Lori Vallow Daybell’s criminal trial in its second week heard from key witnesses who revealed new details about the case.
Vallow Daybell, a 49-year-old Rexbug, Idaho, mother, and her husband, Chad Daybell, are charged with the first-degree murders of her two children — 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.
She is also accused of conspiring to murder JJ, Tylee and Chad Daybell’s then-wife, Tammy Daybell. Vallow Daybell faces a felony charge in Arizona as well for allegedly conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
Chad Daybell — whose trial date hasn’t been set — also faces a first-degree murder charge in Tammy Daybell’s death.
The 18-person jury last week heard from eight witnesses, including Rexburg Police Det. Ray Hermosillo. He was the lead investigator during the months-long search for Vallow Daybell’s children and was on scene when the children’s remains were found. The children were found buried in shallow graves on Chad Daybell’s eastern Idaho property in June 2020.
Here are a few key details from last week. The trial is expected to last eight weeks.
Tammy Daybell died by asphyxiation
During opening statements, Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake announced the results of Tammy Daybell’s autopsy and told the jury that Tammy Daybell’s death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.
Though Tammy Daybell’s children told 48 Hours that she’d been asphyxiated, it wasn’t until last week that authorities publicly released her cause of death.
When Tammy Daybell died on Oct. 19, 2019, authorities initially believed that Tammy Daybell “passed away peacefully in her sleep.” But Fremont County Lt. Joseph Powell told the courtroom Wednesday that because of all the “suspicious circumstances,” police opened an investigation into her death and exhumed her body.
Powell said that Tammy Daybell appeared to be in “pretty good health” and was only 49 years old. He added that the investigation into the attempted shootings of Tammy Daybell and Brandon Boudreaux, Tylee and JJ’s uncle, and Chad Daybell’s relationship with Lori Vallow Daybell “so soon after” Tammy’s death prompted the death investigation.
Charles Vallow was shot lying down
Det. Nathan Duncan, who has been with the Chandler Police Department in Arizona for nearly 23 years, told the jury last week that Charles Vallow was struck with two bullets — but the second one wasn’t fired until he was already lying on the ground.
Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Vallow Daybell’s brother Alex Cox, who claimed it was self-defense. But Arizona authoritiessaid they believe that Vallow Daybell and Cox conspired to kill Charles Vallow, according to the Arizona Republic.
Cox died from a blood clot in December 2019.
Duncan also said during his testimony there wasn’t a lot of blood, which isn’t typical in a shooting investigation. It didn’t appear Charles Vallow was given CPR, though that’s what Cox told police.
Vallow Daybell’s defense team objected to evidence and statements during Duncan’s testimony. They didn’t cross-examine Duncan because they said they felt the evidence presented in his testimony was inadmissible.
Typically, in criminal trials, evidence that indicates other alleged or convicted crimes aren’t talked about. According to Idaho Rules of Evidence, “evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person’s character.”
But it can be used when trying to prove “motive, opportunity or intent.”
Duncan during his testimony said that Charles Vallow was killed, but he didn’t mention that Vallow Daybell faces a criminal charge in Arizona for allegedly conspiring to kill him.
Daybells believed dark spirits possessed family members
Vallow Daybell’s former friends — Melaine Gibb and Zulema Pastenes — during their testimonies last week provided a clearer picture of the Daybells’ fringe religious beliefs.
The Daybells, who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had extremist beliefs the world was going to end in July 2020, and that they were a part of the 144,000 people who, according to the Book of Revelations, would be saved during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Both Gibb and Pastenes participated in “castings” with Vallow Daybell, during which they would cast out certain people who had dark spirits. Gibb said that if an individual was properly casted out, they’d die, and Pastenes said a dark spirit could be kept out by binding or burning the body.
JJ’s body was found bound with duct tape, while Tylee’s body was found in pieces and her flesh was charred.
Pastenes later clarified during her testimony that the burning was a verbal command they’d say during the casting, and that there wasn’t any physical burning.
They performed several castings on Charles Vallow, Pastenes said, because a new spirit would take over his body after they casted the other out. In text messages between Cox and Vallow Daybell in early 2019, they discussed “Ned” — the dark spirit they believed was possessing Charles Vallow — and said there must be a new spirit controlling him.
“We needed to cast out the demon from Charles,” Pastenes told the court during her testimony Friday. The Daybells and Cox also believed that Tammy Daybell, Tylee and eventually JJ were all “dark,” Gibb said.
Chad Daybell called funeral home within hours of Charles Vallow’s death
The jury listened to Chad Daybell call an Arizona funeral home — on the same day Charles Vallow was killed — to get an estimate on a cremation.
In the brief phone call, Chad Daybell told a funeral home employee that his uncle “John Daball” had died, and that he wanted to know how much it would cost to get his body cremated and sent to New Orleans, Louisiana — where Charles Vallow is from.
Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Alex Cox on July 11, 2019.
Charles Vallow accused Vallow Daybell of infidelity
Less than two weeks before Charles Vallow was shot and killed, he sent an email to Tammy Daybell informing her about the affair between their spouses.
He emailed Tammy Daybell on June 29, 2019, and said he had some “vital and disturbing information regarding” Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell, according to emails presented in court that were obtained by Arizona authorities. Charles Vallow also emailed Vallow Daybell and told her that he’d be informing Tammy Daybell of the affair.
It’s unclear whether Tammy Daybell ever read the emails.
“You accuse me of infidelity, but it’s you who has been having an affair,” Charles Vallow told Vallow Daybell in an email, which authorities obtained from Vallow Daybell’s iCloud account.
