New footage of Daybell's arrest shown to the public

A  memorial service for J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan will be held on Saturday, April 27, almost four years after their bodies were discovered on Chad Daybell’s property. Their service will be held at The Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Seating is first come, first served.

BOISE — For the first time ever, the public saw video footage of Chad Daybell in a police car. 

On Monday at Daybell's trial at the Ada County Courthouse, the state called several witnesses to the stand, two in particular standing out — two men who were involved in the search of the Daybell property on June 9 and 10, 2020, when the bodies of J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan were discovered at the back of the property. 

The new footage of Daybell in a police car was used as evidence by the state prosecutors Monday; the trial began with jury selection on April 1 and began opening statements last week. 

Daybell is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder, insurance fraud and grand theft in connection to the deaths of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and Daybell’s late wife, Tammy Daybell. 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. 

The footage shown during Monday's proceedings was of Daybell shortly after he left his home while his property was being searched for human remains, Rexburg Police Department Detective Eric Wheeler testified. When Daybell left the scene, he was on his way to visit his lawyer, defense attorney John Prior said.

In the footage, Daybell's daughter Emma approaches the vehicle and talks to him. 

"I love you so much," she said, audibly emotional. "I didn't want you to be alone." 

Emma and Daybell discussed finances as he sat in the police car, the door ajar.  Daybell instructed Emma to pay the mortgage and other bills while he's gone. He gives her his wallet and tells her about $9,000 he has stashed in his son Mark's room. Emma says she's been talking with Vallow through the Telmate system (a way for inmates to contact people outside of prison) and Daybell says she typically needs $30 deposited into her account for commissary money. 

Even though at that time Daybell had not been officially arrested or charged with anything, Emma suggested that he might not be out anytime soon. 

"Yeah ... I'm not coming back," Daybell responded. "... It'll work out. It's all in the Lord's hands." 

Emma assured Daybell that she and the kids would be OK. 

"They found human remains," Emma said. "I could see in your face that surprised you."

While in the police car, Daybell looked over his shoulder several times in the direction of the children's burial grounds in his yard, Wheeler said.

As Ray Hermosillo, a lieutenant in the detective division for the Rexburg Police Department, previously testified, J.J.'s body was located near the pond area behind the property, and Tylee's remains were found near the fire pit. Rexburg Police, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office and the FBI all assisted in the search on June 9, 2020. 

Wheeler was involved with the search for J.J. and Tylee's remains that day, mainly tasked with maintaining scene security, traffic safety and crowd control. During the search, Wheeler observed the found remains of J.J. and helped uncover Tylee's remains.

Before Daybell attempted to leave the scene, he contacted Vallow. Their conversation was played during Madison County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Vince Kaaiakamanu's testimony.

The call was made around 11 a.m., Kaaiakamanu said during his testimony. He reviewed that conversation later that day, June 9. Recorded phone calls like this cannot be edited, Kaaiakamanu said. He verified that the audio is the same as the day he first heard it. 

It's the same call that Hermosillo referenced during his testimony last week.

In the call, Vallow asks Daybell if he's OK. At that time, over 30 officers were at Daybell's property, Kaaiakamanu said. 

"They're searching the property," Daybell said in response. "... I'm glad you called. We'll see what transpires."

"OK. What do you want me to do? Pray?" Vallow said during the phone call. 

"Yeah, pray," Daybell said. "... I love you."

Kaaiakamanu testified that he has personally reviewed several conversations between Vallow and Daybell while Vallow was an inmate. The tone of this phone call was different from their typical conversations, Kaaiakamanu said, although at the time, Daybell's property was being searched, which could contribute to a tonal shift. 

After making the phone call to Vallow during the search of his backyard, Daybell went to his daughter Emma's home, kitty corner to his property. He was there for over an hour, Wheeler said in his testimony.

After his stop at Emma's home, Daybell drove away from his property so quickly that "you could hear his accelerating," Wheeler said. The speed limit outside of Daybell's property is 55 mph, Wheeler testified. The thought that Daybell was running from the scene crossed Wheeler's mind, he testified.

The speed of Daybell's exit from the property could be indicative of guilt, Wheeler said. 

Daybell was stopped and complied, was cuffed and put into a police vehicle. Wheeler testified that Daybell did not look afraid but did look nervous as he looked over his shoulder at his property several times. He could have been curious as to what was happening on his property, Wheeler said. It is also common for people to distance themselves from a crime scene, Wheeler said. 

Daybell was then told that they had found J.J., Wheeler said. Daybell was transported to Fremont County Jail shortly after. 

TAMMY DAYBELL'S DEATH

During Monday's proceedings, Lt. Joseph Powell of the Fremont County Sheriff's Office was called to the stand to discuss Tammy Daybell's death. When Tammy died on Oct. 19, 2019, the death report says she died of natural causes. On Oct. 31, 2019, law enforcement in Arizona called Powell about Tammy's death and asked for a copy of the report. 

After reviewing the report of Tammy's death, Powell asked for her medical records and sent the information off to Gilbert (Ariz.) Police Department, which then asked Powell for help locating a gray Jeep Wrangler, which was believed to be in Fremont County. The Jeep was involved in an attempted shooting. 

Powell checked Daybell's property for the Jeep, along with other addresses, and ended up surveilling Vallow's apartment in November 2019. 

According to Powell, Tammy didn't go to the doctor very often. In fact, Daybell said that the last time Tammy had been to the doctor was two months before her death for an arm injury. Tammy was on the antidepressant fluoxetine and Tramadol, but other than depression, Powell didn't see anything that was unusual. 

Because of that, Powell got a warrant for exhumation. Tammy's children were unaware of this, Powell said during cross examination with Prior. Images of the exhumation were shown to the court and the jury, along with an image of Tammy's body before autopsy. 

During cross-examination, Prior pointed out anemia is listed on Tammy's record, along with depression and anxiety. Her family also has a history of depression, cancer, thyroid issues and heart disease. 

Powell did not look at Tammy's death certificate before her exhumation. The cause of death on the certificate says pulmonary edema, Prior said. According to Prior, the morning Tammy died she had a coughing fit around midnight and vomited. According to an account Daybell gave the day his wife was found dead, Tammy fell out of the bed later that morning. He told her to get up and when she didn't, he found her dead, cold and stiff. 

Daybell did not want an autopsy of his wife, Powell said. During Tammy's exhuming process, Powell was aware of Daybell's "quick" marriage after his wife's passing. The deaths surrounding Vallow were a factor in Powell's decision to exhume Tammy, he said. 

The trial will resume on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.