  confessed to a murder  to protect his son. As he was being led away to prison, he turned to Jack McCoy and said:

“I hope your happy, you finally got me for the one I didn’t do”

The trial continues this week.