BOISE, Idaho — In court on Tuesday, April 16, the jury heard testimony from three witnesses, and a hearing was held outside of jury viewing.
Testimony heard on Tuesday showed search history on devices belonging to both Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. The court also heard a patriarchal prayer done by Chad Daybell to Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother. An agent from the Social Security Administration also testified, discussing the amount of income that Lori Vallow was receiving prior to her children's deaths.
It is expected that on Wednesday, April 17, that the state will call new witnesses. Before court adjourned on Tuesday, Judge Steven Boyce had asked which witness would be called. Prosecution stated that they will be calling Chuck Kunsaitis, a Rexburg police detective. It is unknown at this time who the other witnesses will be.
There have been evidence exhibits in the trial that have been different than what prosecutors presented during the case against Lori Vallow. The court has seen video of Chad Daybell being detained and talking to his daughter, Emma, as well as images of an exhumed Tammy Daybell, who Chad Daybell is also on trial for murdering.
So far in the trial, there have been a handful of witnesses, mostly from law enforcement agencies or government entities. However, in the motion hearing held on Tuesday, the court heard arguments on whether or not prosecutor Rob Wood would be called to the stand for a series of over 200 texts he sent to another witness. Wood was texting Melanie Gibb, former best friend of Lori Vallow. Gibb is also set to be called in the Chad Daybell trial.
Judge Boyce heard the motion argued, and ruled that Wood would not be called, however the texts can be admissible during Gibb's testimony.
Court will be in session on Wednesday, April 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., taking a recess mid-morning and mid-afternoon, with a lunch in the middle of the day.
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3:25 p.m.: Rob Wood asks to recess court. Judge Boyce agrees, even though its a few minutes early. Court will readjourn at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
3:21 p.m.: Douglass discusses Chad Daybell's finances. Daybell sold cars and gave money to his three oldest children, who lived in the area he lived.
2:50 p.m.: A similar timeline was produced by Douglass for JJ Vallow as well. Rob Wood asks to admit it to evidence. It's state exhibit 113. Judge Boyce allows it.
2:46 p.m.: Douglass goes in depth on Tylee Ryan's bank account, and how the Social Security benefits she received were transferred to her mother Lori Vallow's account.
2:40 p.m.: Court is called back to session, and the jury is brought into the courtroom. FBI Forensic Accountant Michael Douglass is still on the witness stand. Rob Wood continues with direct examination.
2:20 p.m.: There is a timeline presented to the court to support Douglass' testimony. Douglass testifies about Lori Vallow receiving Social Security benefits from Tylee's father's death. Lori Vallow also took out a life insurance policy, but the children were not included in it. There is an afternoon recess called, lasting 20 minutes. Court will be back at 2:40 roughly.
2:03 p.m.: Douglass helped Rexburg Police while investigating Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Throughout the investigation, Douglass had a spreadsheet including more than 80 accounts associated with the suspects.
1:56 p.m.: Det. Kunsaitis is excused, but will be recalled at a later date. Judge Boyce asks the state who the next witness is. The state called Michael Douglass, who is a forensic accountant for the FBI. He's worked there for almost seven years, prior he was an auditor. He asks to be called Mr. Douglas.
1:48 p.m.: Prior brings up that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow never combined finances, even after marriage. Lori Vallow however did have a combined bank account with Alex Cox.
1:35 p.m.: Court is back in session after all staff members had gotten up and left. There was apparently some unauthorized recording of the courtroom was transpiring. Judge Boyce reminds everyone in the room that they cannot record, and if caught they may be held in contempt.
1:27 p.m.: Prior tries to argue that the timeline document including Charles Vallow's death is for a jury reaction. Prosecution objects, and Judge Boyce asks for a sidebar. The court reporter even gets up and goes to chambers.
1:20 p.m.: Cross examination begins for Det. Kunsaitis with John Prior standing at the podium. He makes an inaudible comment, and Rob Wood immediately moves to strike it, but Judge Boyce and the jurors did not hear it.
1:11 p.m.: Court is back in session and Judge Boyce announces that the court will hear a motion in limine before bringing the jury back into the courtroom. It's a motion from the defense, regarding testimony about Alex Cox's search history. Defense wants to ask Det. Kunsaitis about Alex Cox's firearms. The judge allows it.
12:01 p.m.: Det. Kunsaitis is showing a timeline, indicating a lot of travel being done by Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell in 2019. The last page of the timeline is shown at 12 p.m. After the timeline was explained by Det. Kunsaitis, Judge Boyce excuses the jury for lunch. Court is in recess until 1 p.m.
11:45 a.m.: More evidence was submitted to the court, but defense and Judge Boyce did not have a copy. Copy was provided to both, and reviewed for a few moments. Prior asks to approach. Counsel and Judge Boyce step away for a few moments.
11:28 a.m.: When police were looking for the kids, they submitted many records requests because sometimes JJ would go under different names, sometimes using his full name, sometimes using a false last name. Melani Boudreaux, Lori Vallow's niece, would also use different names, resulting in more searches for more names.
11:06 a.m.: More documents are shown, detailing Chad Daybell's spending during the time of the investigation. One exhibit is a screenshot of an email. Daybell was asking a realty group in Hawaii for details. In the email, Daybell is looking to get a lease signed, stating that they have "no pets or kids." Det. Kunsaitis found it odd, since at the time the email was sent, the kids were still considered missing.
10:56 a.m.: Det. Kunsaitis discusses Chad Daybell's account. He was not the primary investigator of Daybell's accounts, but he has some knowledge. Kunsaitis helped write subpoenas and warrants for Chad Daybell. Kunsaitis also prepared a chart to show Daybell's spending habits.
10:47 a.m.: Court is called back to session. Defense attorney John Prior and defendant Chad Daybell have a window open behind them. The blinds were closed before the break, which allowed for stream viewers to see Daybell better. It appears the angle of the defense view has also changed. Rob Wood is still at the podium, questioning Det. Kunsaitis. The jury is brought back in. The jury requests that the windows stay open, which will backlight Daybell.
10:09 a.m.: Judge Boyce and counsel took a sidebar to discuss scheduling. The court is in recess for 30 minutes for the mid-morning break. The jury is excused.
9:46 a.m.: Det. Kunsaitis discusses the fact that Lori Vallow and Alex Cox shared a bank account, as each had their own assigned cards to the account.
9:37 a.m.: Testimony continues, as Det. Kunsaitis discusses online banking activity for JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. There was a transaction in October of 2019, that Det. Kunsaitis believes that Tylee did not make that purchase. The transaction took place roughly 2 weeks after Tylee Ryan's last known sighting.
9:28 a.m.: Exhibit 85 is admitted to the court, it is a demonstrative chart depicting JJ Vallow's Social Security benefits going into Lori Vallow's account.
9:15 a.m.: More evidence is admitted to court, as Det. Kunsaitis is still on the stand. He gives summarizes of bank accounts.
9:04 a.m.: Det. Kunsaitis continues with testimony. He discusses Tylee Ryan's spending habits. She traditionally spent money at brick-and-mortar stores, and that money started to slow down as she moved to Idaho. August 16, 2019, Lori Vallow changed the money to be deposited into her own personal account, and not given to Tylee's account.
8:50 a.m.: Rob Wood hands the witness some documents and they are admitted into court. They are documents showing bank account attribution, indicating how Lori Vallow and Tylee Ryan were spending their money.
8:46 a.m.: Det. Kunsaitis testifies about finding unopened mail in a PO Box in Sugar City, Idaho. There were roughly 100 pieces of mail that were unopened, addressed to Lori Vallow and Charles Vallow. Some abandoned mail was delivered to the police station.
8:39 a.m.: The state calls Chuck Kunsaitis, a police detective with the city of Rexburg, and Prosecutor Rob Wood takes the podium for direct.
8:36 a.m.: The jury is brought into the courtroom, all are present. Judge Boyce goes through their daily duties. He discusses how the alternates will work in this trial. The process is defined in Idaho Code and Judge Boyce explains. The alternates will be removed by random draw. Judge Boyce reminds the jury that they should all act as jurors, as no one knows who will be an alternate.
8:34 a.m.: Court is called to session. The bailiff brings in the jury, as the state prepares to call a witness.
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