Live Updates
Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com
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LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL
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Please excuse the typos. These are live updates from the courtroom.
3:07 p.m. State has one additional witness who will be called tomorrow. He will be the last witness for the state. It will also be a shorter day tomorrow. Court is dismissed for today. Join me tonight at 6:30 p.m. MDT for ‘Courtroom Insider.’ So much to talk about!
3:02 p.m. Blake asks about the connection between Tammy and Alex. Edwards says, “Chad Daybell.” Blake asks where Lori’s children were discovered. Edwards responds, “Daybell property.” Edwards is finished. Boyce calls for a sidebar to discuss scheduling.
3 p.m. Blake shows a slide detailing events from the evening of Oct. 9. Alex and Chad were texting each other around the time Tammy had been shot at. Blake asks about Chad having contact with Lori and Alex around the time Tammy is pronounced dead. Edwards confirmed it happened.
2:58 p.m. Blake asks why Edwards focused in on specific days during his investigation. He says there were significant events that happened around those days.
2:56 p.m. Prior asks about the content of the text messages between Chad and Lori and how we don’t know what was being said. Edwards says he believes he knows based on his experience and training. Prior has nothing further. Blake will now re-direct.
2:55 p.m. Prior asks Edwards when Tammy and Chad opened up the $300,000 life insurance policy. Edwards says, “It’s on the slide.” Prior responds, “Where?” It was at the top of the slide – March 2002.
2:51 p.m. Prior is showing different pages from the exhibit and asks clarifying questions. Prior is drilling down on Alex’s activities from 10:45-11:53 p.m. He asks Edwards where Alex’s phone was during that time period. Edwards says his phone was not providing data during that time but was at the LDS Church.
2:46 p.m. Prior asks about other Google searches from Alex’s device where he looked up how to build your own silencer. Prior asks about Oct. 18 when Alex’s phone does not provide data between 10:45-11:53 p.m. He was near the Daybell residence at the LDS Church from 10:07-10:45 p.m.
2:43 p.m. Prior asks about Tammy being shot at on Oct. 9. Then, on Oct. 11, Alex’s device Googled, “how to drill baffles to make a suppressor.”
2:41 p.m. Prior asks about the eight text messages between Alex and Chad on Oct. 9. Prior asks if any of the messages were duplicates. Edwards say he can’t recall. Prior asks if he checked that some of the messages were counted twice. Edwards says he can’t answer that.
2:36 p.m. Prior asks about the paintball episode on Tammy’s driveway. “You are suggesting as a possibility that maybe it could have been a gun that someone was using with Tammy Daybell. Is that fair?” Edwards says, “That’s 100% fair.” He believes it was a rifle but admits he wasn’t there.
2:35 p.m. Prior asks if the chart has anything to do with a specific religion. Edwards says he doesn’t know what chart Prior is talking about and is not going to speculate.
2:32 p.m. Prior shows a text from July 30 when Chad sent Lori a text about releasing a little steam. He wrote, “Anyway this is a chart that checks what percentage mortals are still in their body. It worked for my friend’s wife who died, my neighbor, George Bush, Stan Lee, etc. I kind of forgot about it because I’ve been dealing with zombies and demonic entities.” Prior asks Edwards if he ever found that chart. Edwards has not seen the chart.
2:29 p.m. Prior asks if Tammy Daybell blocked Charles Vallow’s email to her. Edwards doesn’t know. Prior asks about the romantic sexual James and Elena story. Prior says this story could have nothing to do with the murders of three people. Edwards doesn’t agree with that. Prior asks where it says, “let’s kill two kids.” Edwards says you won’t find those words.
2:27 p.m. Prior asks about the searches Chad and Lori did for malachite rings. Edwards doesn’t recall why the malachite was so important. Prior asks if he knows when Lori and Chad specifically began their affair. Edwards says he can’t give a specific date.
2:25 p.m. Prior asks if it would be unusual that two people enamored with each other would Google search each other. Edwards says he doesn’t find that unusual.
2:22 p.m. Prior says he wants to review the timeline. He lists off dates of Charles being killed, Lori moving to Rexburg, the attempted shooting of Brandon Boudreaux. Tammy’s death, Chad getting remarried and Alex’s death are all on the timeline.
2:20 p.m. Prior asks if Edwards tracked the number of calls between Chad and Lori on a daily basis. Edwards says no – only on particular days. He did not look at how frequently Chad and Lori communicated on a regular daily basis. Edwards focused in on certain days because that’s where the investigation led him.
2:17 p.m. We are back in the courtroom. Prior will now question Edwards. He begins by listing the law enforcement agencies that provided information to Edwards to help prepare his summary. Edwards says that is correct.
1:54 p.m. We are taking afternoon recess. Back at 2:15 p.m.
1:50 p.m. Edwards assisted in the search for JJ and Tylee at Daybell’s house. He was present when JJ’s body was found. Blake has no further questions. Prior will now cross-examine.
1:49 p.m. Chad searched for “Rexburg Police Department” on Dec. 1. He searched for Tammy’s obituary on Dec. 5. Tammy was exhumed on Dec. 11. Alex was found dead on Dec. 12. Chad Daybell searched several things on Dec. 16 including “authorization to disinter a body in Utah, Utah Administrative Code, Springville City.”
1:47 p.m. Chad gave Alex the patriarchal blessing on Nov. 24, 2019. Edwards reads part of it. The last sentence stuck out to Edwards where Chad said, “You have already assisted us in many ways that can never be repaid.”
1:46 p.m. Chad and Tammy both had life insurance policies for $300,000 each that were established on March 19, 2002. Tammy also had a $130,000 policy through the school district. Chad received payouts for both policies.
1:44 p.m. Lori asks Chad what is on his agenda. He says he needs to meet with the mortuary but he hopes to talk in a few hours after he gets his parents to go home. Lori says she is going to sacrament to see Lisa. Chad responds, “I love you Lily. Eagerly anticipating our alone time.”
1:43 p.m. Lori was in Hawaii at the time they were texting. The last message from Chad says, “I know exactly how you feel. I’m feeling sad. But it isn’t for the reason everyone thinks.”
1:41 p.m. The morning after Tammy died, on Oct. 20, Lori sends a text to Chad saying she is missing him and she needs him to hold her tight. Lori asks about him flying to Hawaii and maybe she should just return home. Chad asks Lori to come home so they can spend the night together. He says he needs to take care of the financials. Chad tells her to look for a condo for them. I want to get working on the Lilly workout plan – “tan my skin, grow out my hair, flatten my stomach.”
1:39 p.m. Tammy’s phone was active playing games at 10:22 p.m. At 11:28 p.m., a single image is deleted from Tammy’s phone. Chad sends two texts to Lori at 11:34-11:35 p.m. Alex’s phone leaves the LDS Church parking lots at 11:46 p.m.
1:38 p.m. On Oct. 18, the day before Tammy died, Alex is near the Daybell home from 10:07-10:45 p.m. at the LDS Salem Church. There is no data on the phone for a time after and the next time data is picked up, Alex is headed to Idaho Falls.
1:34 p.m. Edwards never reviewed the contents of the text messages. Alex conducted an internet search on Oct. 9 – “how to clean AR.” On Oct. 11, he performed a variety of fun searches online. A few include, “What caliber would penetrate a windshield,” “2008 Dodge Dakota steel body thickness” and “what gauge steel are the doors on a dodge Dakota made of.”
1:32 p.m. There are six text messages between Chad and Lori between 5 p.m.-12:28 a.m. on Oct. 9. Edwards lays out the events of from the evening of Oct. 9. While the Fremont County deputy is at the house, there are texts between Chad and Alex and between Chad and Lori. Alex calls Zulema and has a 38 minute phone call with her at 11:28 p.m.
1:29 p.m. Edwards points out a gap between the lower and upper receiver of the gun. He says there are two pins on the weapon – a front and rear take down pin. Those pins keep the weapon together. He says if you take the rear take down pin out, it comes apart. Just turning the gun, caused the rear pin to come out. It didn’t take him anything to do that. Most weapons those pins sit secure and tight, Edwards says. If the pins become loose, the gun could still fire but likely only one round even if someone kept pulling the trigger, Edwards says.
1:26 p.m. Blake shows two guns on the screen. It’s Alex’s 6.5 mm Grendel AR. The bottom image is a paintball gun. Edwards points out where the hopper is on the paintball gun. On the firearm, he points out where the scope is. They are in similar places. Edwards noticed the front of the AR has been modified so something could be attached to the front of the rifle. Edwards says that could have been a suppressor. If a suppressor is on a gun, it would make a whooshing sound.
1:25 p.m. Blake asks if anything could resemble a hopper on a rifle. Edwards says a scope could. Edwards said the individual kept pulling the trigger and pointing the gun at her.
1:23 p.m. Tammy emailed her son Mark on Oct. 13, 2019. She wrote that she was coming home from clogging and pulled into the driveway. Someone was at the back of the car and she thought it was dad there to help carry things in. She said it was a masked man and she yelled, “What are you doing.” Tammy says she thought about hitting him with her clogging shoes. She yelled for Chad and ran in the house. Tammy initially identified the weapon as a rifle – not a paintball gun.
1:21 p.m. A 911 call was made from Joseph Murray, Tammy’s son-in-law, about an attempted shooting at 9:41 p.m. In an email, Tammy told her son Mark the incident occurred at 9:15 p.m. The event was not called in immediately. Blake shows a photo of the Daybell home and a GPS overview image. Edwards points out the two driveways on the property.
1:19 p.m. Between 2:40-3:18 p.m., Alex’s device traveled to Sportsman’s Warehouse in Idaho Falls. The purchase happens at 4:11 p.m. We see a slide showing the items that were purchased. That same day, at 4:51 p.m., Alex’s device goes to Fremont County and drives past the Daybell residence. Alex did not know anyone in the vicinity other than Chad, Edwards says.
1:17 p.m. On Oct. 9, 2019, there were text messages between Chad’s burner phone and Alex between 1:19-1:22 p.m. Both devices were near Alex’s apartment at that time. With Chad’s real phone, there were eight text messages during the same time frame. The devices were near Alex’s apartment.
1:16 p.m. 15 text messages were sent between Alex and Chad between 7:13 p.m.-8:43 p.m. that night. Lori and Zulema were in Arizona that night doing a casting ceremony. Four text messages were sent between Chad and Alex between 10:28 p.m.-10:29 p.m. that night.
1:14 p.m. On Oct. 9, 2019, at 9:15 p.m., a 401 number from a phone is used by Chad Daybell. That phone, to this day, has not been found, Edwards says. Chad’s real phone had a 208 number. Alex had a burner phone with a 334 area code. His real phone had a 480 area code. There were 90 calls and text messages between Alex, Chad, Zulema and Lori between 9:21 a.m. on Oct. 9 and 2:28 a.m. on Oct. 10.
1:12 p.m. Blake continues with the timeline. On Oct. 7, Alex signed into the St. Anthony gun range. On Oct. 8, he conducted an internet search for “6.5 Grendel drop from 100 to 200 yards.” Then “Drop from 100 to 300 yards.” On Oct. 8, Alex signed into the St. Anthony gun range. He also conducted a search that day for “Rhode Island Area Code.”
1:04 p.m. Back in the courtroom. Chad just walked into the courtroom. He does not have leg shackles but appears to be wearing an ankle monitor. Boyce is on the bench and jurors are in their seats. Blake will continue questioning Edwards.
12:04 p.m. Lunch break. Back at 1.
12:01 p.m. The next screen shows several texts from Lori Vallow to Chad Daybell before the attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell. The first message, “Hello sweet angel. Big news about Tammy. The short version is that she has been switched. Tammy is in limbo. A level three demonic named Viola.” Chad says Samantha, Tammy’s sister, had the evil spirit along with her 12-year-old daughter. Chad says he has communicated with Tammy, and Tammy is frustrated about it. Chad tells Lori to check and get confirmation. Chad says Samantha is much like Brandon Boudreaux (Lori’s former nephew-in-law) – has been his biggest obstacle and never comes to see them in Idaho.
11:58 a.m. Tammy makes it to Utah. On Oct. 4, Chad texts Lori that he is eager to see her soon and he’s “trying to hasten her departure.” Same day, Chad texts Lori, “It is dragging on here, but I should be to your house around 11:15. I want to talk to you first of course, so maybe tell her I can talk from 12:15 to 1.” Lori texts Alex, “We are supposed to go on a real date tonight but we are discussing it. Perhaps an evening at home would be better so we are not out and about. I’ll let you know. But u could come and sing with us after your shower.” There were three deleted messages on Lori’s iCloud account from Chad on Oct. 5.
11:57 a.m. On Oct. 3, 2019, Chad texts Lori, “Goodnight, angel Lili. So excited to go on our date.” Chad texts her the next morning, “Dreaming of caressing you in bed. I adore you and uscholo (sic) you.” On Oct. 4-5, Chad urges Tammy to go visit her family in Springville, Utah.
11:54 a.m. In Aug. 2019, Chad traveled to Arizona to stay with Lori. On Aug. 14, 2019, Lori took a screenshot of two malachite wedding bands. We now see a slide that shows Zulema Pastenes traveled to Rexburg on Sept. 15, 2019. Chad texted Lori: “Please have Zulema send a message to me that she’s in Rigby and wanted to see if I could come listen to her talk tonight about her trip to Chile.” Lori sends the message to Zulema. Zulema sends a message to Chad asking if he can come hear her speak. He responds that he can come.
11:52 a.m. Edwards reads a text Chad sent to Lori on July 30. He says they might need to release a little steam when they talk. He talks about a chart used to determine the light and dark percentages of people. He wrote that Tammy was feeling lightheaded as if her body and spirit were being separated.
11:50 a.m. Blake asks Edwards where Chad and Lori were married. In Hawaii. She asks if Tylee and JJ were present. They were not. The next slide shows a text from Chad to Lori on July 26. It’s the Harry Potter text: “Tonight I figured out who I feel like. I’m a grown-up version of Harry Potter, who has to live with the Dudleys in his little space under the stairs. Every few weeks I get to escape and have amazing adventures with my Goddess lover, but then I have to return to my place under the stairs, feeling trapped. But I sense permanent freedom is coming!”
11:48 a.m. On July 18, Lori texts Chad about Charles changing his life insurance policy beneficiary to Kay Woodco*ck. She says it was probably Ned “before we got rid of him.” Ned was the evil spirit inside Charles, Chad and Lori said. Edwards reads more messages from July 18 and 22.
11:46 a.m. There are more romantic messages with lots of fire and heart emojis. Lori sends a message on July 15 saying she’s taking off from Vegas and wishing Chad were on the other side of the flight.
11:44 a.m. Edwards reads some text messages between Chad and Lori from July 13, 14, and 15. Chad says he’s going to bed to “snuggle tightly with you.” Another message, “I need so badly to just gently kiss you for hours.” Another message, “It would likely lead to other activities.” Lori replies, “Likely or luckily?” Chad replies, “It would luckily lead to nakedness.”
11:43 a.m. Charles was killed less than two weeks after the email – on July 11, 2019. On July 2, Charles told Lori he was going to Idaho Falls to meet with Tammy. Lori texted Charles, “She won’t see you. She is my friend. She won’t listen to you. Go ahead, you are ridiculous.” There is no indication that Charles ever traveled to Idaho to meet Tammy.
11:42 a.m. On June 29, 2019, Charles sent Tammy an email regarding the ongoing relationship between their spouses and requests contact. Charles also sent Chad an email confronting him regarding the affair.
11:41 a.m. Edwards never found any indication that Chad was planning to divorce Tammy. From March 19-21, 2019, Chad traveled to Arizona with plane tickets that had been purchased by Lori. Charles and Tammy were still alive at this time. On April 2-4, 2019, Lori traveled to Idaho Falls. From May 5-7, Chad and Lori conducted separate internet searches for malachite rings.
11:39 a.m. On Nov. 16-17, 2018, Chad traveled to Mesa and stayed at Lori’s home for a Preparing a People conference. Chad traveled back to Arizona on Jan. 6-10, 2019, and divorce proceedings between Charles and Lori started Feb. 8, 2019.
11:38 a.m. Edwards’ timeline begins when Chad and Lori meet on Oct. 26, 2018, in St. George, Utah. Chad’s Google account searched for “Lori Vallow,” “Charles Vallow” and “Lori Vallow photos” on Oct. 30, 2018. Lori lived in Mesa, Arizona, at the time.
11:37 a.m. The first slide shows a timeline of events created by Edwards. If you’d like to see the extensive timeline we created at EastIdahoNews.com, you can find it here.
11:35 a.m. Edwards conducted interviews and reviewed phone data. Blake moves to admit a PowerPoint exhibit showing Edwards’ findings.
11:33 a.m. In April 2020, Edwards and his office received a request to assist Fremont County and multiple agencies in investigating the deaths of JJ, Tylee, Tammy and Charles Vallow. A large part of Edwards’ investigation was focused on Tammy Daybell’s death.
11:32 a.m. Edwards worked in SWAT and did sniper training in Pocatello. Blake is questioning him and asks if Edward worked closely with rifles, including assault rifles. He has experience with rifles as he serves in the National Guard. Edwards has also used paintball guns personally for recreation but he has also trained with them.
11:29 a.m. Edwards has worked for the attorney general for five years. He worked for Pocatello Police for 15 years before joining the AG.
11:24 a.m. Next witness is attorney general investigator Nicholas Edwards. Boyce says there is a brief issue that needs to be taken up outside presence of the jury. Jurors are asked to leave the courtroom briefly. Edwards apparently heard portions of the James and Elena story on the radio. He was aware of the substance and heard nothing new. He says it won’t affect his ability to testify. Prior has no objection to the witness. Boyce says the witness is fine to testify.
11:22 a.m. Prior has nothing further. Wood has no re-direct. Hermosillo is done testifying and is released from subpoena.
11:21 a.m. Prior says a significant number of knives, weapons and guns were found in the garage. He asks Hermosillo when and where all the guns and knives were purchased. Hermosillo says he personally did not. Prior says the purchases could have taken place in Arizona or in Idaho. Hermosillo says correct.
11:20 a.m. The next picture shows a pair of bolt cutters. The next image appears to show a bag of concrete and several buckets.
11:19 a.m. Another photo shows a bunch of items in the garage – various chemicals, buckets, etc. Prior asks if Hermosillo can see anything that resembles cement. Hermosillo says not that he can tell. Another photo shows lots of black and white plastic in a clear tub.
11:16 a.m. The next photo shows a tarp. Prior asks Hermosillo if he remembers how many tarps were found in Alex’s garage. Hermosillo doesn’t remember. Prior asks if it would be fair to say there were several. Hermosillo says he doesn’t know.
11:15 a.m. The next photo shows some tools and a tarp. Another picture shows a bucket and gloves. These were photos taken by law enforcement.
11:13 a.m. We now see an image of a knife and a saw. There is also a Dremel – a tool used to drill out certain things. These items were found in the garage.
11:10 a.m. Prior displays an image showing items found in Lori’s garage. The picture shows three rolls of duct tape, a fire lighter, several spray cans of something – maybe a substance to clean guns with.
11:06 a.m. Prior asks about Chad having a refuge in Rexburg in the future. Hermosillo says he can’t testify about what Mr. Daybell planned to do in the future. Prior moves to admit two exhibits.
11:04 a.m. This call was on June 8, 2020, at 9:16 p.m. Less than 12 hours later, police were at Chad’s house searching his property for JJ and Tylee.
11:03 a.m. Prior asks about Lori saying, “I don’t get to pick the colors of what I want.” Prior asks if that suggests them talking about building buildings. Hermosillo says no. Prior asks if anything in the discussion is actually about building a structure. Hermosillo says no.
11:02 a.m. Jurors are seated. Prior asks about the recording between Chad and Lori and asks if there was information about Chad needing to build a village for the end of times. Hermosillo doesn’t recall a village but recalls putting up tents. Prior asks about a safe space when the Second Coming occurs. Hermosillo isn’t aware.
10:59 a.m. Jurors are being brought in. Hermosillo will return to the stand for cross-examination by Prior.
10:55 a.m. Boyce agrees with defense that the exhibit is problematic because the measurement goes from the burial site to the driveway. He says it was not the driveway referenced when testimony was provided about the alleged attempted shooting. Boyce believes this could confuse the jury and partially sustains the objection. The maps and property measurements are permitted, but the top left part of the exhibit can be admitted.
10:53 a.m. Blake argues the driveway is an issue and a significant amount of time was spent during the trial discussing it. She says there has been testimony of the shooting ranges and distances. She says her main argument is given the questioning by defense that Alex used the shooting ranges for hunting practice or that Chad may have been the intended victim, it should be admitted.
10:50 a.m. Prior objects and says there isn’t any relevance in having a measurement at the end of the long driveway. He argues they are taking an arbitrary point and connecting it to the site where JJ was buried. “There is no relevance to this. It’s merely designed to just inflame the jury and try to support their so-called theory that the paintball gun was something other than a paintball gun.”
10:49 a.m. The issue is with slide No. 18. It references an internet search done by the homerjmaximus account searching for a gun on Oct. 9. There are two images on the slide – an overview of the Daybell property with a measurement from a tree on the property and a measure from the end of the driveway.
10:48 a.m. To be clear: This is an exhibit for the witness after Hermosillo. The exhibit is a PowerPoint, and Prior objects to one of the slides in the exhibit.
10:46 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench. He says the morning recess was extended for administrative matters, and prosecutors have a proposed exhibit for the next witness. For efficiency purposes, Boyce wants to hear about the exhibit now and make a ruling whether it can be admitted.
10:44 a.m. Hermosillo has stepped down from the stand, and we are waiting on the judge. Attorneys are talking back and forth with each other. Chad is chatting with Prior.
10:36 a.m. We are back in the courtroom, and attorneys are at their table. Prior is reviewing an exhibit and chatting with Lindsey Blake. Hermosillo is on the stand. Boyce and jurors are not seated yet.
10 a.m. Morning break. Back in 20 minutes.
9:56 a.m. Hermosillo says in multiple calls, Lori asked Chad for reassurances. We return to the call. Chad says it will be the Eurythmics (the band), not two solo careers. Chad says he has absolute confirmation. He tells Lori her value is tremendous and needed in every way. “I know that is a fact. You are needed, my love. I think you underestimate yourself. I’m not trying to give you a big head or ego because you don’t have one. You just are spectacular, and the Lord is going to use those talents. You’re on earth at this time for that purpose.” Chad says he will try to call them back so they can pray. The call is over. Wood has no further questions.
9:53 a.m. Lori says, “In the beginning, going back over the whole blueprint and all the things, a lot of that stuff could have been avoided with minor tweaks, and I don’t know why it had to go down this road where are now in the project.” Chad says, “I know. I don’t fully understand. I think he would text you back or write you back.” Lori says, “What I need from you is the project is going to be finished, and everything is going to be fine, and it’s going to work out.” Chad says, “That’s what he said.” Lori says, “I need you to tell me that. Every day.” Chad says, “Ok. My sweet, lovely Lola. Things are going to work out. Not just because he says so, but because I know so. It’s a marvelous plan.” Lori asks, “How do you know?” Chad responds, “It’s been shown to me, honey. I’ve seen beautiful eyes filled with tears … and I’ve seen your wonderful body dance to heavenly songs.”
9:51 a.m. Lori asks Chad if he thinks it was meant to go this way. He says, “I do. Minor changes here and there but overall this is part of the blueprint. I just wish it hadn’t been, but I’m thinking of previous blueprints where the people weren’t either. You know Ray’s in that contractor position for a reason, and he’s not going to drop us for another project.” Lori responds, “Can’t he forcibly use a hand and punch some people in the face to get some things done? Some people in particular like the 3 percenter person?” Chad says, “I don’t think he wants to be violent.” Lori says, “I’m not saying be violent – get their attention.”
9:48 a.m. Chad says he thought back on the entire scenario. Chad says, “He said it wouldn’t be a problem.” Lori mentions the blueprints and plans. Lori asks Chad if he thinks it was meant to have complications or go that direction. Chad says, “At some point, yeah.” Lori: “Then we should have said this is a 99% chance that we are going to have trouble with this spoil. That’s all we are asking. Could this potentially be good or do we have to fill it with sand?” Chad says, “We sense we shouldn’t take it likely, and I don’t think we did. We only discussed the matter, the trouble, once, and I thought we cut it off and did well, and now that problem is kind of causing it’s own trouble for itself.” Lori says, “There are other things in the project where we’re going to end up going back over it that I could have easily done or been inspired to do to avoid a lot of the issues that are going to come up with that.”
9:46 a.m. Lori asks why it’s 100% instead of 3% chance of having problems. Chad says he was somewhat right in that but the other aspect was other people. “It was a combination,” Chad says. Lori says her faith in those kinds of guarantees are lower. “Me too,” Chad says. Lori says, “Beggars can’t be choosers. I get that. I don’t get to pick the colors.”
9:43 a.m. Chad tells Lori, “He’s still very interested and hasn’t forgotten about us. He’s involved in this latest batch.” Lori asks Chad to find out about a 3% aspect that there would be trouble. “You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Lori says. Chad responds, “I do. I do.” She then says, “You know what I’m talking about?” He says,” I do.”
9:41 a.m. Chad says he asked Ray about the video project. Wood pauses the recording and asks about the video. Summer Shiflet, Lori and Alex’s sister, had posted a video online about Alex after he died. The recording continues to play. Lori and Chad talking about completing the project on time and if they get a bonus. Chad says, “It was good to talk. I haven’t texted him in a while.” Chad tells Lori to write down some questions and mail them off to see if he will respond to them.
9:39 a.m. Lori asks what Ray said when Chad texted him. Chad said, “He just laughed. He’s said it will work out. He didn’t want me to say he misses you, but he’s not far from contact. We can text him whenever we want.” Lori says she can’t text anybody – Chad has to text for her. Chad says he will text him back. Chad says, “He’s optimistic. I want to go visit him and grab him by the throat and say, ‘Really?'” Lori asks if he can make them a guarantee because they did make their down payment. Chad says, “He knows you pretty well. He just laughs.” Chad giggles.
9:36 a.m. Chad says he asked Ray what they talked about. “He was very optimistic,” Chad says. Lori asks about Ray being optimistic or Chad being optimistic. Chad says, “He said, ‘Stick with it.'” Chad says he remembers last summer one of his son’s friends moved into a trailer in their driveway because they were going to build a house by the end of the year. He says they are still there. Chad says it takes forever. Lori says, “We didn’t know when we dug in your backyard we were going to find whatever.” Lori talks about a show she’s been watching about a pool installation and how the project is taking forever. Lori and Chad giggle back and forth.
9:34 a.m. Wood asks if Chad talked about being able to communicate with people who are dead. Chad often spoke about his ability to see and speak with people on the other side of the veil, Hermosillo says. Wood continues the call.
9:32 a.m. Wood plays the call. We hear Lori talking about the Second Coming. Chad says that the New Jerusalem will start small but grow exponentially. “They are doing all they can to destroy one of the key families, but they’re not going to,” Chad says. Lori says she knows too much – she can’t deny it. Chad says, “I texted Ray.” Wood stops the recording and asks who Ray is. Hermosillo says Alex often went by Ray LeMar. He had a Gmail account raylemar@gmail.com. This call was made on June 8, 2020. Alex was dead at this time.
9:28 a.m. Wood moves to admit an exhibit of a jail call between Chad and Lori. Prior wants to have the entire call played. Wood says he does not intend to play it in the entirety. Boyce says if Prior wants the entire call played, he can on cross.
9:25 a.m. Rob Wood is questioning Hermosillo. He asks when Lori Vallow was arrested. Feb. 20, 2020. She ended up in the Madison County Jail. Wood asks about the phone system the jail has for inmates to use to talk with others. It’s called Telemate. Hermosillo listened to phone calls between Chad and Lori. “Every day we listened to multiple phone calls between Chad and Lori. We were trying to get any information on the whereabouts of JJ and Tylee at that time.” Chad and Lori spoke with each other 10-12 times a day.
9:23 a.m. Wright is released from subpoena. He leaves the witness stand and sits in the gallery. Rexburg Det. Ray Hermosillo will now testify. He was the first witness called to the stand in this trial.
9:21 a.m. Blake shows the raccoon text sent Sept. 9 at 11:53 a.m. Chad was at his home when he sent the text around the same time Alex Cox’s device was at the property. Blake says Wright if they were ever looking for a raccoon. He says no – they were looking for missing children. Those children were found on Daybell’s property. Blake has nothing further.
9:19 a.m. Blake asks about the longer driveway behind the Daybell home. The shorter driveway is in the front of the house. There is also a gate on one corner of the property that is wide enough for a vehicle to access the property.
9:17 a.m. Blake shows a slide displaying Alex’s device whereabouts on Sept. 9. It shows the device went from apartment 107, went to the Daybell residence, stayed there approximately 2.5 hours and then went to Del Taco.
9:15 a.m. Blake asks if there was any indication Melanie Gibb or David Warwick were in Idaho on Sept. 8 or 9. Wright says not that he is aware of. Blake asks Wright’s belief on whether Tylee came back from West Yellowstone. Wright says Tylee likely returned to her residence. Tylee was living in apartment 175 with her mom.
9:13 a.m. Wright personally did not review any location data in relation to Chad and Lori. He says it’s possible other investigators would have. FBI Agent Nick Ballance would have been tasked with looking at those things. Wright only reviewed the one device from Alex.
9:11 a.m. The distance from the church to the Daybell home is 2.6 miles. Wright never discovered any connection between Alex Cox and Tammy Daybell besides Chad Daybell.
9:08 a.m. Blake asks Wright when he became involved in the investigation. Nov. 27. 2019. She shows the GPS image of the Salem LDS church. Blake asks if there is any indication Alex knew anyone living in the area of the church other than Chad. Wright says no.
9:07 a.m. Prior has nothing further. Blake will now re-direct.
9:05 a.m. Prior asks if Wright looked at other occasions where Alex may have been near the Salem church. There were seven occasions where Alex was in the area and other times where he may have passed by.
9:01 a.m. Prior shows a GPS image of the Salem church. He asks Wright to point out where Alex may have been parked. There were data points matched to his device on both sides of the church. There is a gap in location data from 10:45 p.m.-11:53 p.m. The device then picked up as it was traveling south to Idaho Falls and registered at the Hilton Garden Inn a little after midnight. The device stayed until a little after 10 a.m.
8:56 a.m. Prior reviews some other dates and times of data points from Alex’s device. The evening of Oct. 18, the day before Tammy died, Alex was at Chick-fil-A in Ammon at 8:05 p.m. He stayed over an hour and drove to within a few miles of the Daybell residence. His device pinged at the Salem church from 10:07-10:45 p.m. that night.
8:53 a.m. Prior displays an image showing Oct. 9 – the day a gunman showed up in Tammy Daybell’s driveway. Alex’s phone was in the vicinity of the Daybell residence from 4:50-5:03 p.m. and back in his apartment from 5:16-9:53 p.m. The paintball gun incident happened between 8:30-9:30 p.m., according to Wright. Alex’s phone was at his apartment during the incident.
8:51 a.m. Prior asks Wright if Alex boughed a hunting license at the end of September. Wright doesn’t recall. Prior asks about the paintball gun incident on Oct. 9 and dates the following week where data points from Alex’s device were able to be tracked.
8:48 a.m. Prior displays an image showing data points of Alex’s phone on Sept. 28, 2019, when Alex was at the shooting range. Prior asks about the Frog Togg suit that Alex bought at Sportsman’s Warehouse and if there was indication those were worn or used. Wright says they looked new to him. A camo beanie, set of gloves and ski mark were also purchased the same time as the pants.
8:45 a.m. Another page is displayed showing Alex was on the Daybell property on certain dates and times. Prior asks Wright if he has any information that Chad was also there at the same time. Wright does not.
8:44 a.m. Prior begins by showing an exhibit displaying Alex Cox’s phone activity from Sept. 22, the last day JJ Vallow was seen alive. Alex was back and forth between his and Lori Vallow’s apartments.
8:39 a.m. Jurors are in their seats. Larry Woodco*ck is in the courtroom this morning. There are around 30 members of the public in the gallery today.
8:38 a.m. Lawyers done meeting with Boyce. Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake, Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood, Fremont County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rocky Wixom and Special Prosecutor Ingrid Batey are at the prosecution table.
8:37 a.m. Retired FBI Agent Rick Wright, witness 66, will be on the stand this morning as defense attorney John Prior continues cross-examination.
8:33 a.m. “Courtroom Daddy” reminding the gallery about the courtroom order – phone must be silenced, no whispering, you can leave but can’t come back in until a break, and don’t open a loud bag of chips and start munching loudly during testimony.
8:29 a.m. Back in the courtroom for day 24 of the Chad Daybell murder trial. Attorneys are meeting with Judge Steven Boyce in chambers. Chad is sitting alone at the defense table wearing a blue dress shirt and tie. He is scrolling through the computer in front of him.
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