Chad Daybell Found Guilty in 'Zombie' Murder Trial in Idaho
A jury in Boise, Idaho, has convicted Chad Daybell on charges of murder and conspiracy in the deaths of his former wife, Tammy Daybell, and the two children of his current wife, Lori Vallow Daybell.
Prosecutors have indicated their intention to seek the death penalty for Daybell. If pursued, the jury will then deliberate on any aggravating and mitigating circumstances to determine if a death sentence is warranted.
Prosecutors alleged that Daybell concocted bizarre, religiously-tinged fantasies about people becoming zombies to rationalize heinous crimes, aiming to start a new life with Lori Vallow after having an affair with her. They also accused Daybell of committing insurance fraud related to his former wife's death.
Daybell, 55, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Tammy Daybell in late 2019. He was also convicted of conspiracy in the deaths of Vallow Daybell's two youngest children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow. Tylee was nearly 17, and JJ was 7 when they were last seen alive in September 2019, the same month they moved with their mother from Chandler, Arizona, to Rexburg, Idaho.
Tammy Daybell Was "In the Way, Prosecutor Said
Tammy Daybell, Chad's then-wife, was found dead in her home in October 2019. The librarian and educator was 49. Initially, a coroner did not perform an autopsy, citing a heart attack as the apparent cause of death. However, suspicions later led to the exhumation of Tammy's body, and the cause of death was changed to homicide by asphyxiation.
In her closing argument, Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake stated that Chad Daybell influenced the coroner's initial ruling by fabricating details about Tammy's medical condition. Blake argued that this was part of a plan for Chad to eliminate his wife so he could be with Lori Vallow. Months earlier, Vallow's brother had shot and killed her husband, Charles.
A little over 24 hours from reporting his wife's death," Blake said in her closing argument, "Chad messages Lori: 'I know exactly how you feel. I'm feeling sad, but it isn't for the reason everyone thinks!'" At the time, Vallow was on a trip to Hawaii. Blake said Vallow had grown frustrated with Daybell, sending him a text saying they couldn't be together until things changed.
What needs to change? the prosecutor asked the jurors. Tammy's in the way.
Daybell responded to Vallow's message, Blake added, by saying that being with Vallow was the only thing that mattered to him. "Lori manipulates Chad with sex," Blake said. "From the minute he met her, he wanted to be with her — and she knew it."
4 Children Found Buried on Daybell's Property
Blake also detailed how Vallow began asking Daybell about plans involving Tylee and JJ. "About a month after Charles' passing, Lori's asking Chad, 'Do you think there is a perfectly orchestrated plan to take the children?'" Blake said, showing a text message from Vallow to Daybell in court.
"There is a plan being orchestrated for the children," Daybell replied. "I was shown last night how it fit together again."
The children's bodies were found buried on Daybell's property in June 2020. Disturbing photos from the scene were presented to the jury early in the trial.
Tylee's DNA was found on a pickax and a shovel that were in the defendant's garage Blake told the jury during her closing argument.
Blake explained that Daybell used a numerical system to rate family members, with higher numbers assigned to those he believed were overtaken by dark forces. "Chad said if someone's a zombie, the body has to die," Blake told the jury.
Daybell was also charged with two counts of insurance fraud. Prosecutors say he maxed out Tammy's life insurance policy the month before she died, naming himself as the beneficiary. Less than a month after Tammy's death, he married Lori Vallow in Hawaii.
Post a Comment