DAYBELL TRIAL: Tammy's family members testify, FBI agent reveals phone data

BOISE — Court on Monday may have run short, but emotions were high as some of Tammy Daybell’s family testified on the stand.

Chad Daybell, who was married to Tammy, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder, insurance fraud and grand theft in connection to the deaths of Tammy Daybell, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow. Last year, his wife Lori Vallow was convicted of the same charges Daybell now faces and was found guilty on all counts. Daybell faces the death penalty if he’s convicted.

On Monday, day 13 of the trial, Tammy Daybell’s cousin Patricia Later took the stand. She began crying early on in her testimony.

“It didn’t make any sense,” Later said, recalling when she was told that Tammy had died. “She was so young and healthy.”

After Later found out Tammy had died on Oct. 19, 2019, she attended the funeral and viewing, which she recalled took place the week after Tammy’s death. She saw Chad Daybell in the viewing line.

“He was just talking with people and when someone would cry he would cry but he was mostly just visiting,” Later recalled. “I felt like he should’ve been more sad, I guess.”

When she saw him, Later hugged Daybell, said she was sorry for his loss and asked what had happened. He recounted the same events he told officers — that Tammy had been coughing and threw up that night.

At the funeral, Daybell said some things that Later felt “weren’t nice.”

“He said that she wasn’t easy to live with,” Later said. “She was lazy, she had depression, which she did, but to say it out in front of the whole congregation was embarrassing to her,” Later said.

John Prior, Chad Daybell’s defense attorney, said that there was no communication between Later and Tammy during the last year of Tammy’s life. Later said that was untrue and that the two would communicate via Facebook messages and phone calls.

Later and Tammy were seven months apart in age and were like sisters — the two grew up with each other, Later said. Later would spend weeks with Tammy over the summer and the two attended high school together, often taking the same classes so they could be together.

For two years, Tammy and Later worked together at Art City Elementary School in Springville, Utah. Tammy would leave little notes for Later on her desk.

“I still have one in my nightstand,” Later said, choking up.

After Tammy moved from Utah to Idaho, the two kept in touch, texting every so often and calling once a month, Later said. Tammy attended Later’s wedding in 2016.

Hannah Munoz, Later’s daughter, then took the stand. She testified about Oct. 19, 2019, when she and her mother heard that Tammy had died. Munoz said she was confused at the sudden passing but didn’t feel comfortable asking for clarification or more details at the time.

SPECIAL AGENT DETAILS PHONE, LOCATION RECORDS

FBI special agent Nick Ballance also took the stand on Monday. Those watching virtually would not see Ballance via courtroom video, but his audio was streamed. Ballance is a member of CAST, a cellular analyst survey team that specializes in determining location based on cellphone records. He’s been a special agent since 2016.

Ballance began working on this investigation after he was contacted by law enforcement in June 2020, when J.J. and Tylee’s bodies were found in Chad Daybell’s backyard. He came prepared with a report of his findings throughout the investigation, including communication between Daybell and Lori Vallow and Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox’s cellphone location on a number of dates.

Ballance looked at cell detail records from several phones and used Google location history for this case. Google location services provide Ballance with a general location of a cellphone. Ballance used GAR, a Gladiator Autonomous Receiver, to obtain raw measurements that map out cellphone towers.

Seven phone numbers were investigated by Ballance for this case and he particularly focused on the burn pit in Daybell’s backyard, Daybell’s residence, Vallow’s residence, Cox’s residence, the two sites where J.J. and Tylee’s remains were found, a Holiday Inn Express in Springville, Utah, the library at Brigham Young University-Idaho, and a few others.

On Sept. 9, 2019 — the day after Tylee was last photographed alive — Cox’s device was at Vallow’s apartment at 2:42 a.m. By 4:37 a.m., Cox’s device was at his own apartment. That morning between 7:20 a.m. and 9 a.m., Daybell and Vallow exchanged text messages and a phone call. The two communicated with each other fairly often, Ballance said, the two talked via phone call several times that day.

Chad Daybell called Cox that morning at 8:11 a.m. The call was around three minutes long.

Cox’s device was on Daybell’s property between 9:21 a.m. and 10:57 a.m. later that morning, Ballance said. There is data that shows Cox close to where Tylee’s remains were found, Ballance said.

On Sept. 23, 2019 — the day after J.J. was last seen alive — Daybell and Vallow were texting from 3:59 a.m. to 8:35 a.m. Daybell sent the first message that morning, Ballance testified. Daybell called Cox at 9:25 a.m. that morning. The call was 38 seconds long, Ballance said.

Cox’s device was in or around Daybell’s property between 9:55 a.m. and 10:12 a.m. that morning and the device was near the area where J.J.’s body was found, Ballance said. Daybell and Vallow texted and called each other throughout the day, just like records show on Sept. 9.

Ballance was not asked to examine Melanie Gibb or David Warwick’s phone records, so he doesn’t have any data for either of their devices. Gibb and Warwick were both friends with Daybell and Vallow.

Ballance’s findings throughout the investigation allow for 100 meters as a margin of error.

Court concluded at 1:30 p.m. on Monday and will not be meeting on Tuesday. The Daybell trial is set to continue on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.