BOISE, Idaho — Another week has come in the Chad Daybell trial, with testimony from FBI tactical specialist Nicole Heideman kicking of the week.
Heideman was on the stand on Friday, testifying about a story Chad Daybell wrote that mirrored his real life. Passages of the text were read aloud in court on Friday, after testimony from other sources. The deputy coroner testified about Tammy Daybell's death and Tammy's sister and brother-in-law took the stand as well.
Jason and Samantha Gwilliam, related to Chad Daybell through marriage, both took the stand. They testified on Tammy's health and the relationship that they had with Chad. During Jason's testimony, a recorded phone call between Jason and Chad was played. Samantha testified about the pet cemetery, and how she felt about the kids, JJ and Tylee, being found on the Daybell property.
On Thursday, May 9, the court heard testimony from several sources. First, a forensic biologist took the stand to talk about physical evidence, which was followed by a Hawaiian law enforcement officer testifying about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell's time in Hawaii and what he found in their car there. Then, FBI intelligence analyst Ben Dean took the stand to testify about texts sent between Chad Daybell and his first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Testimony was heard Wednesday, May 8, from a series of different folks and experts. A forensic pathologist testified about the autopsies of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Another forensic scientist also testified, about fingerprints. They found a fingerprint on the plastic around JJ Vallow's body matching Alex Cox - who was Lori Vallow's brother.
A detective with the Chandler, Arizona police department also took the stand Wednesday, to show cell phone data for Charles Vallow, Lori Vallow's fourth husband, who was killed by Alex Cox in what Cox claimed was self defense. The cell phone data showed where Charles' phone was in the hours after his death, as Lori Vallow had taken it. There were several hours between when Charles died and when his death was reported. There was a series of call logs also shown in court, showing that Lori Vallow was calling Chad Daybell the day Charles Vallow died.
The trial is expected to last two to four more weeks.
Live Updates:
2:22 p.m.: Another thing that Agent Ballance looked at during this investigation was if Tylee Ryan's phone was used nearby Lori Vallow's phone in the weeks after Tylee was presumed dead, September on. Cross examination doesn't occur, as defense has no need. Agent Ballance may be recalled later in the trial. Brief sidebar takes place. Due to the state going quicker than faster than expected, court will adjourn for the day. Court will be back at 8:30 for more testimony from state witnesses.
2:11 p.m.: Ballance discusses inbound and outbound texts between Lori Vallow, Alex Cox, and Chad Daybell. These texts all took place on October 18, 2019 - the night Tammy Daybell died. Looking at Google location history of Alex Cox, he was in the area of the Salem church. The night that Tammy died, there was a lot of text activity between the three accused.
1:44 p.m.: Agent Ballance testifies about cell phone data and texts between Lori Vallow, Alex Cox, and Chad Daybell. Some text message data from Verizon was not included, such as cell site data. So there is some data that was unable to be retrieved. More information is displayed on the projector, with Ballance testifying about Verizon phone tower coverage. He now testifies about Google phone locations. The testimony is highlighting Alex Cox's whereabouts and happenings in the days leading up to Tammy Daybell's death.
1:30 p.m.: Court is back in session after lunch break. Audio is working currently, but there is no visual on the live stream. The state calls their next witness, Nick Ballance, he has previously testified. It appears the reason there was no visual on the live steam was the help protect the appearance of this witness. Ballance is a special agent with the FBI, the cellular analysis team specifically. Projected on the screen is a receipt from a cell phone provider. Then, they discuss another account, Alex Cox's.
12:24 p.m.: A source conclusion was not done for Tylee. A source conclusion usually required an example tool, for comparison. Cross examination was quick, with prosecution asking only one question at redirect. This witness may be a rebuttal witness, but he's done testifying for the day. Lunch recess takes place now, with Judge Boyce asking to take less than an hour if possible. Court will return at 1:15 p.m. roughly.
12:02 p.m.: Testimony continues for FBI weapons specialist Halepaska. Lunch will take place about 15 minutes later than unusual today, for a few reasons. Halepaska's testimony should wrap up shortly, and at that time lunch will take place. Halepaska talks further about certain exhibits, talking about impressions on the bone. He testifies that because he was unable to get proper impressions from the bone, he couldn't source a specific tool that was involved in Tylee's death. Direct examination ends, as Judge Boyce asks for a sidebar to discuss scheduling. They're going to do cross examination at this time.
11:49 a.m.: Halepaska testifies that he was not able to completely conclude exactly what the tools was that killed Tylee. He testifies about more chopping motion marks on the bones. More images are shown of Tylee's remains. Halepaska can tell based on the bones that some injuries were obtained by a serrated edge.
11:28 a.m.: Court is back in session after a brief break for some technical issues. The state is showing graphic images in court, and wanted to move the public out of view of them, also get the jury's monitors up and running. The jury is brought back in, and testimony with Halepaska continues. Halepaska testifies about his process of examination of tools and weapons. Images of Tylee's bones are shown in court, they were looking at tool marks on the bones to help identify how she died. He testifies about chopping and stabbing motions, two key factors he looks at on bones. There were both present on Tylee's body. Halepaska made casts of the tool marks on Tylee's bones. From there, it was determined that there were several tools it could have been. Halepaska determined that the tool that most likely caused the damage to Tylee's bones was a single bladed knife or comparable item.
11:12 a.m.: Photos of Tylee's remains are shown in court, but not to the public. A sidebar takes place. To display the images of Tylee to the jury and witness, they have to rearrange the courtroom. Court is taking a quick break to allow IT to come in and take care of things, and also have the gallery move spots.
11:00 a.m.: Another image of the property is shown during redirect examination. In this image, some clouds block out the full view. Prosecution asks again where they found Tylee's body, with Kunsaitis pointing out a darker area on the map. The witness is excused from the stand. Rocky Wixom with prosecution will be questioning the next witness, who is Doug Halepaska. He works for the FBI as a forensic examiner in the firearms and tools department. Halepaska testifies about the process in which he goes over evidence.
10:48 a.m.: Prior brings up the images of the Daybell property again, from the same source as the state. Prior has Kunsaitis point out some hatching on the map, which Kunsaitis states is a hitching post. They go over more aspects of the property, including some stand alone fencing. Prior asks Kunsaitis to point out the fire pit on the property. That was roughly where Tylee's remains were found. Cross examination concludes.
10:33 a.m.: The state calls Detective Chuck Kunsaitis to the stand again. He testified earlier in the trial. He works with the Rexburg Police Department, and has worked there almost 24 years. Det. Kunsaitis was present on June 9, 2020 - the day the children's bodies were recovered. Kunsaitis is here to testify about satellite images of the Daybell property. Based on the images, on Sept. 9, 2019 was an important date. That date was the date investigators believed Tylee Ryan was buried. Images are shown of the Daybell property. Kunsaitis talks about the layout of the property, with discoloration in one area of the yard. Kunsaitis was there when they removed Tylee's remains. He gets slightly choked up as he testifies about Tylee's death. Cross examination begins.
10:22 a.m.: The state calls their next witness, David Sincerbeaux. He worked with Idaho State Police for many years, working as a forensic chemist, but has recently retired. He would look at suspected arson cases, to identify if gasoline was used in crime scenes.
10:10 a.m.: Court is back in session for the rest of the morning session. The state calls their next witness, Ashlynn Rynd. She is one of Tylee's best friends. The two met in 2016 in Arizona. Rynd would go to Tylee's house once or twice a week, meeting the whole family, including Alex Cox. Tylee was maternal over her brother JJ Vallow, making sure all his needs were met. Rynd tried to talk to Tylee after Tylee and her family moved to Idaho, but it was challenging to get ahold of Tylee. Direct examination concludes. During cross examination, Prior asks about the FBI interview Rynd did. There is no redirect, and will not be recalled.
9:47 a.m.: Mid-morning recess takes place now, court will be back in roughly 20 minutes.
9:40 a.m.: Prior asks about Christensen's area of focus in her field, which Christensen says she doesn't really have one and is more of a generalist but had done a lot of work with skeletal remains. There were a number of parts of the skeleton that were missing upon examination, Christensen doesn't know why they're missing. It could be from the fire, it could be something else. Cross concludes. A brief redirect will take place. The witness is excused, however she may be recalled again but it's unlikely, said prosecution.
9:30 a.m.: Images of Tylee's remains are shown to the jury and witness, but not publicly, as they are graphic images. Christensen now discusses the process of getting human remains at their office at Quantico in Virginia. She then testifies to removing some tissue from the bones of Tylee. But there was very little tissue on the bones. The report of her findings was sent to the Ada County Coroners Office after she completed her analysis. Direct examination concludes.
9:13 a.m.: Audio is still turned off for the livestream of court proceedings. KTVB has reached out to the trial administrator to see if this can be resolved. After a few minutes, the audio is turned back on. Christensen is still on the stand, testifying about the analysis of Tylee Ryan's body, discussing sharp trauma to the bones. On Tylee's body, there were at least 5 instances of sharp trauma - or being truck with a sharp or beveled item, leaving evidence of the act on the bones. All the areas with sharp trauma did not have burns on them. More than 100 bones were submitted to evidence, but some were so small that Christensen struggled to connect them to Tylee.
8:50 a.m.: As the state calls their next witness, Judge Boyce asks for a "very brief" sidebar. Due to the next witness being an expert witness, Judge Boyce had to ask counsel about the exclusionary rule for this trial. The witness is Dr. Angi Christensen, a forensic anthropologist with the FBI. She testifies about some phrases that are used in her field, that will most likely come up during this testimony. Christensen did an analysis of Tylee Ryan's remains. Another sidebar takes place. After the sidebar, it appears that the court is having some technical issues, as one of the camera views changes and microphones are cut off. It appears that the next exhibit will be something graphic in nature, as the camera moved away from the projector screen. Audio still isn't playing.
8:38 a.m.: Text messages between Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell are shown in court. The texts talk about intimacy between Lori and Chad, all texts being exchanged while Tammy Daybell was still alive. Direct examination concludes shortly after. John Prior begins cross examination. Prior asks if there were chapters in the James and Elena story that Chad wrote. James and Elena were pet names for Chad and Lori, respectively. Prosecution was arguing that the fictional story was too similar to real life, and was essentially a living confession to his infidelity. Prior argues that the story may have never meant to be published. Cross examination wraps up within minutes. Redirect lasts less than two minutes. The witness is excused, and will not be recalled by the state.
8:31 a.m.: Court is called to order for yet another week of the Chad Daybell trial. All parties are present today, including the 17 jurors. Direct examination of FBI tactical specialist Nicole Heideman continues at this time. Heideman was on the stand Friday before court adjourned. Lindsey Blake will be questioning the witness. The witness's microphone isn't turned on at this time, for some reason, and Heideman cannot be heard on the livestream. After a few questions, the microphone gets turned on.
Watch more Chad Daybell Trial:
Watch more coverage of the Chad Daybell trial on the KTVB YouTube channel:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.