BOISE, Idaho — On Tuesday, April 23, the court heard testimony from a family friend of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow, David Warwick. His testimony began Monday, concluding on Tuesday around 9:15 a.m.
The next witness to testify on Tuesday was Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Melani Boudreaux, who is Lori Vallow's niece. He testified regarding an attempted shooting that took place, where an gunman shot at him while he was driving into his driveway. It is believed that gunman was Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother. Lori Vallow is facing charges for this attempted shooting in Arizona, where it took place.
More officers were called to the stand as well, one being from Gilbert, Arizona, where Lori Vallow was living before transplanting to Idaho. The court also heard testimony from a Fremont County deputy, as well as testimony from a Rexburg Police Department officer.
Officer Alyssa Gerenhalgh, from Rexburg, testified in regards to finding Tammy Daybell's body, as Gerenhalgh was the officer on call when the 911 call came through. She was investigating the death initially as unintended death, but became suspicious of circumstances. However, Chad Daybell specifically asked for no autopsy, so most of the investigation was left there, until several months later when investigators exhumed Tammy Daybell to investigate further.
Tuesday was the first day Chad Daybell was visibly emotional in court, as the testimony and images from Officer Gerenhalgh showed Tammy Daybell deceased, with pinkish foam coming from her mouth. Chad Daybell appeared to cry a bit upon this testimony, showing some semblance of care for her.
The court finished the day with Officer Gerenhalgh's testimony, and will start Wednesday by calling a new witness.
The trial is expected to last another four to six weeks.
Live Updates:
4:21 p.m.: Court is concluded for the day. Court will readjourn at 8:30 for Judge Boyce's rulings in these motions. The jury will not be brought back in until 9 a.m.
4:10 p.m.: Judge Boyce hears both sides on the motion in limine.
3:41 p.m.: Court is called back to session. The jury is not present for this motion hearing, but the stream is still up for public viewing. It appears a majority of the gallery left when the jury did. There are two motions to take up in the court today, one is about designation of victims. The documents were sealed. Both motions are from the state. They begin to take up the designation of victim motion, as Rob Wood takes the podium to argue.
3:18 p.m.: The jury is excused after some further technical issues. There is some motion of limine hearings to come up after a short break.
3:08 p.m.: Kaaiakamanu testifies about the attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell and how the gun that was used truly was a gun, and not just a paintball gun. Blake asks how familiar Kaaiakamanu is with paintball guns. He talks about his childhood experience with them, and his police training.
2:47 p.m.: Vincent Kaaiakamanu takes the stand. He's currently the Chief Deputy at the Madison County Sheriff's Office, but at the time of the investigation, he was serving with Fremont County as a detective. This is not the first time we've heard testimony from Kaaiakamanu. He testified on the third day of the trial. He is now testifying further about Tammy Daybell's death, as opposed to testifying about the children's death like he originally did.
2:39 p.m.: Redirect kicks off with Lindsey Blake asking if this was a joint investigation. Mattingly said yes, elaborating by listing the several entities involved in the Daybell investigation. Blake also asks if any of Chad's children came forward with any information. They had not.
2:28 p.m.: Testimony continues with Det. Mattingly. They talk further about Tammy's health during cross examination. There was a "past" record of anemia, with Mattingly believing she did not have it anymore due to the word "past" being in the document he read. John Prior argues that Tammy Daybell did not like to go to the doctors, and that's why there isn't a lot of health data on her.
2:03 p.m.: After roughly 20 minutes, they came back from the break. The jury is brought back in. Lindsey Blake takes the podium. Prosecution displays the evidence of Tammy Daybell's FitBit. The last sync date was Oct. 20, 2019, the day after Tammy Daybell had died. There was limited evidence on the FitBit, due to her irregular night time wear, and that the device did not store heartrate data. FitBit did however record her step counts. Her step counts showed that she walked quite a bit, "big numbers," testified Mattingly.
1:38 p.m.: Due to some tech issues, Judge Boyce asks for a quick standing break, so IT can come into the courtroom to fix the jury's monitors. After roughly 20 minutes, they came back from the break.
1:32 p.m.: A life insurance form for Tammy Daybell is shown in court. Chad Daybell was the one that filled it out. Chad Daybell put down that Tammy's health began to decline just the day before she was declared dead. Det. Mattingly states that in regards to looking at Tammy's health, he got a search warrant for Tammy Daybell's FitBit. He got evidence back and that evidence is presented in court. The reason he requested the documents in the first place was so he could see heart rate and sleep patterns, to hopefully narrow down the exact time of death. However, they never found a FitBit at the residence of the Daybell's - several images on Tammy's Facebook showed one though.
1:21 p.m.: Det. Mattingly discusses Tammy Daybell's health records, showing a lack of record on the supposed dizzy spells or seizures she was having, as well a lack of records of anemia or low blood pressure. Emma Daybell, the daughter of Chad and Tammy, only stated that her mom was slowing down in their exercise classes, but otherwise, by all counts, Tammy Daybell was in good health.
1:08 p.m.: Court is back in session, with all 18 jurors brought back in. The state calls Detective Bruce Mattingly takes the stand, after a few housekeeping questions from Judge Boyce. Lindsey Blake is at the podium. Det. Mattingly works for Fremont County Sheriff's Office. He's been a detective for over 7 years. They ask him about the day Tammy Daybell died. He was not on shift that day, but Deputy Gerenhalgh called him in. Blake asks Mattingly if he typically sees the pinkish foam on deceased bodies, he said no.
11:48 a.m.: The court excuses Giesler, as Judge Boyce asks the state if they want to call another witness or take lunch. They decide to take lunch. The court will resume right at 1 p.m.
11:35 a.m.: They excuse Miller after she testifies a great deal about her perception of Tammy Daybell's health and stamina. The state calls yet another witness, just before lunch. Jennifer Giesler lives in St. Anthony and works at Central Elementary, the same school the previous witness worked at, as well as Tammy Daybell. Giesler testifies that she and Tammy Daybell were closed friends, Tammy was "someone you wanted to be around."
11:19 a.m.: Redirect takes place, as Harris gets asked about Tammy's ability in the clogging classes. After a series of quick questions, the state calls another witness. This time they're calling Shana Miller. Miller worked with Tammy Daybell, as Miller was a teacher and Tammy was a librarian. Tammy Daybell wore many hats with her position at the school. Miller also testifies to attending high-intensity fitness classes with Tammy and Emma Daybell. According to Miller, Tammy Daybell was attending classes several times a week for many months, leading up to Tammy's death. Tammy reportedly never lagged behind, and kept up with the high-intensity class just fine.
11:08 a.m.: Testimony wraps up for Dye, and the state calls another witness. Wixom takes the podium. Kelsie Harris, a resident of Sugar City, Idaho. Harris knew Tammy Daybell, as they worked together at the local school. Harris was also the instructor of Tammy Daybell's clogging classes.
10:43 a.m.: John Prior talks about the amount of essential oils in the home. Tammy Daybell was reportedly the only one to use the essential oils. Tammy Daybell had fits of shaking, or seizures, making her health a challenge. Tammy's autopsy was done out of state, in Utah. During redirect, Prosecutor Wixom asks a series of questions about the process of finding Tammy Daybell's body and how the family was informed of the death.
10:21 a.m.: Court is back in session for the rest of the morning. Dye remains on the stand. Defense attorney John Prior begins asking Dye about her reports for the Tammy Daybell case. One chart, a body chart, shows things like cuts and bruises on the body at time of death. The body chart of Tammy Daybell is shown in court. According to Dye, there was lividity across the whole body, indicating she was laying flat on her back at one point.
9:46 a.m.: In order to get some evidence entered into the court, they have decided to take their mid-morning break. It will last 30 minutes.
9:32 a.m.: Prior goes forward with cross examination. He asks about Chad Daybell's son's reaction to his mother's death. Garth, the son, was "reserved" as reported in testimony. Chad Daybell was considered "distraught" while officers and coroners were present. It was the daughter, Emma Daybell, that asked that Tammy does not receive an autopsy.
9:14 a.m.: Dye testifies that she had to make an amendment to the death certificate, due to the fact the autopsy was done months later. After the medical examiner had a chance to do the autopsy, they noticed a great deal of the pinkish foam in the lungs, and she had a stomach full of food. Chad Daybell claimed Tammy had thrown up that night, which seems improbable due to the food in her stomach at autopsy.
9:00 a.m.: Dye testifies that Chad Daybell's description of how he found his wife did not make sense to her. She explains that Chad Daybell said Tammy rolled out of bed, but Dye points out that the dead cannot move. There were a great deal of natural supplements and remedies that Tammy possessed for her health. Tammy did not like going to the doctor, Chad Daybell told Dye.
8:53 a.m.: Brenda Dye describes her involvement in Tammy Daybell's death. She reported to the scene after Officer Gerenhalgh got there, testifying that Officer Gerenhalgh took Dye into the bedroom where Tammy Daybell was. Dye talked to Chad Daybell about Tammy's death. Tammy was reportedly wrapped in a blanket.
8:38 a.m.: Court is called to order, and the bailiff brings in the jury. Chad is at the defense table, staring at his laptop screen. He points at something on the screen, getting John Prior, his defense attorney's attention. Prosecutor Rocky Wixom takes the podium as the state calls Brenda Dye, the Fremont County Coroner. She's also an EMT. She took office in January of 2018. When she took office, she received limited special training on how to be a coroner. She testifies that there is a medical examiner system, with most counties in Idaho not having one. They have to take the deceased to Boise to get medical examination.
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