Prosecutors characterized Chad Daybell as having a “desire for sex, money, and power” and noted that he referred to those who obstructed his ambitions as “zombies” and “dark spirits.”
These statements were made in the opening statements of Daybell’s trial for three murders. He and his current wife, Lori Vallow, were indicted in relation to the deaths of Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, and Vallow’s children, Joshua ‘JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
“In the world Chad and Lori envisioned for themselves, they identified individuals who opposed their aspirations as dark,” stated Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood.
“Their partners, Lori’s children, and anyone who stood against them were sometimes labeled as dark spirits or zombies. The evidence will show that this was a convenient narrative that dehumanized those who stood in their way,” Wood added.
Daybell’s lawyer, John Prior, urged the jury to focus on the facts and deliver a verdict of not guilty.
“Do not be swayed by speculations, guesses, or assumptions,” he emphasized during his opening statement. “It all boils down to facts and evidence.”
Daybell was taken into custody in June 2020 after authorities discovered the remains of Joshua and Tylee on his property in Fremont County, Idaho.
His trial is anticipated to span 10 weeks.
Fremont County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities suspect that Daybell concealed his stepchildren’s remains between September 2019 and June 2020. A formal search for Joshua, 7, and Tylee, 16, commenced in November 2019 following concerns raised by family members who had not seen or heard from the children, according to Rexburg Police Department.
Subsequent court documents revealed that Joshua’s remains were interred in a pet cemetery, while Tylee had been dismembered and burned in a fire pit.
Daybell and Vallow were indicted in 2021 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and grand theft by deception.
They also faced charges of insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with Tammy Daybell’s 2019 demise. Additionally, Chad Daybell was charged with first-degree murder in her death.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges, with prosecutors indicating their intent to pursue the death penalty.
Vallow was found guilty in May for the murders of her children and conspiracy to commit murder in Tammy Daybell’s death.
In July, Vallow was sentenced to multiple life imprisonments without the possibility of parole for the deaths.
Read more coverage related to the trial
Authorities accused Daybell and Vallow of hindering the investigation into the children’s disappearance and providing false information to law enforcement about their whereabouts. Initially, they claimed that Joshua, who was adopted and had special needs, was in Arizona with a family friend, which was later debunked by the police.
The couple abruptly left Rexburg and were located in Hawaii in January 2020, resulting in Vallow’s arrest.
As the police delved deeper into the children’s case, several mysterious deaths related to the couple emerged.
On July 11, 2019, Vallow’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow, was fatally shot by her brother, Alex Cox, shortly after filing for divorce. Lori Vallow and her brother asserted self-defense during police questioning at the time.
A grand jury in Arizona, where Lori and Charles Vallow resided, indicted her for first-degree murder conspiracy nearly two years after his demise. Cox was never charged and passed away in 2019 from a pulmonary embolism.
In October 2019, a few months post-Charles Vallow’s death, Tammy Daybell was discovered deceased, initially attributed to natural causes. Subsequent investigations and an autopsy classified it as a homicide.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow wed just two weeks after Tammy’s funeral, as reported by NBC affiliate KSL of Salt Lake City.
Prosecutors alleged that Daybell, an author of over two dozen books regarding near-death and doomsday events, along with Vallow, became fixated on apocalyptic beliefs that led them to commit the murders.
The indictments claim that the duo endorsed and propagated “religious beliefs to encourage and/or justify the homicides” of Tylee, Joshua, and Tammy.
