Day 4 of the trial of Chad Daybell is underway, witness testimony is expected to continue shortly. Live updates from the courtroom are available below.
Witness Testimony
The next witness called by the State is Social Security Agent Mark Saari. Saari is asked about his credentials and training as a special agent. Rob Wood is questioning Saari. Saari says his job in the case was to investigate whether there was any Social Security fraud involved. Saari confirms that Tylee Ryan was a recipient of social security payments following the death of her father Joseph Ryan. Saari says the bank account receiving Tylee's benefits changed to a BBVA account on Aug. 20, 2019.
Saari explains that Tylee's social security benefits were halted after her agent could not determine her whereabouts. Saari continues, explaining that JJ Vallow was also receiving social security payments following the death of his father, Charles Vallow. These payments also stopped when his whereabouts became unknown. Both accounts were available to Lori as she was the caretaker of the children.
According to Saari, Tylee received $1,859 monthly, JJ received $1,951 monthly, and Lori also received $1,951 a month all in social security payments. Lori's payments also stopped when JJ was unable to be located. Prior now questions Saari, asking if Chad has any obligation to notify anyone in the Social Security Administration that he was married to Lori, Saari says that it could be a problem if he was aware of those benefits and did not report it. The state and defense do not have further questions for Saari, who is excused and not expected to return to the witness stand.
Detective Duncan's Testimony
Blake calls the next witness to the stand, Chandler Detective Nathan Duncan. Blake begins by asking him about his history of work and credentials. Det. Duncan explains that he responded to the 911 call by Alex Cox, reporting that he had shot Charles Vallow in self-defense. When he arrived, Duncan was told that CPR had been performed by Cox, but the blood on the floor was not consistent with someone who had been given CPR. Duncan explains that, according to Alex Cox, he had been hit with a baseball bat by Charles which prompted the self-defense.
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Det. Duncan explains that they noticed an indentation in the floor while cleaning the blood, which was not consistent with Cox's story that he shot Charles while he was standing up and using the bat. Det. Duncan explains that once he was appointed as lead agent on the case, he investigated Charles Vallow's phone which was the catalyst of an argument between Charles and Lori on the day of the shooting. Blake moves to admit an exhibit presenting information extracted from Charles Vallow's phone.
The courtroom livestream is back online as the exhibit from Det. Duncan is being cast to the courtroom projector. The first slide on the slideshow is a message from Charles Vallow to Chad Daybell regarding their recent meeting. In the message, Charles asks Chad to be his ghostwriter on a book about Charles Vallow's life and beliefs, adding that he will pay him well. Det. Duncan says all available evidence indicates this message was fake and fabricated, not written by Charles Vallow. The message was found on Lori Vallow's computer.
More messages from Charles's phone reveal that he planned on going to Idaho to speak with Tammy Daybell. Lori says Tammy is her friend and that she won't listen to him. He asks Chad to just come clean and explain what is happening. Det. Duncan says all available evidence indicates this message was fake and fabricated, not written by Charles Vallow. The message was found on Lori Vallow's computer.
Det. Duncan explains that Charles texted Adam Cox, one of Lori's brothers, saying that he was concerned about Alex being at Lori's house. Charles was killed later that day. Shifting gears, Det. Duncan has an exhibit containing information that caught his attention while reviewing Lori's iCloud accounts. The iCloud account had text between Alex Cox and Lori Vallow, the texts allude to doing something "hopefully today or tomorrow," and a later message from Lori says "Get rid of Ned already." Ned Schneider was the "dark spirit" name given to Charles Vallow.
Lori also received the news of Tammy Daybell's death via text on Oct. 19, 2019, Lori said she hadn't heard the news yet and that she was in Hawaii. Det. Duncan discusses messages from Lori to her son Colby Ryan, where Lori says that Tylee would send him money via Venmo, but Tylee had been dead for over 2 months at this point. Lori also messaged Alex Cox, informing Cox that "they" were staging some kind of intervention that would all come to a head this week, which was just 2 days before Charles was killed. Lori also mentioned that she would be like "Nephi" and so would Alex.
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Duncan reads messages from Chad to Lori, emphasizing Lori's concern for the life insurance money she thought she would be getting after Charles's death. Lori tells Chad she can't tell who Charles changed the beneficiary to, Chad replies "Wow, that's terrible, there's no way to find out?" Chad later messaged Lori "I got the inspiration to go back to my original death percentages that helped us track Charles, Ned, etc. Tammy is very close. Her percentage has fallen steadily since Hiplos left. It is encouraging!" Duncan now discusses the contents of Zulema Pastenes', Alex Cox's wife and friend to Lori Vallow, who messaged Lori about Hiplos, something the two refer to as a "level 3" evil spirit. Chad also messaged Zulema on July 11, saying "It's crazy about Charles, but such a relief."
Duncan says that throughout his investigation, there were no texts indicating any of the involved parties were grieving Charles Vallow's death. A phone call is played for the courtroom. Chad can be heard calling a mortuary and asking for a cremation price. The woman on the phone asks his relation to the deceased, he says that it is his uncle who died. She asks for his name, which he spells incorrectly as Chad Dabel. Another exhibit is played for the courtroom, it appears to be a follow-up call by the mortuary to Chad following the previous call. He reasserts that he is looking for a ballpark cremation price. The woman on the phone give him a price estimate.
Prior asks Duncan about the altercation that led to the death of Charles Vallow, Duncan explains Alex Cox told them that Tylee Ryan brought the bat out when Charles was arguing with Lori and that Charles took it from Tylee and later hit Alex with it. Blake asks if Duncan believes that Alex Cox killed Charles, Duncan says yes. Blake asks if Duncan believes Alex acted alone, the detective says he does not. Prior asks Duncan about the Doctrine of Covenants, an LDS doctrine that Prior says does discuss the Church of the Firstborn.
Prior presents the report with the reason stated for the prosecutors not to charge Chad Daybell, the reasoning on the document says the prosecutor felt that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction. Det. Duncan says the mention of the Church of the Firstborn caught his interest, and that from what he understands, it is not affiliated with the LDS church. Audio of a patriarchal blessing given by Chad to Alex Cox is played for the courtroom. Patriarchal blessings are used in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Chad was not authorized to give the blessings. In the blessing, Chad says Alex is a part of the Church of the Firstborn. He references that Alex has helped him and Lori "in ways you can never be repaid."
Chad says to Alex that he will be known throughout the world for his good-heartedness and willingness to save souls through portals. He says Alex can communicate with Mother Earth herself, that he will know where natural disasters will happen before they do, and that he will bring tremendous blessings to people and "raise their vibrations." Chad can be heard audibly crying and sniffing in the audio recording of this blessing. Chad tells Alex that as the second coming approaches, he will know when it is time to move on. Chad says that Alex's spirit will leave his body and he will be welcomed by the Savior. Alex was dead less than a month following this blessing. Duncan says he recommended charges for Chad Daybell in connection to Charles Vallow's death.
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The jury pool of eight is passed for cause. Boyce tells them to avoid coverage of the case and not to investigate it. Attorneys walk back in. Chad Daybell looks back at the clock on the wall. The attorneys head back to meet with Judge Boyce in his chambers. Chad Daybell sits alone at the defense table with his hands in a praying shape in front of his face.
| Victim | Social Security Payments (Monthly) |
|---|---|
| Tylee Ryan | $1,859 |
| JJ Vallow | $1,951 |
| Lori Vallow | $1,951 |
Note: Lori Vallow's payments stopped when JJ Vallow's whereabouts became unknown.
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