The Chad Daybell case, filled with apocalyptic beliefs, mysterious deaths, and accusations of "zombies" and "dark spirits," has finally reached a verdict. An Idaho jury sentenced Chad Daybell to death on Saturday for the murders of his former wife and his second wife's two youngest children. This article delves into the details of the prosecution's case, the evidence presented, and the key events that led to Daybell's conviction.
Chad Daybell, a self-published author of more than two dozen books about doomsday and near-death events, was found guilty on all counts, including insurance fraud, in the deaths of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. Daybell, wearing a blue-collared shirt and a yellow tie, stood stoically as the jury in Boise, Idaho, delivered the verdict.
The Victims
The case began in 2019 after several concerned family members told Rexburg police that they had not seen or talked to Joshua and Tylee. Police formally started looking for the children that November. The children's remains were found in June 2020 on Daybell's property in Fremont County, Idaho. Police said they believed Daybell hid the remains between September 2019 and June 2020. Tammy Daybell died in 2019, weeks before Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married. Her death was initially considered to have been due to natural causes, but her remains were later exhumed. Following an autopsy, her death was determined to have been a homicide by asphyxiation.
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Indictment and Charges
Daybell, along with Vallow, were indicted in 2021 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and grand theft by deception in the children's deaths. They were also charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with Tammy Daybell's death. In addition, Chad Daybell was charged with first-degree murder in her death. Vallow was convicted in May and received multiple life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Trial
In opening statements in Chad Daybell's murder trial, prosecutors said that Lori Vallow and Daybell had become obsessed with apocalyptic beliefs and labeled people who stood in the way of their dreams as "zombies" and "dark spirits."
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"You’ll hear in the world Chad and Lori planned for themselves, they identified those who stood in the way of their dream as dark," Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood said. "Their spouses, Lori’s own children and anyone who opposed them were labeled sometimes as dark spirits or even zombies," he added.
Vallow’s niece, Melani Pawlowski, testified that the couple believed people could be possessed by evil spirits and that "zombies" would eventually be overcome by a dark spirit and die. Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake reiterated Wood's remarks, insinuating in closing arguments Wednesday that Daybell was the mastermind behind the couple’s scheme and decided who was “dark.”
“Chad has the answers, Chad has the knowledge, Chad has that special ability,” she said. Once he deemed a person dark, they had to be killed, she said.
Discovery of the Children's Remains
Rexburg Police Detective Ray Hermosillo testified at Daybell's trial about the moment officers found the children's remains. Court documents revealed that Joshua had been buried in a pet cemetery on the property and Tylee had been dismembered and burned in a fire pit.
"There were taller shrubs. In the middle of the 6-by-6 section, it looked like there was just a little bit of grass," Hermosillo said about law enforcement discovering Joshua's remains under a tree. "The ERT team began excavating that site. They removed the top layer of soil. ... At that point, you could see what appeared to be three large white rocks," he told the jury. "As soon as they did that you could start to smell the odor, through my training experiences a decomposing body."
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The detective said officials found a "small body wrapped in black plastic with duct tape around it." Hermosillo told the court that Daybell tried to flee "as soon as that was discovered."
Dr. Garth Warren with the Ada County Coroner’s Office testified that "Tylee was received in multiple" body bags. One body bag had smaller bags inside that contained "multiple collections of soft tissue, bone and debris including dirt and rock," he said. The second body bag contained pieces of a "melted green bucket" and a "collection of human remains" and organs including the heart and lungs, he told jurors.
"This isn't what heart and lungs typically look like," he said as jurors were shown photos. "They're obviously charred, portions of them are burned away and significantly shrunken as well." In the third bag was a portion of a "blackened and charred" skull, Warren said, as well as a portion of a jaw with "partially charred" teeth. The remains were identified as Tylee's through dental X-rays, he said.
Daybell's Children Defend Him
Daybell's son and daughter testified in his defense, telling the court that he "valued" their mother, Tammy Daybell, and was distraught over her death.
"He was more distressed than I ever seen him in my entire life," his daughter, Emma Murray, told the court. "I was used to my parents being in control and in charge and seeing him so distressed and emotionally out of control was very scary to me. I didn't doubt his grief at all."
Read also: Vallow-Daybell Trial: Key Evidence
Murray said her mother had some health issues and would bruise easily. Before her death, her mother had been working on becoming more physically fit, Murray said. At the trial, Murray was questioned about Joshua and Tylee. She told the court that when she asked her father where the children were, he told her that they were in a “safe place.”
Garth Daybell said his mother would "collapse" after coming home from work, had a hard time moving heavy items and had "fainting spells." On the day of her death, he said he did not hear any sounds of a struggle or fight.
The Vallow-Daybell Doomsday Murders: A Chronology
The Vallow-Daybell doomsday murders consist of a series of killings-including child murder, filicide, and spousal murder-committed by Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell. The timeline of events is as follows:
- July 11, 2019: Charles Vallow, Lori's estranged husband, was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox in Chandler, Arizona.
- September 2019: Lori's daughter, Tylee Ryan (16), and adopted son, Joshua Jaxon "J. J." Vallow (7), disappeared from their home in Rexburg, Idaho.
- October 2, 2019: Lori's nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux survived a murder attempt in Gilbert, Arizona.
- October 9, 2019: Tammy Daybell reported being shot at in her driveway by a masked man with what she thought was a paintball gun.
- October 19, 2019: Tammy Daybell was found dead in her home, apparently from natural causes.
- November 5, 2019: Chad and Lori were married in Hawaii, two weeks after the death of Tammy, and two months after Tylee and J.J. were murdered.
- December 2019: Investigators exhumed Tammy's body and conducted an autopsy that ruled her death a homicide.
- June 2020: Police discovered the remains of Tylee and J. J.
At the time of the murders, Chad and Lori were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). However, their beliefs had deviated significantly from mainstream Mormonism. Chad was an apocalyptic author and publisher who claimed to have visions of the future and to have lived through multiple past lives, and prophesied the world would end in July 2020.
Lori Vallow's Involvement
Lori Norene Ryan Daybell, also referred to as Lori Vallow Daybell, grew up in a Mormon family. In October 2018, together with Melanie Gibb and Zulema Pastenes, Lori attended a "Preparing a People" event where she met Chad for the first time. Chad claimed to Lori that they had been married in multiple previous lifetimes.
By February 2019, Lori reportedly informed Charles that "she no longer cared about him or J.J.". Charles sought a protective order against Lori at the advice of his attorney. Arizona police detectives later retrieved text messages between Chad, Lori and her brother Alex Cox which referred to Charles as "Ned" or "Hiplos", the names of the "spirit" said to possess him. Lori told members of her religious group that her husband had become a "zombie".
Key Evidence and Testimony
During the trial, several key pieces of evidence and testimonies were presented:
- Detective Nathan Duncan's Testimony: Chandler (Arizona) police detective Nathan Duncan testified about reviewing Lori Daybell's iCloud records. He confirmed that there would have been about 45 minutes between when Vallow was shot and when Cox called 911. Before he called 911, Cox called Lori Daybell twice, Duncan said.
- Messages and Accounts: Duncan said texts showed that Lori Daybell referred to her husband as Ned, the name of a "dark spirit," and cited texts with Alex Cox referring to him and other people they knew - including Adam Cox and Adam Cox's son, as dark spirits or "z's" which he said, based on other witnesses, was likely referring to zombies.
- Crime Scene Analysis: Duncan also said he responded to the scene of Vallow's death, noting that he saw Vallow on the ground and blood in the webbing of his left hand, showing he likely touched his hand to a bullet wound. He said the only other blood evidence found at the home was a smear of blood on a faucet.
The Verdict and Sentencing
On June 1, 2024, an Idaho jury sentenced Chad Daybell to death for the 2019 murders of his first wife and his second wife’s two youngest children. Mr. Daybell pleaded not guilty to multiple first-degree murder, fraud, and conspiracy charges, but after being found guilty, he chose to waive his right to present mitigating evidence during his sentencing hearing. With this decision, Mr. Daybell declined the opportunity to provide the jury with reasons why he should not be sentenced to death.
Table of Key Figures and Their Status
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Chad Daybell | Defendant | Found guilty and sentenced to death |
| Lori Vallow Daybell | Defendant | Convicted and sentenced to multiple life terms |
| Charles Vallow | Victim | Deceased |
| Tammy Daybell | Victim | Deceased |
| Joshua Jaxon "J.J." Vallow | Victim | Deceased |
| Tylee Ryan | Victim | Deceased |
| Alex Cox | Perpetrator | Deceased |
The Aftermath
Following their release from jury duty, two jurors spoke with local news and discussed Mr. Daybell’s decision not to present mitigating evidence. One of the jurors, Tracie Bradley, said when it came to determining the sentence, “it’s like there was no mitigating circumstances to not justify the death penalty after what he did.” Ms. Bradley added that “it was very shocking that [Mr. Daybell] wouldn’t say anything.”
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