Opening statements began Wednesday in the trial of the man accused of killing his wife and the two youngest children of his then-girlfriend, Lori Vallow Daybell, in a series of “doomsday” slayings that prosecutors say were fueled by “power, sex and money.”
Chad Daybell, 55, has pleaded not guilty to murder and conspiracy charges in connection to the deaths of Tammy Daybell, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.
Prosecutor Rob Wood alleged that Daybell was unsatisfied with his normal life with Tammy, and after meeting Vallow Daybell at a religious conference in October 2018, the author concocted a fantasy world where they were destined to eliminate the “dark spirits and zombies” who stood in the way of their happiness.
Chad Daybell is accused of murder and conspiracy charges in the deaths of his wife and the children of his then-girlfriend, Lori Vallow Daybell. AP
The defense claimed Lori Vallow Daybell, who was convicted last year, was the real mastermind behind the murders. Jordan Wood/EastIdahoNews.com“It was a convenient narrative that dehumanized the people who stood in their way, who they viewed as obstacles,” Wood told the jury of the alleged justification for Tammy and the siblings’ deaths.
The start of Daybell’s trial comes about a year after Vallow Daybell was convicted by a jury of killing her two children and conspiring to murder Tammy. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Now on trial for his alleged role in the crime, Wood painted Daybell as the mastermind of the grizzly murders.
Nearly a year after their meeting Vallow Daybell’s children went missing in September 2019, with Tammy dying a month later.
Siblings JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan disappeared in September 2019. FBI
While initially believed to have died due to natural causes, investigators concluded that Tammy Daybell died by asphyxia. Tammy Daybell/FacebookBy November, Daybell and Vallow Daybell were celebrating their wedding in Hawaii as prosecutors allege that the couple were illegally cashing in on life insurance and survivor benefit payments.
Law enforcement eventually found Tylee’s body, dismembered and burned in Daybell’s Idaho home, with little JJ found buried and bound nearby. Investigators also ruled that Tammy’s death was not due to “natural causes,” but by asphyxia.
Defense attorney John Prior, however, suggested that Daybell was not behind the plot to murder the three victims, but was instead a victim himself of a “very sexual, very manipulative,” Daybell Vallow.
JJ’s body was found buried under a tree in Chad Daybell’s backyard, while his sister Tylee’s remains were found in an area used as a “pet cemetery.” APPrior alleged that Daybell Vallow and her brother, Alex Cox, were behind the killings as their DNA was found on Tylee and JJ’s bodies, with investigators allegedly unable to find any samples linking back to Daybell.
Prior described Cox, who died in 2019, as Daybell Vallow’s protector who would do anything his sister wanted.
“Whenever there was a problem in Lori’s life, Alex Cox was there to solve it,” Prior told the jury.
Prosecutors say Cox was manipulated by both Daybell and Daybell Vallow to do anything they wanted in return for “spiritual rewards.”
Daybell’s trial is expected to last 10 weeks.
