Tammy Daybell’s voice heard in court following emotional testimony
Apr 23, 2024, 5:20 PM | Updated: 5:36 pm
FILE - Chad Daybell was on trial for the murders of his wife Lori Vallow Daybell's two children, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and Tylee Ryan, as well as the 2019 death of Daybell's late wife, Tammy Daybell. (John Roark, The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File)
(John Roark, The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File)
BOISE, Idaho — The ninth day of Chad Daybell’s murder trial comprised of some emotional testimonies and recordings of crucial moments in the case, including one from Tammy Daybell herself.
Chad Daybell is accused of murdering his late wife, and the children of his new wife, Lori Vallow Daybell.
Click here for complete coverage of the Chad Daybell trial
First witness: David Warwick
The first witness of the day was a former friend of Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell, David Warwick, who was finishing his testimony from Monday.
The court’s questions for Warwick revolved mostly around his relationship with the couple, and his thoughts on the religious extremes the two of them ended up in.
During cross-examination, Warwick described Chad Daybell in his words as “quiet,” “kind,” “meek,” and “humble.” He struggled to answer defense attorney John Prior’s questions about “seances,” saying he didn’t have any knowledge.
Prior also asked if Warwick and his now wife, Melanie Gibb, were married to avoid testifying against each other in a criminal proceeding. Warwick denied the allegation.
Second witness: Brandon Boudreaux
Next to take the stand was Brandon Boudreaux.
Boudreaux was married to Vallow Daybell’s niece, Melanie Boudreaux, now known as Melanie Pawlowski. Because her mother had passed away when she was young, Boudreaux said his then-wife was “very easily influenced,” by Vallow Daybell, and was “looking for her acceptance.”
Similar to his testimony in Vallow Daybell’s trial, he described how close his family had been to the Vallow family when Lori Vallow was married to Charles Vallow. Boudreaux became emotional when talking about how his son would play with JJ.
Boudreaux told the story of how his then-wife became wrapped up in the religious beliefs held by Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, and how it damaged their marriage. It led to a falling out he had with Vallow Daybell, who accused him of hacking into her computer and “being gay.”
He spoke with Charles Vallow on the phone the day after, and said “he was really gracious.” It was the last time Boudreaux spoke with him.
Boudreaux then described an event that occurred later that fall on Oct. 2, 2019, after his divorce. At the time, JJ and Tylee were missing.
“Someone parked outside of my house and shot at me, tried to kill me,” he said.
Boudreaux later pressed charges against Lori Vallow Daybell on the attempt to take his life that day. She now faces another conspiracy to commit first-degree murder charge in Arizona.
Boudreaux ended his testimony detailing the way he was asked to identify JJ’s body. He received a call the day before his wedding to his new wife, in which officers claimed to have located the missing children. Shortly after, he felt he needed to drive up to Rexburg, he said. When he arrived, law enforcement asked for his help.
“They showed me some pictures of him deceased. They asked me if it was JJ,” he said. “I said yes.”
Testimony from law enforcement
Next to testify was Ryan Pillar, an officer with Gilbert Police Department, and was the lead detective on the shooting at Boudreaux’s house.
Pillar testified that the shooter inside the vehicle was suspected to be Alex Cox, and they had been tracking Cox’s movements in early Dec. 2019. Cox then died shortly afterward of unrelated causes. Upon cross-examination, Prior made sure to point out that the “common denominator” was Cox and Vallow Daybell, not Chad Daybell.
Officer Colter Cannon with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office testified next. Cannon described an event at Tammy Daybell’s house on October 9, 2019 — seven days after the incident at Boudreaux’s house.
A 911 call from Joseph Murray, Tammy and Chad Daybell’s son-in-law, who lived across the street from the couple was played. Murray told the dispatcher that Tammy Daybell had just got home, was unloading her car, and a man “wearing a ski mask,” came up to her with a paintball gun. He said the man ran “back behind the house,” and went East.
Then, a call from Tammy Daybell was played, after she also called dispatch to report the same incident.
“He went behind my house … and I went into my house and got my husband and son,” she said. “He was holding a gun like he had a rifle and he was shooting at me.”
Cannon said that authorities searched, including the FBI, but there were no shell casings or evidence of a gun used.
Last to take the stand for the day was Officer Alyssa Greenhalgh with the Rexburg Police Department. Greenhalgh responded to Tammy Daybell’s death.
The 911 call was played for the court, beginning with Tammy Daybell’s son, Garth Daybell, who told the dispatcher, seemingly in shock, that his mom was “on the ground frozen.”
Chad Daybell then took the phone and told the dispatcher that she was “clearly dead.” He became emotional and cries could be heard in the background.
Greenhalgh was called to the scene because her duty was to respond before detectives and coroners, to check for signs of foul play. Greenhalgh detailed the house as she arrived, and the condition of Tammy Daybell’s body. The photos were shown to the jury but shielded from the cameras, and others in the courtroom who did not wish to see.
Greenhalgh highlighted that the mattress moved from the box spring, consistent with someone lifting her body back on the bed. She also said Tammy Daybell had been lying on her back for ” a significant amount of time after she died.”
