No ‘grief or sorrow’ from Daybells about death of husband, ex-FBI agent says

There have been 10 witnesses called so far in Chad Daybell’s murder trial.

The 55-year-old father is accused of first-degree murder and conspiring to commit murder in the deaths of two of his wife’s children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, whose bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s property, and his then-wife, Tammy Daybell.

He’s also charged with two counts of insurance fraud. Daybell pleaded not guilty to the eight felonies against him.

The potential eight-week trial is expected to mirror the trial of his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell. Roughly 60 witnesses were called during her trial, and so far all of the witnesses called in Chad Daybell’s trial were also called in his wife’s trial.



The Daybells’ former friend Melanie Gibb — who testified Thursday about Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell’s extreme religious beliefs — was back on the witness stand Friday.

12:30 p.m.: Daybells underwent sealing ceremony at LDS temple

Former FBI Special Agent Doug Hart, the 11th witness called by the prosecution, reviewed two of Vallow Daybell’s iCloud accounts and testified Friday about the contents of one of the accounts from January to August 2019. Hart said the accounts were “extremely voluminous.”

Hart outlined text messages between the Daybells showing their months-long affair, including several texts sent just days after Vallow Daybell’s fourth-husband, Charles Vallow, was killed. Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles Vallow on July 11, 2019. The siblings are accused of planning Charles Vallow’s death, and prosecutors have since charged Vallow Daybell with conspiring to commit murder. Cox died in December 2019 from natural causes.

“I love you so immensely that the whole universe knows it, and very soon the people on this little blue globe will know it too,” Chad Daybell texted Lori Vallow Daybell on July 14, 2019.

Hart said the Daybells sent sexual text messages to each other.

“This was in fact a sexual affair,” Hart said. “It was not an emotional affair or a spiritual affair,” he added.

Text messages showed that Vallow Daybell learned after Charles Vallow’s death that she was no longer the receiver of his life insurance policy and wondered whether he’d changed it so that his sister, Kay Woodcock, would receive the money.

“It will be interesting if it got changed after he had two bullets in his chest,” Chad Daybell texted Lori Vallow Daybell on July 18, 2019.

In the text messages, Vallow Daybell said the life insurance policy was changed in March 2019, which she said must have meant that “Ned” changed the policy before she and Chad Daybell “got rid of him.” Witnesses in testimony said the Daybells believed that someone could be possessed by a “dark spirit” — which they sometimes referred to as a “zombie” — who’d need to be cast out, or killed, according to witness testimony. Hart said the Daybells referred to the dark spirit that possessed Charles Vallow as “Ned.”

Other text messages displayed in court Thursday showed Chad Daybell was the one who decided whether someone was “light” or “dark,” which Hart said established Chad Daybell as the “supposed visionary” in their inner circle.

“Did you ever see any signs of grief or sorrow from Lori Vallow (Daybell)?” Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake asked Hart.

“No,” Hart responded.

“Did you ever see any signs of grief or sorrow from Chad Daybell?” Blake asked.

“None,” Hart replied.

The text messages also detailed excerpts of a story Chad Daybell was writing about two people named “James” and “Elena,” which Hart said wasn’t a fictional story but instead an “autobiographical or factual account” of the Daybells’ relationship.

The text messages, which were sent in July 2019, described how the Daybells knew they’d been married before in a past life and that James, or Chad, “had served in an important position in the Lord’s church.” Elena, or Lori, had been his “beloved spouse and best friend.”

The Daybells were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Daybells held beliefs the world would end in July 2020, and that they would lead a group of 144,000 people who would be saved during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, according to witness testimony during Vallow Daybell’s trial.

Chad wrote in the texts that the memories of his past life were “restored” to him. He added that as James and Elena talked on the phone, their “spiritual connection” grew, and that despite their physical distance,their “spirits were making love.”

The text messages also described a visit to a temple, where James and Elena received a sealing, which is something typically done by married couples or families to make sure their relationships will continue in the afterlife, according to the Church of Jesus Christ

“As the sealer pronounced those sacred words, James and Elena knew that they were now sealed as husband and wife for eternity,” Chad wrote in a text. Hart said they received the sealing in November 2018 at an Arizona temple.

“They had a clear plan to be with each other, to be together forever,” Hart said Friday.

Right around noon, 7th District Judge Steven Boyce announced that court would be adjourning early. Hart is expected to continue testifying Monday.

10 a.m.: Cross-examination of former friend continues

It took Gibb a few weeks to tell law enforcement the truth about JJ’s whereabouts, according to her testimony Friday. Vallow Daybell had asked Gibb in late November 2019 to lie to police and tell them that JJ was with her. Gibb initially did that, but later told them JJ had never been with her, Gibb said during her testimony Thursday.

Gibb contacted the Rexburg Police Department on Dec. 6, 2019, and confessed the truth. Just a few days later, Gibb called the Daybells and confronted them about JJ’s location, recording the 20-minute phone call. Prior asked whether law enforcement asked Gibb to record the phone call, and Gibb said no.

Prior also questioned Gibb about the Daybells’ extreme religious beliefs and Gibb’s participation in those teachings. The Daybells, who were both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believed that people could be “light” or “dark” and that they’d need to perform castings to expel evil spirits from people’s bodies, Gibb said in her testimony.

If a casting was successful, someone would die, Gibb said.

“You knew that when you were doing (these) castings that apparently you were ending the life of a human body. Isn’t that correct?” Prior asked. Gibb responded that she had “no idea” what would really happen.

During cross-examination, Gibb said she never heard Chad Daybell talk about harming Tammy Daybell or the children.

But when asked again by Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake, Gibb added that Chad Daybell was the one to label someone as “dark.” Gibb said Tammy Daybell, Tylee, JJ and Vallow Daybell’s fourth-husband, Charles Vallow, who was also killed, were all considered “dark” by the Daybells.

After hours of testimony, Gibb left the witness stand before 10 a.m.

Chad Daybell murder trial in Boise begins. Here’s what to know about the case

The Idaho Statesman will have a reporter covering the trial at the Ada County Courthouse providing live, daily updates at idahostatesman.com. You can also follow criminal justice reporter Alex Brizee on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @alex_brizee or breaking news reporter Sally Krutzig at @sallykrutzig.