State objects to Daybell's request to postpone trial due to new evidence

The prosecution in the Chad Daybell triple murder case has objected to a defense request to postpone Daybell’s trial date of April 1 due to new evidence received from Maricopa, Arizona.

While the defense filings weren’t available, the prosecution stated the defense was concerned about access to the recent evidence.

“The defendant alleges in his motion to extend time for expert disclosure and reports that the state’s discovery disclosure dated January 30th, 2024, is in part scientific in nature, and that it ‘concerns the defense that the state’s disclosure creates a situation in which the defense experts have created their opinions and have not been afforded access to all the evidence in the possession of the State,’” wrote Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake in a motion filed on Feb. 12 and sent to 7nth District Court Judge Steven Boyce.

The state has charged Daybell with the murders of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and in the deaths of J.J. Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, the children of his second wife Lori Vallow. He also faces insurance fraud after accepting $430,000 in life insurance payments following Tammy Daybell’s death.

If convicted, Daybell faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. Last year, an Ada County jury found Vallow guilty of killing her children and in conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her romantic rival. Boyce sentenced her to three life sentences with no possibility of parole.

“The defendant did not list which items he was specifically referring to, so the state can only guess as to what items he deemed ‘scientific,’” Blake said.

Blake wrote the state believes those items include the following: An FBI CAST report prepared for the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office which was only recently provided to the state of Idaho; pictures from the Idaho State Lab related to fingerprints of Alex Cox and fingerprint testing from ISP Lab and an FBI CAST report the state intends to use at Daybell’s trial.

A CAST or Cellular Analysis Survey Team involves tracing electronic equipment such as cellphones during criminal investigations.

Blake reported the state had told the defense it doesn’t intend to use the CAST report.

“However, where it was provided to the state of Idaho, the state felt the need to disclose the report,” she said. “It is important to note this defendant has all the data which was relied upon to create this report and has been in possession of said data for quite some time.”

According to Blake, the Maricopa CAST report focused on Vallow’s late brother Alex Cox’s gmail account under the name “homerjmaximus.” The defense had been provided with the gmail account information on Aug. 9, 2021, Blake said.

“It is further of note that the defendant received that same data in a previous case on July 21, 2020, approximately 10 months before he was indicted in the above captioned case,” she said. “Similarly, the Maricopa CAST also relies heavily on Verizon phone records that were provided to the defense on August 9, 2021.”

The state also provided the defense with “fingerprint material” on Aug. 9, 2021, Blake wrote.

“It was sent again because the investigator sent it to the state again as the state prepares for this defendant’s trial,” she stated. “It is the general practice of the state to re-disclose items if law enforcement sends it again to the State.”

The FBI CAST report is identical to a report used in Vallow’s trial, Blake wrote.

“The state did ask the FBI to provide further information on the report regarding Alex Cox’s visits to the defendant’s house. The state is aware the defendant is already aware of those incidents,” Blake wrote. “Also, the labelling on this report differs slightly from the last report in order to make the report easier to understand. Similar to the CAST report, this data upon which this CAST Report was created has been in the defendant’s possession since at least August 9, 2021.”

Blake wrote the state hadn’t disclosed any new scientific experts. It also doesn’t plan to utilize the Maricopa CAST Report since the defense already has possession of the fingerprint material.

“Whereas any changes to the CAST Report the state will be using is minimal, the defendant has failed to meet his burden of establishing why the court scheduling order should be altered,” she stated. “There is nothing stopping the defendant’s experts from reviewing the small changes made in the state’s CAST Exhibit. The defendant has certainly not met the burden of requesting a continuance. As such, the state respectfully requests that the Court deny the Defendant’s Motion.”

Boyce will decide whether to postpone the trial. For now it is scheduled to be held in Ada County.