BOISE, Idaho — In Chad Daybell's trial last week, the court heard a plethora of testimony from various sources, putting together the pieces of what happened in 2019 that resulted in the deaths of Tammy Daybell, Chad's first wife, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, Lori Vallow's two children.
On Friday, May 3, Detective David Stubbs took the stand. He worked for the Rexburg Police Department, and gave testimony about phone data and information.
Also on Friday, FBI Agent Steve Daniels took the stand as well. His testimony was long, still continuing on Monday, as he discusses finding human remains on the Daybell property on June 9, 2020.
Court wrapped up early on Friday. Daniels will retake the stand on Monday morning.
On the 15th day of the Chad Daybell trial, the court heard testimony from Kay Woodcock, JJ Vallow's grandmother, as well as from Chad Daybell's sister-in-law Heather Daybell, and from retired Rexburg PD detective David Stubbs.
During Kay Woodcock's testimony, she recounted details about hiring a private investigator, she also talks about the last time she talked to JJ Vallow. She talked about how Lori Vallow was making it challenging to talk to JJ and seemed controlling.
Heather Daybell also took the stand. Heather is Matt Daybell's wife, Chad's brother. Heather testified about Chad's religious beliefs and how they differed from the church they attended, the LDS church. Chad's beliefs surrounded the end of times, which is different than the traditional LDS belief system.
Thursday wrapped up with retired Rexburg PD David Stubbs taking the stand. During this testimony, he showed bodycam footage of a welfare check at Lori Vallow's house. The police did not see JJ Vallow or Tylee Ryan during that welfare check.
On Monday, May 6, the court will hear more testimony from Agent Daniels. Cross examination has not taken place yet, but is expected to happen on Monday.
The trial is expected to last another two to four weeks.
Live Updates:
3:17 p.m.: Ian Pawlowski is asked about the whereabouts of the children, and the beliefs Melani held. Later on in the investigation, Ian learned where the bodies of the children were found - it was Chad Daybell's property. The state breaks for the day at this point. Court will adjourn tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.
3:08 p.m.: Prior asks about "vibrations" and other religious views that Vallow and Daybell held. Prior asks for a moment. After a few more questions, Prior wraps up cross examination. Redirect takes place, with Lindsey Blake taking the podium.
2:51 p.m.: Testimony from Ian Pawlowski continues after his attorney was removed from the room. During cross examination, Prior asks about fundamental Mormons, and castings of bad spirits. Castings, to a degree, can be part of the LDS church, but not to the extent that Vallow and Daybell were practicing.
2:49 p.m.: After a sidebar, Judge Boyce calls the jury out of the room. Mr. Pawlowski's attorney was sitting in the courtroom, and Judge Boyce wanted him removed from the courtroom. The attorney is licensed in Arizona, and was apparently nodding his head to certain questions. Mr. Pawlowski says the nodding didn't happen.
2:38 p.m.: Court is back in session for the rest of the afternoon. Ian Pawlowski remains on the stand, and cross examination begins. Prior asks when Melani and Ian got married, which was Nov. 30 of 2019. They only knew each other for about 11 days before getting married. Ian Pawlowski met Daybell on Nov. 23, 2019. That was the last time Ian saw Chad face-to-face until after the children's bodies were found.
2:11 p.m.: In the audio recording, Daybell and Vallow talk about changing phone numbers soon. Also, code words were established between Lori Vallow and Melani, so each other knew their phones weren't being tracked by police. Direct examination ends, as counsel takes up a sidebar. Mid-afternoon break starts, court will be back in 20 minutes.
1:47 p.m.: Another recording has been played in court. The recording took place the day Alex Cox died, in 2019. It has another blessing from Daybell in it. Vallow also contributes to this blessing. Similar themes are shown across both blessings, but the teachings varied greatly from the LDS church, with topics like traveling through portals, cutting negative chords, and removing weapons. Daybell offered a blessing just about every time Ian Pawlowski talked to him, which is not normal for LDS faith.
1:31 p.m.: A lengthy blessing from Daybell to the Pawlowski's is played in court from the audio recording. It includes topics such as traveling through portals and the beginning of a new terrestrial order. "Changes are coming quickly to the earth," said Daybell in the audio recorded blessing.
1:18 p.m.: In the recording, Vallow and Daybell are trying to tell the Pawlowski's to leave Rexburg. At this point of the investigation, it is unknown where Vallow and Daybell are living but the two say they had to leave due to the police, saying many police were dark spirits. "Just get out of their line of sight," said Vallow to Melani Pawlowski. In a later part of the recording, Melani calls Chad Daybell "dad".
1:01 p.m.: Jurors are brought back into court for the afternoon of day 17. Direct examination continues for Ian Pawlowski. Prosecution begins to ask Ian about the clip played before the lunch, and how on the tape, Daybell and Vallow tell the Pawlowski's that they had to move. Prosecution decides to replay the audio clip from before the lunch break.
11:57 a.m.: A phone call is played in court, with Daybell and Vallow discussing where the Pawlowski's should move, due to Madison County being "dangerous." It was "dangerous" because the police were investigating them, and the law enforcement officers were "dark spirits." The court stops for lunch at this time, returning at 1 p.m.
11:36 a.m.: On his honeymoon, Ian made some recordings of his conversations with Vallow and Daybell. One of the recordings is played in court, with a male and a female voice present. The recording is 87 minutes, but only portions will be played in court. Segments of the recording are played, with Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell's voices being prevalent.
11:22 a.m.: Melani Pawlowski is done testifying, and will most likely not be recalled again. The state calls their next witness, Ian Pawlowski. He is Melani's husband. Ian had asked Chad and Lori for a blessing to marry Melani, but Ian noticed that the blessing was "unorthodox" and it was done over Zoom, which is untraditional for the LDS faith. They typically do blessings in person. Ian was filled in to a great deal of the religious ideals of Melani, Vallow, and Daybell on his wedding night. The next day, after his wedding, his daughter played hide and seek and it scared him. It amplified his concern for JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. On December 4 or 5 of 2019, Ian went to law enforcement. Law enforcement asked him to record some conversations, which he agreed to.
11:13 a.m.: The conversation goes into talking about Melanie Gibbs. Gibbs had a podcast and often taught about the end of times. Though Pawlowski never really paid much mind to Gibbs teachings, Pawlowski did pay attention to what Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow told her. Prior then asks about Alex Cox and Lori Vallow's relationship. Prior asks if it was normal for Alex Cox to follow Lori Vallow where ever she moved. Pawlowski said she noticed this, but it wasn't abnormal. Cross examination wraps up.
11:00 a.m.: Direct examination of this witness concludes, and cross begins. Prior begins by asking about the trip to Hawaii the women took in late October of 2019. It was roughly a week long trip. Prior brings up a trip Lori Vallow took even earlier in 2019, but it's unclear why. Then, he goes over the timeline of where Pawlowski lived in 2018-2020.
10:50 a.m.: It was shared in court that Lori Vallow and Pawlowski were in Hawaii when Tammy Daybell died. Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother, was supposed to come on the trip but Chad Daybell asked Cox to stay behind to do something for him. It was that weekend that Tammy Daybell died. They also discuss more of the light and dark system. Sometimes, when a person became too dark, they would be labeled "zombie". According to Pawlowski, if the body became too dark, that person would pass away or expire. Later on, after police became involved within this investigation, Daybell and Vallow told Pawlowski not to talk to law enforcement. After the children were deemed missing, Daybell told Pawlowski that she needed to move, as Madison County wasn't safe anymore.
10:46 a.m.: Pawlowski lays out the weeks leading up to the deaths of the two children. Pawlowski visited the Vallow family in late September of 2019, where Pawlowski did not see the children. A few weeks later, Lori Vallow and Pawlowski went to Hawaii. While in Hawaii, Lori Vallow never called the children. She did call Chad Daybell though.
10:37 a.m.: Pawlowski was asked where the idea of casting came from, with the original idea coming from a Julie Rowe podcast, who is an author. Later in testimony, Pawlowski talks about finding out about Charles Vallow's passing. It was her uncle, Alex Cox, that shot Charles Vallow.
10:32 a.m.: Pawlowski talks about the light and dark system that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow held. Though Pawlowski states that the light and dark talk would come from both Vallow and Daybell, it was Daybell that had an "ability" to learn more about those who were light or dark. They talked about casting - or removing bad spirits from someone. Pawlowski participated on a few castings, one was on Charles Vallow before he died. Though there is no physical touch or physical presence of Charles Vallow, it was a spiritual type thing. JJ Vallow was considered a dark spirit. Tylee Ryan was also labeled as a dark spirit.
10:21 a.m.: Court is back in session and the jurors are brought back in. Before calling for next witness, they have a brief sidebar. The state calls the next witness, Melani Pawlowski, Lori Vallow's niece. She has also been referred to in this trial as Melani Boudreaux. Pawlowski states she looked up to Lori Vallow as a mother figure. Pawlowski met Chad Daybell in 2018.
9:52 a.m.: Daniels' testimony concludes for now, he may be recalled at a later time. Mid-morning recess takes place at this time, court will be back in roughly 20 minutes.
9:44 a.m.: They talk further about the burial site of JJ Vallow. His remains were found just over two feet into the ground. He was buried near a berm, that was easy to walk to and find. Judge Boyce has to reprimand Prior for talking over the witness. Prior talks over Judge Boyce as Boyce tells Prior to stop doing that. After a few more questions, cross examination wraps up. Redirect takes place with prosecutor Rob Wood on the podium.
9:24 a.m.: Prior asks if the "working theory" is that the children were buried in September of 2019. Daniels says he is unaware of what the "theory" is. For arguments sake, Prior goes with this theory and asks when the charm bracelet was found. It was found in June of 2020. When found, the charm was found on top of the ground, unconcealed. Later in the testimony, an image of Chad Daybell's garage is shown. The tools in the image later became evidence.
9:15 a.m.: During cross examination, defense attorney John Prior asks Daniels about what agencies and who was present at a pre-planning meeting before they went to the Daybell property. A great deal of agencies were present, including the prosecution office sending a representative. Rob Wood, who is sitting on the prosecution team currently, was identified as one person being present that day.
9:04 a.m.: After excavating JJ Vallow's body from the hole in the ground where they found him, the FBI brought in a back hoe to further excavate the area. The soil where he was found was also taken, as there was some evidence of body decomposition. After some more information is provided from Daniels about the excavation of JJ Vallow, prosecution ends direct examination. Cross examination of the witness begins.
8:57 a.m.: Daniels testifies regarding finding a black plastic bag buried on the Daybell property. After cutting the black plastic bag, they found a white plastic bag. The plastics were tight against the items inside the bag. After Daniels had cut the white bag open with a razor blade, they found human hair poking out.
8:47 a.m.: Images of the Daybell property is shown in court, taken from the FBI scanning devices. The burial site of JJ Vallow is shown in the courtroom. Daniels is testifying, when counsel asks for a sidebar. After the sidebar, one more image is shown to the public, before the images become graphic in nature. The images are now being shown only to the jury.
8:39 a.m.: Court begins and the jurors are brought in. The gallery has to be moved from where they were seated, to move to the side of the courtroom behind prosecution. It is likely that graphic images will be displayed to the jury, and moving the gallery allows them to not see the graphic images. Direct examination continues with Agent Daniels.
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