BOISE, Idaho — May 15 marked day 25 of Chad Daybell's high-profile murder trial. What began with questioning, ended with a tense motion hearing over the validity of Daybell's indictment.
His attorney, John Prior, began with continued cross examination of FBI investigator Ricky Wright, followed by the first witness of the trial, Rexburg Detective Ray Hermosillo, being called back to the stand and Idaho Attorney General investigator Nicholas Edwards, who testified with a detailed correspondence timeline and text messages leading up to and following Tammy Daybell's death.
Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow and Alex Cox are believed by investigators to have conspired in the deaths of Tammy Daybell, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Lori Vallow has already faced trial and was sentenced to life in prison. Alex Cox, however, died in the midst of the investigation, so he cannot face charges.
On Tuesday, jurors heard details of Tammy's Daybell's exhumed body, as well as location data from a tracked phone in the months leading up to the deaths of Tammy, JJ and Tylee.
The jury heard from prosecuting attorney Lindsey Blake, as she called the state's witness, Dr. Lily Marsden. Dr. Marsden assisted the case as the deputy chief medical examiner in Utah. Investigator Ricky Wright then took the stand and testified about his role in the investigation, which was to look for the missing children.
On Monday, May 13, the court heard testimony from a variety of witnesses, with a few prior witnesses being recalled.
The trial is expected to last two to four more weeks.
Live Updates:
4 p.m.: Judge Boyce ultimately denied all requests and challenges posed by the defense, justifying his decision based on valid witness testimonials, sufficient evidence provided by the state; and most significantly, Boyce denied challenges to count 4, citing that the court "did not authorize" the February amendment in which the typo mistake was made. Read the entire story here.
3 p.m.: Arguments continue in the motion hearing for Chad Daybell's count 4. Count 4 was the murder of JJ Vallow. There were some errors in the indictment about dates of JJ's death. Judge Boyce asks for a brief recess before making a ruling. He states he'll go as quickly as he can.
2:30 p.m.: A motion hearing is held at 2:30 p.m. to hear more on the indictment of Chad Daybell. Judge Boyce rules on several matters. Chad is looking at Judge Boyce very intently. There is no grounds of acquittal on most of the counts, but count 4, the murder of JJ Vallow, there will be additional arguments. The state takes the podium first to offer three options to the court. Prosecution argues State v Jones as grounds of why count 4 in the Daybell trial should be kept as a charge. "We're talking about a clerical error," the state argues.
12:30 p.m.: The jurors were dismissed. Judge Boyce said there are issues with the charging document, particularly pertaining to JJ Vallow's death date. Boyce is giving the state two hours to prepare for an argument, as they claim they were unaware of the concern. This hearing will resume at 2:30 p.m.
11:31 a.m.: The state rests its case in chief, as they have no more witnesses to call. Blake asks for a sidebar before they continue. They have discussed scheduling. Court is concluded for the day, but there are some matters to discuss without the jury. They will discuss a motion in about 30 minutes, after a break.
11:20 a.m.: Prior shows texts from Lori Vallow's iCloud account. The texts are from Aug. 11, 2019. Prior argues that these texts are an example of Lori Vallow manipulating Chad Daybell. Hart states that the couple would manipulate each other, so it wasn't one-sided. Then, Prior shows more texts from the iCloud account, showing that Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell had a tiff, or breakup of sorts, but got back together. With that, cross examination concludes. Redirect takes place with Lindsey Blake questioning the witness. Blake asks about the manipulation by both parties, with Hart finding the manipulation throughout the entire Daybell/Vallow relationship. As a reminder, Blake asks again, who would determine death percentages or light and dark scale things. Hart responds - Chad Daybell. Again, Blake asks where Tammy, JJ, and Tylee's bodies were found. "On Chad Daybell's property," states Hart.
11:09 a.m.: Hart testifies about texts between Lori and Chad on Oct. 23, 2019. The two were worried about Alex Cox, and how police will try to get him to talk. Chad then says he'll reach out to him. After a few more questions regarding the texts, direct examination concludes. During cross examination, John Prior asks if the law enforcement agencies used a medium to assist in the investigation. An Allison DuBois is brought up, and Prior asks if she assisted in the investigation. Hart states mediums usually reach out to offer assistance, but Hart never used her services.
10:53 a.m.: Texts between Lori Vallow and an unknown person are shown. What caught Hart's attention about these texts was that someone, the unknown texter, was providing information to Lori Vallow about Tammy's death. Lori was in Hawaii at the time of Tammy's death, but Alex Cox was in Idaho, just a quick car ride away. Hart continues to testify about texts from Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Hart notes that when Tammy died, there was very little emotion from Chad.
10:41 a.m.: Sept, 24, 2019 text messages are shown between Lori Vallow and a friend. These texts were significant because it was two days after the last living proof of JJ Vallow. First documented lies about JJ's whereabouts are in these texts. More texts are shown, after Charles, JJ and Tylee were dead. Tammy Daybell was still alive. Chad texted Lori, and it stood out to Hart because Chad was "so excited" to go on a date with Lori Vallow, which was sent Oct. 3, 2019 - weeks before Tammy died. On Oct. 5, 2019 - 14 days before Tammy's death - Chad texted Lori, "Hello, sweet angel. Big news about Tammy. Please let me know if you are awake and can talk. I love you."
Then, texts about Tammy's supposed demonic entity are shown in court.
10:29 a.m.: Court is back in session for the rest of the morning. Doug Hart is still on the stand. Direct examination continues, with Lindsey Blake questioning the witness. More texts are shown via PowerPoint presentation. On Sept. 1, 2019, Lori Vallow, her two kids, and her brother Alex Cox moved to Rexburg. Texts from around that time are shown. Last known sighting of Tylee Ryan was Sept. 8, 2019, and JJ Vallow was last seen Sept. 22, 2019. Some photos are shown in court, one image is of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and Alex Cox in Yellowstone National Park. Then, a video of JJ Vallow taken from Lori Vallow's iCloud account are shown in court, from Sept. 22 - no more photos or videos of JJ are on the iCloud account after that date.
10:01 a.m.: Testimony continues for Hart, as he discusses more texts messages he found within Lori Vallow's two iCloud accounts. There is reference of a "finish line" which was for Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow to be together. They wanted to be unencumbered from their children and spouses. Court is taking their mid-morning break and will be back at roughly 10:30 a.m.
9:47 a.m.: A photo of Chad Daybell in a Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or LDS church is shown. Alex Cox sent the photo of Daybell to Lori Vallow, with a caption of "look at bubbies" - which was the nickname Lori used for male figures in her life. Alex Cox posed in a similar image, and Chad sent the image to Lori with the caption "two exalted beings."
9:35 a.m.: The term "death percentage" is used frequently over several texts, and is referenced for Charles Vallow, JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan, and Tammy Daybell - all in which are dead now. The names of demonic entities that "possessed" Tammy Daybell and Charles Vallow are shared in court.
9:16 a.m.: More texts are shown, this time showing Lori Vallow manipulating Chad Daybell. Daybell states in the texts "extreme changes are coming" for him. This conversation took place while Tammy Daybell was still alive. Texts from July 2019 are shown. They talk about someone named Blake, who is Melani Boudreaux's son. He was roughly three or four at the time. Lori Vallow repeatedly asked how "light or dark" Blake was. Blake is Lori Vallow's niece's son. Further in the texts, it talks about turning up the pain. Some July 23, 2019 texts are also shown, this time showing Lori Vallow asking Chad about her two children.
9:01 a.m.: Texts between Lori Vallow and her brother Alex Cox are shown in court. What caught Hart's attention was that Lori Vallow had to check everything with her "source" - which was Chad Daybell. More texts are shown from July 18, 2019. A week prior to these messages, Lori Vallow's husband Charles Vallow was killed. In the texts, a 'Hilary' is mentioned, which was the alias of Tylee Ryan. The names 'James' and 'Raphael' are also included which are aliases for Chad Daybell. In one of the texts, it talks about JJ Vallow needing to "follow the light" - a common phrase about death. There is another text about "turning up the pain to a 10" - in reference to Tylee Ryan. Chad Daybell sent both texts.
8:50 a.m.: A PowerPoint that Hart made for his testimony is admitted to court for viewing. Before it is seen by the witness, defense attorney John Prior asks for a sidebar. Chad stands up and pours himself some water while he waits for his attorney. Chad isn't on his laptop this morning, which he normally does. Judge Boyce comes back from sidebar to tell the court there is an evidentiary matter they need to take up without the jury. They jury exits and then the arguments are heard for the evidence issue. Judge Boyce allows for the evidence to be admitted, and the jury is brought back into the room.
8:41 a.m.: Prosecution asks Hart if he ever worked on Native American reservations in his time at with the FBI. He said he has worked about 14 years with reservations, and is familiar with burial sites. Hart was present on the Daybell property on June 9, 2020 - which was the day the children's bodies were recovered. Photos of the Daybell property taken that day are shown in court. Hart testifies about the ground conditions of the property, saying he could feel a seam in the grass where something had been buried. After finding the children's bodies on the property, Hart and team went to talk to the Daybell children to tell them what was going on. Initially they agreed to meet, but then declined the following day after talking to their dad, Chad Daybell. Hart also spent over 100 hours reviewing iCloud accounts - both associated with Lori Vallow.
8:33 a.m.: The 25th day of the Chad Daybell trial begins now, with the jury being brought in. The state's next witness is called, Doug Hart. He's currently the chief deputy at the Canyon County Sheriff's Office, but was with the FBI during the investigation of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow's disappearances. Hart says "you look everywhere", including at the parents, when children are missing. Hart testifies about all the law enforcement agencies that helped out with the investigation.
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