Chad Daybell Trial Day 1 Recap: Opening statements, detective takes stand

BOISE, Idaho (ABC4) — Opening statements kicked off Wednesday’s trial of an Idaho man charged with killing his wife and his then-girlfriend’s two youngest children in an unusual case rooted in extremist religious beliefs.

Chad Daybell, 55, is facing charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of Tammy Daybell, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Last year, their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, received a life sentence without parole for the killings.

Prosecutors say the couple justified the three killings with doomsday beliefs, part of an elaborate scheme to eliminate any obstacles to their relationship and to obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance. Vallow Daybell referred to her two youngest kids as zombies, one friend testified during her trial.

Chad Daybell was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he self-published fiction loosely based on its teachings.

In fall 2019, he tried to fraudulently collect on his late wife’s life insurance policy, and Vallow Daybell continued to collect both children’s social security benefits after they died.

Chad Daybell has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial is expected to take more than two months. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Daybell is convicted.

While the prosecution’s opening statement leaned heavily on the timeline of the murders and their proximity to Lori and Chad’s marriage, the defense team attempted to paint Lori as a manipulator pulling his strings. They also positioned Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, as a “protector” who would defend her no matter what.

Courtroom recap: Day 1

The state began its case against Daybell by calling a Rexburg, Idaho police detective to the stand.

Det. Ray Hermosillo testified that he was asked to investigate the apartment complex where several of the case’s main people lived. Originally, Hermosillo said he was asked to surveil the Daybells by officials from a police department in Gilbert, Arizona. Specifically, he was asked to do a welfare check on JJ Vallow and to seize and impound a Jeep owned by Charles Vallow, Lori’s late husband.

He noted that when he first went to perform a welfare check on JJ Vallow, he met Chad Daybell and Alex Cox. Both of them initially claimed they had no mobile phone number for Lori, though Chad eventually did give Hermosillo the number. Hermosillo testified that Chad had initially refused to give Lori’s phone number because he felt he was being accused of something.

Hermosillo said Chad later provided Lori’s phone number after it was requested again. Hermosillo said he called the lieutenant and said that he felt there was more going on with JJ because of the lies and apparent deception. Hermosillo also said he asked the lieutenant to gather detectives and report to the scene.

Detectives learned that Lori’s niece, Melanie Pawloski, lived in the same apartment complex, but no one answered her door when officials knocked at her apartment.

Hermosillo said detectives called and left a voicemail for Lori at the number provided by Chad. When she called back, police advised her to open the door. Detectives entered the residence wearing a body camera, and even though Hermosillo was not there, he said he watched the video.

Search warrants were obtained for three apartments in the complex — 175, 174 and 107 — and, while executing search warrants, Hermosillo said everything looked “ordinary” in apartment 175. Then detectives saw there were no clothes on any hangers in the closet and no sign of JJ.

In a crawl space in apartment 175, Hermosillo said there was a child’s suitcase and a prescription bottle of Risperidone (used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia) belonging to JJ. Investigators seized the suitcase and the prescription bottle.

Hermosillo said apartment 107 was vacant. In apartment 174, investigators seized a large amount of cash. In both of those apartments, Hermosillo said there was no evidence of JJ.

In apartment 175, Hermosillo said investigators found several weapons — including guns, rifles and Army knives — and seized the weapons for safekeeping. Investigators also found a contract for a Rexburg storage unit in the name of Lori Ryan.

In the storage unit, Hermosillo said investigators found some photos with JJ and Tylee in them, along with some photos of Lori. He said there was nothing of importance.

When asked if investigators were looking for Tylee at that time, Hermosillo said no.

The defense asked Hermosillo questions about the photographs taken at the residence, and asked why he wouldn’t know the name of the photographer despite being there when the photos were taken. Hermosillo said there were a lot of people at the scene.

Photos from the residence were shown to the courtroom on a screen, which showed the suitcase and various pictures of the interior of the residence. Hermosillo referred to the suitcase as a “72-hour kit.”

Other photos showed a bedroom said to be used by Alex Cox, some of Cox’s belongings and the empty hangers in JJ’s closet.

Another series of exhibits was shown to the courtroom depicting what was in the garage of apartment 175, from Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, according to Hermosillo. He said some of the items were moved, but the photos properly represented what was in the garage.

Some of those photos showed ammunition, rifles, suppressors and knives. Another photo showed a Halloween mask and duct tape, along with rope. Alex Cox’s passport was also found in the garage.

The prosecution objected to some items being staged for photos outside of the scene, as some photos were taken at the police department, and some items were removed from tubs for the photos.

Hermosillo was later asked if the search expanded to include the search for Tylee Ryan, and Hermosillo said yes. Birth certificates for both children were presented as evidence. Both Tylee and JJ were entered into a national database for missing children in December 2019.

Hermosillo said neither Chad nor Lori had reported Tylee and JJ as missing. Hermosillo said he received tips on the missing kids, and while most were anonymous, investigators would follow up on the tips.

In January 2020, eyewitnesses reported seeing Chad and Lori in Hawaii, and Hermosillo said he went to Hawaii to assist local police. Hermosillo said there was no sign of JJ or Tylee.

Lori and Chad got married in Hawaii 17 days after the death of Chad’s ex-wife, Tammy, and Lori was said to be shopping for wedding rings while Tammy was still alive. Hermosillo said he was aware of a suspicious death investigation into Tammy Daybell dating back to October 2019.

Based on timestamps for photos seized from Lori’s online cloud accounts, the last photo of JJ and Tylee together was taken on Sept. 8, 2019 at 2:49 p.m. at what appeared to be Yellowstone National Park. The last known photo of JJ was of him sitting on a sofa in Lori’s apartment on Sept. 22, 2019 at 11:46 a.m.

On Jan. 3, 2020, Hermosillo said the first search warrant was executed on Chad Daybell’s residence. He then confirmed officials executed another search warrant on June 9, 2020, beginning around 7 a.m.

Hermosillo said that, at the execution of the June 9 search warrant, Fremont County and Rexburg City Police were involved. There were also individuals from the Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the FBI’s Evidence Recovery Team, or ERT.

When they arrived on the scene to execute the warrant, officials were told that Chad was still asleep. Hermosillo said they eventually made contact with him and showed him the warrant before Daybell asked to speak to his attorney.

Chad later asked to make a phone call. He went outside to make the call and Hermosillo said he went outside as well. Chad made the call in a vehicle on the property, and Hermosillo said he stood next to the vehicle.

Hermosillo said he was observing Chad’s behavior during the call. As the call progressed, Hermosillo said Daybell was “intently” looking over his shoulder, which Hermosillo said he thought was “odd.”

Hermosillo said he looked in the same direction as Chad and saw investigators marking an area under a tree.

Hermosillo said that he was tasked with looking through a fire pit in the backyard, and was sifting dirt from the pit with other investigators around 9 a.m., which he said he did for about 35 to 45 minutes.

Hermosillo said he later moved to a different area to search and said the ERT marked off a section of grass. Hermosillo said ERT was excavating that site and said, “We could start to smell the odor….”

Hermosillo said there were large white rocks, and underneath those rocks was different layers of dirt. Some of the dirt was dry and some of it was wet, according to Hermosillo.

Hermosillo said a “black-brown object” began to “protrude” through the dirt, and when asked to describe it, he said “it appeared to take shape” of the crown of a human head.

Hermosillo said the FBI’s ERT team cut through a layer of black plastic before cutting through a layer of white plastic. Under that plastic, Hermosillo said there was “brown human hair.” He later said a small body was removed from the plastic that appeared to have duct tape around it.

The court adjourned after Hermosillo described the removal of the body.

The Associated Press has contributed to this story.

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