This mornings trial updates. From East Idaho News.
www.eastidahonews.com
Noon We are now taking a lunch break. We will be back at 1 p.m.
11:57 a.m. After Chad and Lori left Cafe Rio, they drove to Cafe Rio. Powell and Chief Deputy Sean Garner went inside. Wixom asks to admit a photo of Chad and Lori eating inside Cafe Rio.
11:54 a.m. Powell saw Lori and Chad holding hands as they walk into Hobby Lobby. A photo was taken and Wixom asks to admit the picture. Prior objects to the image. Boyce overrules the objection. The photo is shown on the screen. Powell says Chad and Lori held hands the entire time they walked in.
11:52 a.m. Powell followed Chad from the apartment to Mountain America Credit Union. They lost him after that so they went back to Lori’s apartment. They saw Lori leave and go to the post office box in Sugar City. She then went to Walgreens. Chad and Lori then leave the apartment to a credit union in Idaho Falls followed by Hobby Lobby and Cafe Rio.
11:50 a.m. Powell proceeded to do surveillance on Lori’s apartment. They saw Chad leave the apartment on Pioneer Road the morning of Nov. 1, 2019. Powell consulted with Rexburg police as Lori’s apartment was in Rexburg.
11:48 a.m. Gilbert gave Powell the names of Alex Cox and Lori Vallow. They told them they might have ties to Chad Daybell. Powell drove to Chad’s house on Oct. 31, 2019. The Jeep wasn’t there and Powell notified Gilbert. The next day, Powell got an email asking if he could check some more addresses about the Jeep. One of the addresses was a PO Box in Sugar City, another was Lori’s apartment in Rexburg.
11:47 a.m. Powell reviewed the report and requested Tammy’s medical records. He sent the information to Gilbert police. Gilbert also asked Powell if they could locate the grey Jeep Wrangler with Texas plates. They told him they believed the Jeep was in Fremont County and it was involved in an attempted shooting.
11:46 a.m. Wixom asks about the morning Tammy Daybell died – Oct. 19, 2019. Powell was notified of Tammy’s death by a deputy. On Oct. 31, 2019, Powell got a call from law enforcement in Arizona inquiring about Tammy Daybell’s death. They asked for a copy of the death report.
11:44 a.m. Powell has been at the sheriff’s office for 22 years. Wixom asks Powell if his role includes getting involved with unattended deaths. Powell says yes. An unattended death is when someone discovers someone’s death – there’s nobody around when it happens.
11:42 a.m. The next witness is Fremont County Lt. Joe Powell.
11:41 a.m. Wheeler’s testimony is concluded. Prior and Wixom says Wheeler may be recalled later in the trial.
11:40 a.m. Prior asks if Chad knew at the point he left Emma’s house if Chad had been told anything about the remains being found. Wheeler says at that point, Chad likely would not have known.
11:38 a.m. Prior asks Wheeler if he spoke to any other law enforcement officer during the break. Wheeler says he did not. Prior asks about Chad leaving when he learned about the remains being found on his property. Wheeler explains when he left, it was from Emma’s residence shortly after Wheeler learned JJ’s body had been found.
11:37 a.m. Wixom again asks Wheeler where Chad was looking while in the driveway. Wheeler says he was looking toward the fire pit. Wixom has no further questions. Prior has some follow up questions.
11:35 a.m. Wixom asks Wheeler to clarify that he was not directly involved in recovering JJ’s remains. He was not but made observations. The only time Wheeler saw law enforcement go into the house was at the beginning of the day. All of the search was happening outside on the property.
11:34 a.m. Everyone back. Boyce says the question is struck from the record. Wixom says he has a few more questions.
11:33 a.m. Wixom asks a question and Prior objects – then asks for a sidebar with the judge. All the attorneys leave the courtroom again with Boyce. Wixom has tried to bring up the term “consciousness of guilt” twice and Prior is opposed to it.
11:32 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench and the attorneys have returned.
11:29 a.m. Wheeler says all conduct by law enforcement in recovering the remains that morning was careful. Prior objects to Wixom’s question and Boyce calls for a sidebar. All the attorneys leave the courtroom.
11:27 a.m. Wheeler says he found a portion of a skull, flesh and other bones in a bucket melted. Other than JJ and Tylee, no other human remains were found on the property.
11:25 a.m. Wixom follows up on the question about shovels and tools used to recover Tylee’s remains. Wheeler says the majority of what he did was on his hands and knees using brushes to remove portions of dirt away from the mass that was found.
11:23 a.m. Wixom asks Wheeler is any of Tylee’s remains were buried in the pet cemetery. Wheeler can’t testify exactly where the remains were in the fire pit area.
11:22 a.m. Wixom follows up on the speed issue that Prior brought up earlier. He asks if someone who had bodies buried on their property might accelerate quickly to get away from the property. Wheeler says yes.
11:20 a.m. “In your experience, if someone is about to be discovered in a crime, about to be caught in a crime, have you ever experienced someone just acknowledging that and surrendering because they are caught?” Wixom asks. Wheeler says it is common for suspects to try and distance themselves.
11:19 a.m. Wixom will ask some re-direct questions. He begins by asking about someone getting nervous during a typical traffic stop. Wheeler says most people get a little nervous during traffic stops.
11:16 a.m. Wheeler says shovels, sifters and hand tools were used to dig in the dirt. Prior has no further questions.
11:15 a.m. Wheeler returned to the home at 1:30 p.m. After he returned, he was assigned to help in the fire pit area. There were multiple people at the fire pit and Wheeler says they were coming and going.
11:13 a.m. Prior continues to ask questions about where Chad was looking that morning. He then asks Wheeler what time Chad was dropped off at the jail. It was around 12:45 p.m., according to Wheeler. Prior asks Wheeler if he had been on Chad’s property before. He says no. Wheeler saw cadaver dogs on the property that morning.
11:12 a.m. Prior asks Wheeler about the statement Emma made. She said to her dad that she could tell by his reaction that he didn’t know what was going on out there.
11:10 a.m. Wheeler says Chad turned his head 4-5 times to look where police were working. Prior says that Chad didn’t run at that point. He went to his daughter’s for 90 minutes – 2 hours.
11:08 a.m. Prior says he’s having difficulty understanding why Chad moved his car. “If you have such a good view of the fire pit and the pond and the tree where JJ was found, if your purpose is to observe or see what’s going on for some nefarious reason, why would he move?” Prior says. Wheeler responds that he was told to move by law enforcement.
11:06 a.m. Prior asks if where Chad parked gave him the best view of the fire pit and the pond. Wheeler says he is unsure about the pond but yes on the fire pit.
11:05 a.m. At that point, Chad was put in the back of the police car and Emma was allowed to talk with him. Prior discusses how Chad spoke with Emma about their credit cards, business accounts, etc. “We don’t know whether he was doing that to try and figure out whether he was trying to post bond.”
11:03 a.m. Chad is then put into handcuffs and placed into the backseat of Wheeler’s car. Wheeler asks at what point Chad was advised they found a body on his property. Wheeler says it was right at this time.
11:02 a.m. Prior says it appears Mr. Daybell was in the process to see his lawyer that morning. Wheeler says he can’t testify to that.
11:01 a.m. We now see the body camera footage. Det. Ball walks up to Chad and says he is going to be detained. Chad says something inaudible and Ball responds, “Your attorney can now come to you.”
11 a.m. Prior asks about Wheeler’s body camera footage. Wheeler doesn’t recall the exact conversation on the video before Chad was taken into custody. Prior asks to publish the body camera footage.
10:56 a.m. Wheeler confirms Chad was in Emma’s house for 90 minutes – 2 hours. Prior asks about Chad leaving Emma’s house. Prior asks Wheeler to clarify Chad speeding off. Prior asks what the speed limit is in front of Chad’s house. Wheeler says it’s 50 mph. Prior asks if it would be unusual for someone to accelerate once they get on the highway. Wheeler says that would not be unusual.
10:55 a.m. Prior asks Wheeler when Chad was advised remains have been found on the property. Wheeler says that happened during the traffic stop.
10:53 a.m. Wheeler explains the events of that morning. Over the course of that morning, Daybell got into his car, moved it to the west side of his home, then took it to the home kitty corner to his property and then left southbound
10:51 a.m. Prior asking Wheeler about his body camera. Wheeler confirms he wore a camera that day.
10:50 a.m. Prior asks if any other citizens were at the property. Wheeler says no.
10:48 a.m. Prior wants to clarify Wheeler’s role the morning of June 9. Wheeler says he assisted in securing the road in front of the property. Prior asks how many officers were at the home. Wheeler can’t testify to that but confirms multiple agencies.
10:44 a.m. Attorneys are at their tables. Judge Boyce is on the bench. Det. Wheeler remains on the stand. Jurors will be brought in.
10:33 a.m. We are back in the courtroom. Chad Daybell is sitting alone as his table. Waiting on the attorneys and judge.
10:03 a.m. Boyce says we will now take a morning recess before Prior begins cross examination. Back in 30 minutes.
10:01 a.m. Wheeler returned to the Daybell home and began searching in the fire pit area. Wheeler says he also assisted in setting up light trailers that evening. Wixom has no further questions.
10 a.m. Wheeler says he was asked to transport Chad to the Fremont County Jail. His mugshot was taken:
9:58 a.m. Wixom plays a short clip and asks Wheeler what direction Chad where Chad is looking. Wheeler says Chad is looking at the fire pit area, where Tylee’s remains were found.
9:56 a.m. Emma says she called Mark, her brother, and told her that dad was arrested. Chad says it’s all a matter of timing and things will come together. He says he loves Emma and they hug. He says they can talk on Telmate. Wixom pauses the video and advances further in the clip.
9:55 a.m. Emma says in her conversation with the police, she was told one set of human remains were found and they were looking for another. Wixom pauses the video after Chad says, “They’re not searching inside the house.” Wheeler confirms the search was focused on the property – not inside the home.
9:53 a.m. Emma and Chad continue to discuss finances. He tells her that he spoke with Lori for a few minutes. Emma asked if Lori was surprised. Chad says, “She seemed bothered and disturbed.” Emma tells her dad she asked the police where they found the human remains. She was told under the tree and there were boards over it. Chad says, “ok.” Emma says, “I can see in your face that it surprises you.”
9:51 a.m. Chad says “it will work out.” Emma says she’s going to miss her dad so much. Chad says he isn’t sure if he’s going to Madison or Fremont County Jail. Chad says he’s sure Fremont has a Telemate system so they can talk. Chad ended up going to Fremont County Jail. Chad says all the neighbors are going to be talking. Emma says they already are. She tells her dad, “We’re ok dad. We’re ok. You raised us so we are independent now. I’m not Colby,” – apparently referring to Colby Ryan, Lori’s son.
9:49 a.m. Emma asks if things can be sent from Amazon to the jail. Chad says Lori would know the Amazon account. He says he has around $265 in gift certificates in his Amazon account. Emma asks the officer near the car if they are leaving things in the home – like the computer. He says he does not know.
9:47 a.m. Chad tells Emma the house is essentially hers and he will talk to John Prior about financial arrangements. He continues to talk about money and maybe refinancing the house.
9:45 a.m. Wheeler says at this point, Chad had not been arrested. Emma tells her dad that she will take care of Mark (her brother) and her and her dad as best she can. Chad tells Emma to keep paying the mortgage out of the company account. They discuss the car payment. Chad says, “I’m not coming back.”
9:43 a.m. Emma says the police have been kind to them that day. She says she texted John Prior so he has her number. Chad continues to explain financial information to his daughter. Emma says to her dad that it sounds like he won’t be out for a while. Chad kind of laughs and says, “Right.”
9:41 a.m. Chad tells his daughter the password to his bank account. He goes through his bank cards with his daughter. He tells her the company business card is in the same drawer as the $9,000. Chad tells Emma the card used for Telmate. Emma says she already has a Telmate account that she’s been talking to Lori on. Chad tells Emma he puts $30 a week on Lori’s commissary. Emma starts to cry and says, “I love you so much!” Chad says, “I’m sorry” and tells her to cooperate with police “as much as she feels.”
9:39 a.m. The video continues to play. Chad asks if Emma can get his wallet. Lt. Ball asks if he can look through it. Chad says, “Sure.” Chad says Emma will be running his finances “I suppose.” Chad is looking at the screen in the courtroom as the video is played. Chad tells Emma there is about $9,000 in a middle drawer in Mark’s room.
9:37 a.m. Wixom asks Wheeler to explain the position of his vehicle relative to the Daybell property. Wheeler says he is parked on the southside of the residence facing west. “If you were to look right outside of that open door, you would be looking at his house.”
9:35 a.m. The video will start at one hour and three minutes. The clip comes up on the screen. Chad Daybell is wearing a baseball cap and polo shirt. The video shows Chad in the backseat of the car. Emma, Chad’s daughter, comes up to the side of the car and is crying. She says, “I love you so much” and give her dad a hug.
9:33 a.m. Wixom having a technical issue. Prior suggests we can take a break but Boyce hopes to get the video played before the break. Wixom says he is optimistic he can get it played.
9:32 a.m. The videos are over an hour long but only 15 minutes will be played in court. Prosecutors and defense each agree they can play whatever portions of the videos they would like.
9:28 a.m. Wixom asks Wheeler is there was some interaction with Chad. Wheeler says he placed handcuffs on Chad. He was told he was being detained and Chad was put in Wheeler’s patrol vehicle. Chad was told JJ had been found. Wheeler says there are three cameras inside his vehicle. Wixom moves to admit the video footage from the patrol vehicle. One is dash cam inside the vehicle, the other is a camera recording from outside the vehicle.
9:26 a.m. Wheeler says he heard Chad accelerate and he thought, “Is he trying to run?” Wheeler stopped Chad around the Fremont/Madison County line. Wheeler asked Chad to get out of his vehicle and said detectives were on the way to talk with him. Wheeler says Chad didn’t ask any questions and wasn’t shocked or surprised that he was stopped.
9:25 a.m. Wheeler says when Chad left the property, he appeared to be in a hurry. Detectives were assigned to keep an eye on him and Wheeler told Det. Schmitt that Chad was leaving in a vehicle. Other investigators came running over and said, “Hurry and go stop him.”
9:24 a.m. At one point, Chad got out of the vehicle, walked around and then got back in. He made a phone call and then drove over to Emma’s home. Wheeler says Chad had a brief conversation outside and then went into her house. He was inside for an hour – 90 minutes.
9:22 a.m. Wheeler says there were multiple times he saw Chad looking “awkwardly” over his shoulder toward where the investigators and cadaver dogs were working. Chad Daybell is writing on a yellow notepad and he just showed it to Prior. Wheeler continues to say Chad appeared to be suspicious about something in the pond area.
9:21 a.m. Wheeler first saw Chad Daybell leave the home around 7:30 a.m. and he walked to his vehicle. Wheeler says he moved his vehicle to a spot where he had a better location of the pond area. “He sat in his vehicle and was on his phone for quite some time – just saw there in his vehicle,” Wheeler says.
9:20 a.m. Wheeler arrived at the home just after 7 a.m. He says multiple law enforcement agencies were involved – Rexburg Police, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
9:19 a.m. Wheeler says when he arrived, he helped maintain traffic and stood by as detectives served the warrant to Chad. His role was to standby and observe the occupants of the home as they were coming and going.
9:17 a.m. During the search, Wheeler found remains of Tylee and observed the remains of JJ. He says Tylee’s remains were found near the fire pit and JJ’s remains were found near the pond in the rear of the property.
9:16 a.m. Wixom asks Wheeler if he assisted on the search on June 9, 2020. Wheeler’s role was to maintain scene security, traffic and crowd control while investigators conducted the search.
9:13 a.m. Wheeler walks in and takes the stand. Fremont County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rocky Wixom is questioning Wheeler. Wheeler has worked for RPD for 18 years. He was patrol sergeant before becoming a detective.
9:12 a.m. Prior has no further questions. Kaaiakamanu is the state’s designated agent so he gets to sit in the courthouse the entire trial. Prior says he plans to recall Kaaiakamanu again. The next witness is Rexburg Det. Eric Wheeler.
9:11 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says when Chad drove away, police were in the process of discovering JJ Vallow’s body. Wood has no further question. Prior is questioning Kaaiakamanu on the phone call again. He asks if there were 30 officers on the property, there would be a different tone. Kaaiakamanu says yes. Prior asks Kaaiakamanu if he was aware Chad was going to get an attorney. Kaaiakamanu was not.
9:08 a.m. Prior spoke to Kaaiakamanu about how people get nervous when police show up. Wood asks Kaaiakamanu if he has listened to multiple calls between Chad and Lori. Kaaiakamanu says yes. Wood asks if the tone of the phone call on June 9 was different to their average phone call. Kaaiakamanu says yes. Wood asks Kaaiakamanu if he was present when Chad drove away. Kaaiakamanu was. Wood asks what was happening. Prior objects. Boyce overrules. Kaaiakamanu says when Chad drove away, police were looking for two bodies on his property.
9:06 a.m. Prior asks if anyone was on the scene at Chad’s house on June 9 who was not law enforcement. Kaaiakamanu says the coroner and some K9 dogs were there. They worked from 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. Prior has no further questions. Wood has some re-direct questions.
9:04 a.m. Prior asks how long Garth was at RPD for the interview. Kaaiakamanu says for a few hours. They got him McDonald’s and a soda. Garth asked for an attorney and the lawyer showed up. Prior asks Kaaiakamanu is reviewed videotape of Chad and Emma from June 9. Kaaiakamanu has not.
9:02 a.m. Prior asks Kaaiakamanu if he has interviewed Melanie Gibb. Kaaiakamanu says he has one time. Prior asks about Kaaiakamanu interviewing Garth Daybell, Chad’s son. Kaaiakamanu says he interviewed Garth one time at the Rexburg Police Department. Kaaiakamanu says he also went to the school where Garth teaches with an FBI special agent.
9 a.m. Prior references Lori mentioning “search again” on the call with Chad. He asks Kaaiakamanu how many times officers had searched Chad’s home prior to the June search. Kaaiakamanu says they went in January 2020. Prior asks if officers ever shows up unannounced at Chad’s house to search the property. Kaaiakamanu says no. They did go with a search warrant in January.
8:58 a.m. Prior asks how many officers were at Chad’s house. Kaaiakamanu says more than 30. Prior asks about Chad mentioning on the phone that he was at his daughter Emma’s house, which was kitty corner to Chad’s home. Prior asks if he found out who the person was calling that interrupted Chad’s call with Lori. Kaaiakamanu says he does not know.
8:57 a.m. Wood has no further questions for Kaaiakamanu. Prior will now cross-examine.
8:56 a.m. Chad tells Lori he’s getting a call from someone else. “I love you so much,” he says.” Lori asks if she could try and call him later. Chad says, “I don’t know. I don’t know. You can try. I’ll answer if I can.” Chad says, “I love you and I’ll talk soon.” Lori says she loves him and the call ends.
8:54 a.m. Chad is looking at the screen in the courtroom as the call is played. The call continues with Chad saying, “I’m glad you called. We’ll see what transpires.” Lori responds, “K. What do you want me to do? Pray?” Chad says, “Yeah, pray. And…yeah.” Chad tells Lori to call Mark – maybe. Mark Means is their former attorney.
8:52 a.m. Lori called Chad. “Hi babe. Are you ok?” she says. “They’re searching the property,” Chad responds. “The house right now?” Lori responds. “Yes. Yes,” Chad says. “So Mark Means will be talking to you.” Lori asks if they are in the house. Chad says no, they are out on the property. Lori asks if they are seizing stuff again. Chad responds, “They’re searching.”
8:51 a.m. The exhibit is a thumb drive containing a call between Chad and Lori. Wood is about to play the call. You can listen here:
8:50 a.m. Wood asks about June 9, 2020. Lori Vallow Daybell was in the Madison County Jail. Chad Daybell was not in jail. Wood asks to admit an exhibit.
8:48 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says all inmate calls are recorded. He can log into the system and listen to calls but he is unable to edit the information. Tablets and phones are located in the pods of the jail for inmate use.
8:46 a.m. Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood is questioning Kaaiakamanu. The chief deputy explains he oversees the Telmate phone/video system that inmates use in the jail. Wood asks Kaaiakamanu how he makes sure inmates don’t make calls on behalf of other inmates. The deputy explains every inmate has a PIN number and a photo is taken. Their voice is also recorded.
8:45 a.m. Kaaiakamanu worked for the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office for 18 years. Kaaiakamanu now oversees the Madison County Jail.
8:42 a.m. Vince Kaaiakamanu is the next witness. He was an investigator with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office until taking a job as the Chief Deputy with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year.
8:41 a.m. The jurors are in their seats and each of them have signed their declaration that they didn’t do any research on the case over the long weekend.
8:38 a.m. There are around 30-40 people in the courtroom today – one of the largest days we have seen. Boyce is on the bench. Prosecution ready to call its next witness. Jurors will be brought in.
8:36 a.m. The bailiff reminds everyone to silence their phone as someone’s phone rings. “If you unsure if your phone will go off, turn it off.” Bailiff says during the breaks, everyone needs to leave and take all their items with them.
8:33 a.m. We are back in the courtroom. Chad Daybell is wearing a blue collared dress shirt and is sitting with John Prior. “Courtroom daddy” is back after being away last week. He says the right side of the courtroom caused some noise last week for the jury so the left side of the courtroom will be filled in first.
8:29 a.m. Judge rules John Prior cannot reference the incidents involving Joseph Ryan and Alex Cox.
8:26 a.m. This hearing is being held with the jury present. We are told that once this portion is over, we will be allowed in the courtroom and the jurors will be brought in.
8:23 a.m. Cameras and audio seem much better today. This hearing seems to be about Alex Cox’s encounter with Joseph Ryan back in 2007.
8:20 a.m. We are waiting in line to get into the courtroom. The trial court administrator just told us Judge Boyce is conducting a last-minute hearing that will be livestreamed only. You can watch it
here.
www.crimewatchers.net
