Chad Daybell trial: Witnesses talk about handling of Tammy Daybell's death
PHOENIX - Friday, May 10 marked Day 21 of Chad Daybell's murder trial.
So far, 60 witnesses have testified against the Idaho man, who is accused of killing his first wife Tammy, in addition to two children who used to live in Arizona. If convicted, Daybell could face the death penalty. His current wife, Lori Vallow, was found guilty of murder in 2023.
Trial focus shifts
The focus on Friday shifted back to the affair between Daybell and Vallow, how Tammy’s sudden death was handled, and the controversial decision made shortly that was tied to Chad’s alleged visions.
Jason Gwilliam says Chad's obsession with the end of the world started more than a decade ago. He told the court that in 2013, Chad shared his visions.
"I was informed that there would be earthquakes, that there would be destruction in America," said Gwilliam. "I was informed that there would be invading troops from various different countries into the Americas."
Fast-forward to December 2019, Tammy's death was under investigation due to suspicious circumstances surrounding the sudden passing. By that point, Chad was married to Vallow, who moved from Arizona to Idaho after her previous husband, Charles, was shot and killed by her brother Alex Cox. Meanwhile, police and the FBI wanted to know if Vallow's missing children, Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow and Tylee Rytan, were alive. Gwilliam called the newlyweds with law enforcement officials by his side and unbeknownst to Lori, who speaks about a specific detective with Rexburg Police.
"He won’t even call us," Lori said, in a recording. "He doesn’t call us to ever ask questions. He’s just trying to get information from anybody else that will give him information."
Gwilliam said Chad had learned about Tammy's exhumation.
"I have not heard a thing," Chad said, in a recording. "If Lori and I didn’t hear through relatives, we would have no idea."
"And that surprised me because someone had said ‘hey, go check out the cemetery,’ and I’m going ‘OK, why I don’t go to cemeteries? I'm not the former Chad Daybell that checks out graves,'" Gwilliam said, in a recording. "So I go over and I go ‘where’s the grass?’ my poor Samantha going at that point, ‘what’s going on?’ ‘I don’t know.’"
Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy's sister, testified next, confused as to why the Daybell family did not request an autopsy initially.
"Chad said that the coroner told him that she looked peaceful, and it looked like natural causes, so they said they weren’t going to," said Samantha. "He also stipulated that it would be a cost of $1,500 for him to do so and it would hold things up, and he wanted to get the funeral done quickly."
Tammy died of asphyxia. Meanwhile, JJ and Tylee were found dead in Daybell's backyard.
An FBI Tactical Specialist also returned to testify on Daybell’s many writings. Prosecutors say it's part of his belief that he and Vallow were married in past lives.
