Chad Daybell sentenced to death for murdering girlfriend and wife’s 2 children as a result of a jury decision

Associated Press 01/06/2024

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A jury in Idaho unanimously agreed Saturday that convicted killer Chad Daybell deserves the death penalty for the gruesome murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children, ending a grim case that began in 2019 with a search for two missing children.

The 55-year-old Daybell dressed in a formal with a tie and shirt, was seated on his hands on his lap at the table of defense. He was not emotional when being told he’d be facing execution for murdering Tammy Daybell, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow.

When the judge asked her whether he would like to make an admission, Daybell declined.

The jury found the defendant guilty on Thursday and then voted on the death penalty after deliberating for just an hour.

Mother of all the kids has been identified as Lori Vallow Daybell, whom Chad Daybell married shortly after his wife’s passing. Vallow Daybell was convicted last year of the three murders, and is currently awaiting the trial before a judge in Arizona she is accused of murder in connection to the murder of her husband’s fourth Charles Vallow. Charles Vallow was JJ’s father.

The investigation began in the year 2019 when a family member of the victim called police. Investigators quickly realized that both children were missing and a nationwide search was launched. A year after their disappearance their remains were discovered at the site of Chad Daybell’s home. Tylee’s DNA was later uncovered on a shovel and a pickaxe in a shed that was located on the property. JJ’s corpse was wrapped in garbage bags and duct tape, as prosecutors claim.

In a trial that lasted nearly two months prosecutor’s testimony was that Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-themed fiction, proclaimed bizarre spiritual beliefs such as apocalyptic predictions and stories of being possessed by evil spirits to justify the executions.

“This has been a tough case because of its complexity, both in telling the story of an investigation that spanned years and trying to figure out the best way to present it in a way that would make sense to others,” Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake said outside the Boise courthouse following the sentence.

The relatives of the victims praised the verdict of the jury.

“This is the most justice we could ever receive. It does not alter the result however it’s positive news and provides closure for everyone who’s been injured,” Colby Ryan, the oldest daughter of Vallow Daybell, said to reporters.

Larry Woodcock, JJ’s grandfather and JJ’s grandfather, thanked the justice system, the police and all those who have been following the case and offered their apologies throughout the years.

“You are family,” the man declared. “I look at the faces, and I’m going to tell you all: I’m going to miss you.”

“We saw justice,” he said. “Equal, honest and righteous.”

Daybell’s attorney for defense, John Prior, argued in the trial that there was not sufficient evidence to link Daybell to the murders, and claimed that Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, was the responsible party. Cox passed away in the latter part of 2019 and never was accused, but Vallow Daybell was found guilty last year, and sentenced to a life imprisonment without parole.

In the sentencing hearing, Prior made it clear that the jury would decide Daybell on his character before meeting Vallow Daybell and described the woman as being a bomb that took him off of the course of a seemingly normal life. However, Daybell did not offer any evidence to mitigate the situation in the sentencing hearing. In many cases, mitigation evidence is used in order to make jurors feel empathy for a defendant to demonstrate the court that life sentences will be better as opposed to capital punishment.

Families of those who were victims made emotional testimony to jurors. JJ Vallow’s mother, Kay Woodcock, tearfully explained how her son showed compassion and empathy towards others by making gentle touches and would frequently ask whether his friends were safe. She also stated that Tylee was a sweet big sister, and it was a joy to see them both together.

“I can’t express just how much I wish for more time to create memories,” Woodcock stated, before beginning to weep.

Ryan, Vallow Daybell’s oldest child, recalled the pain of having losing the entire clan. His father had died a few years before.

“My three children will never experience the warmth of JJ’s heart, or Tylee’s hilarious and fun persona … The best way to describe the effect of their lives going away is as if it was an explosion from a nuclear weapon,” he said. “It’s not an overstatement to say that I lost everything.”

In order to impose execution, jurors needed to be unanimous in determining that Daybell was in the least of some of the “aggravating circumstances” that state law stipulates qualifies a person for the death penalty. They also needed to be able to agree that the aggravating elements were not outweighed by any other mitigating factors that could have reduced the severity of his guilt or justified a less severe sentence.

The jury ruled that there were aggravating factors, including an absolute disregard for human life, and the killings being particularly vile and brutal.

Idaho law permits execution via firing squad or lethal injection although firing squad executions haven’t been utilized in Idaho.