Chad Daybell, witness get emotional in the courtroom on day 9 of murder trial
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On day 9 of Chad Daybell’s murder trial in Idaho, discussion over the death of JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell led to tears from both a witness and Chad Daybell himself.
On Tuesday, attorneys began tackling the alleged attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux, the former spouse of Lori Vallow Daybell’s niece Melani Pawlowski. Lori Vallow Daybell has been convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to five life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
Boudreaux took the stand, sharing how his ex-wife, who he said looked up to Lori, had become obsessed with religion and the issues that followed and led to their divorce. He also discussed the time someone shot at him from outside his home calling the incident “traumatic.”
When he was asked about identifying the body of JJ for police officers, he began to cry.
“They showed me some pictures of him deceased, they asked me if that was JJ. I said yeah,” he said through tears.
Boudreaux was not the only one to get emotional in the courtroom today. The afternoon session focused on Tammy’s death and what has come to be referred to as the paintball incident.
Attorneys first played Tammy’s call to dispatch after she saw a man in a ski mask with what she called a “paintball gun” standing outside of her home and attempting to shoot it toward her. She said she called for her husband, Chad, who came running but the man had fled the scene.
BACKGROUND INFO: A complete timeline for the Daybell, Vallow murders
Prosecutors emphasized how police could not rule out the possibility of it being a real gun while the defense focused their questions on how Tammy’s statements referred to it as a paintball gun or “paintball thing.”
Finally, the court shifted toward the incident of Tammy’s death, playing the 911 call Chad and his son Garth placed following her death and showing pictures an officer took on the scene. During the 911 call, Chad can be heard on the phone emotionally telling dispatch his wife was “clearly dead.”
While the 911 recording played, Chad Daybell appeared to shed tears in the courtroom with his defense attorney passing him a tissue. Over the next several minutes, Chad appeared emotional, shaking his head, adjusting his seat, and wiping his nose.
The officer who responded to the call, Officer Alyssa Greenhalgh, testified on the witness stand that when she was at the home examining Tammy’s body and taking photos Chad was sobbing and gasping for air, appearing more emotional than his son.
She also said she did not see any signs of foul play, however, it was not her job to determine the cause of death or the need of an autopsy.
Prosecutors asked several times if the information regarding Tammy’s health prior to her death came from anyone other than Chad, to which she testified Chad was her sole source of information at the time regarding Tammy’s health condition. The defense clarified that all the evidence she saw on the scene confirmed Chad’s story regarding her death, to which she said it did.
Chad Daybell is on trial for his alleged connection to the deaths of his wife Tammy Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell’s children, JJ and Tylee.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
