DAY 25 | LIVE UPDATES: Prosecutors and defense rest in Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE LORI VALLOW DAYBELL TRIAL

Here are the sketches from today:

2:35 p.m. Jurors have just left the courtroom. Boyce asks the parties to make themselves available tomorrow. They will meet informally and then there will be formal hearings. Unclear what time proceedings will be held. I’ll break down everything that happened in court tonight at 7:30 p.m. Join me on my Facebook page or the EastIdahoNews.com YouTube channel.

2:33 p.m. Jurors are back in the courtroom. Boyce asks Archibald to advise the jurors how they are proceeding. “After consulting with my client, we don’t believe the state has proven its case so the defense rests.” A few jurors write things down. Boyce says the evidence portion of the trial is over. “There will be a jury instruction conference with counsel tomorrow.” He says they will be excused tomorrow and resume on Thursday with closing arguments.

2:31 p.m. Jurors will be dismissed for the day. Tomorrow Boyce will meet with the defense and prosecutors to work on jury instructions. Closing arguments will be heard Thursday morning.

2:30 p.m. Boyce tells Lori she has the right to exercise her 5th amendment right and can not be compelled to testify. He asks if it’s her decision to not testify. “Yes, your honor.” she says.

2:27 p.m. Boyce is on the bench. He says he has taken Rule 29 under advisement. Archibald says, “We don’t believe the state has proved its case so the defense will rest.”

2:26 p.m. We are back in the courtroom. When I walked in, Lori had a big smile on her face.

2:10 p.m. There are around 75-100 people waiting outside the courtroom to see what the defense team will say once the doors open up.

1:48 p.m. Idaho Rule 29 is the Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. Archibald is asking Boyce to consider this after reviewing all the evidence. You can read about the rule here. Boyce says everyone needs to leave the courtroom except Lori and her defense team so they can meet privately.

1:45 p.m. Lindsey Blake says they have presented evidence to support all elements of the indictment, and the case is ready to be submitted to the jury at the close of the defense’s arguments. She asks Boyce to deny the Rule 29 motion. Archibald: “If we do not present any evidence, then that issue would be moot in any event.”

1:43 p.m. “If the court needs time to review the evidence, we are not opposed to the court taking time. While the court reviews it, I will ask for a break so me, my co-counsel and investigator can meet with my client to decide how she wants to proceed with a defense. I will ask for a 15 minute recess to go to a secure location so we can have an open discussion about my client’s right to proceed.”

1:41 p.m. Archibald: “Rule 29 provides for a mechanism for the court to review the evidence that’s been submitted and determine if there’s been sufficient evidence on each count to proceed to the jury. Under Rule 29, we are asking the court to review the evidence and determine if there is sufficient evidence on each count, including overt acts, to submit the matter to the jury.”

1:39 p.m. Boyce says at this stage of the proceedings, it is common to have time for administrative matters. A motion will now be argued outside of the presence of the jury. Jurors will then be brought back in when it is done, and Boyce will announce the schedule moving forward “depending on where things land this afternoon.”

1:36 p.m. Archibald says the defense would like to make a motion outside the presence of the jury. A sidebar is being held.

1:35 p.m. Lindsey Blake says there are no more witnesses. “The state rests.”

1:33 p.m. Jurors are being brought in.

1:32 p.m. Boyce permits changes to the indictment and asks the state to prepare it before jurors go in for deliberations.

1:27 p.m. Boyce does permit a change to the word “month” when it was listed as “months” in the indictment. “Because the language of the indictment does include deception in the caption and in the charging language (rather than in the citation, where the error was made), the court would find the indictment may be amended.”

1:25 p.m. Boyce says Idaho law allows minor changes to the indictment before the state rests, but he’s annoyed. “The timing is sort of unbelievable for the number of prosecutors who have worked this case for so long. It’s not something that came up … until the end of the trial. This is the kind of motion that clearly the court doesn’t like having all of our jurors sitting around waiting for us. This could have been done by motion at any point before now.”

1:22 p.m. Wood says Lori was charged with grand theft by deception and argues there was an error in the indictment with the lettering … so it says grand theft with intent to deprive another rather than deception. You can read the indictment here.

1:21 p.m. Archibald says this is a big deal, and he is concerned about making the change. “This does affect the substantial rights of my clients, and if that’s the case, this error is fatal.”

1:16 p.m. Rob Wood says the state wants to amend some clerical errors. On two of the counts, 3a and 4a were inadvertently mismarked. Archibald asked for a copy of the amended indictment. “The indictment that was filed here and signed by a grand jury foreman on May 25, 2021 – two years ago. It has not been amended for two years. We have requested the amendment as her defense team. That’s been denied and now the state is asking to amend it two years later and Idaho code indicates an amendment of an indictment cannot be amended…so by changing the code sections of the statutes, their proposal is to change the code sections from grand theft with intent to deprive another to grand theft by depiction. These are different charges. They are not just mere clerical errors.”

1:15 p.m. Boyce is on the bench. “The state is preparing to rest but has brought up two issues. One issue is to argue an amendment or alteration to the indictment in the case.”

1:10 p.m. We are waiting on Judge Boyce to come back into the courtroom.

1:07 p.m. Here is a sketch of Nicholas Edwards from this morning.

1:02 p.m. The defense attorneys and prosecutors are back at their tables.

12:52 p.m. All of the attorneys have left the courtroom. Lori asked John Thomas something and he responded, “Just stay here.”

12:50 p.m. Boyce asks prosecutors to discuss the error with defense attorneys and then bring forth a motion. Boyce leaves the courtroom and we are in recess while the attorneys discuss the clerical mistake.

12:47 p.m. Before jurors are brought in, Blake says there is a clerical error in the indictment. She would like to get it corrected and submit an amended indictment to the court. The defense and Boyce are not aware of the error.

12:45 p.m. Boyce has some questions on the exhibits and wants to be sure everything has been admitted properly.

12:44 p.m. We are back in the courtroom. Boyce is on the bench and attorneys are at their tables.

12:43 p.m. I’m told Lori Vallow Daybell will not testify in her trial.

11:40 a.m. Attorneys are back, and Boyce is on the bench. He says we are breaking for lunch until 12:40 p.m., but some issues need to be taken up outside the presence of the jury. Jurors are dismissed. We will see what those issues are after lunch.

11:37 a.m. Many jurors are standing up and chatting with each other. Crazy to think that six weeks ago, none of them knew each other, and now they’ve spent every weekday together since April 10 listening to 61 witnesses, countless exhibits, graphic details and more.

11:33 a.m. Blake asks for a sidebar. All the attorneys leave the courtroom with the judge. Lori turns her back to the audience and writes on her notepad.

11:33 a.m. Blake has no further questions, and Edwards is released from the witness stand.

11:30 a.m. Blake has follow-up questions. She asks if other investigators prepared data that Edwards then reviewed. He says yes. Blake: “If a firearm jams or misfires, would there be any kind of a sound?” Edwards says a number of things could happen. Blake asks if he found Alex Cox’s device at or near the residence on Oct. 9, 2019. He says yes.

11:29 a.m. Thomas back at the stand and says he has no further questions.

11:26 a.m. Thomas the timelines and asks for clarification on some of the points. He talks about Alex arriving at the LDS church near Chad’s house and asks about geofencing. Edwards says he isn’t sure about geofencing and got his information from the CAST report. Thomas asks for a sidebar.

11:21 a.m. Thomas asks Edwards if he actually handled the AR firearm. “It’s a lot heavier than your average paintball gun,” Thomas says. Edwards: “It is.”

11:20 a.m. Thomas asks Edwards if he spoke with the specific kid Tammy mentioned in her email to her son. Edwards says he didn’t know who the child was – there was no name. Edwards says he spoke with the Prices next door.

11:17 a.m. Thomas asks which universities Edwards attended for his degrees. Thomas now asking about the timeline exhibit and the text messages between Alex, Chad and Zulema. He asks what the texts were about. “I don’t know what all of them were about. We don’t have the content for some of them,” Edwards says. Thomas: “They could have been talking about going to lunch or going to dinner or any number of things.” Edwards: “Correct.”

11:15 a.m. Thomas will cross-examine Edwards. Thomas asks how he’s doing and starts to review his professional background. He says before he was a police officer, he worked campus security at ISU while a student.

11:12 a.m. Edwards talks about finding the rocks under the dirt. Under the rocks were some boards, and exposed on his right was “what appeared to be the shape of a head in a black bag.” Edwards used his hands to sift through and dig in the dirt. Edwards says the FBI lead agent cut a hole in the black bag and the white bag, which exposed brown hair. “My experience after that was a flood of emotion that we found him and thoughts of my own son, who is the same age.” Blake has no further questions.

11:11 a.m. Edwards was assigned to search under a tree on the north side of the property. We now see a photo of the ground where JJ’s body was found buried. Edwards says he was instructed to slowly and methodically look for a designated spot where they believed a body might be. He could tell the contour of the earth was different, and the grass had been disturbed in the form of a rectangle.

11:09 a.m. Edwards says Tammy had two life insurance policies, and they both paid out. Chad Daybell was the recipient. Edwards says Chad and Lori got married on Nov. 5, 2019. Edwards was involved in the search at Daybell’s property on June 9, 2020.

11:07 a.m. On Oct. 20, L to C: “What’s on your agenda today?” C to L: “Need to meet with the mortuary today. I hope to be able to talk after I can get my parents to go home.” They then exchange messages over the next few days about missing each other and craving each other with heart emojis.

11:04 a.m. Now we see a slide showing the messages between Chad and Lori on the morning of Oct. 20. L to C: “I am missing you more. I need you desperately. I can’t wait.” L to C: “Need you to hold me tight. That would be great. What about the idea of you coming here. or do you want me to come there.” C to L: “The apartment is haunted. I need to be here to sort out the financials. Please come home Thursday so we can spend the night together. I seriously want you to look for a condo for us there that we can return to at the first of the month.” L to C: “I know exactly where we should be. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together.” Chad and Lori discuss the “Lili” workout plan that was mentioned yesterday. They go back and forth about being lovesick and consumed with each other. Chad to Lori: “I am feeling sad but it isn’t for the reason everyone thinks.”

11:02 a.m. The night Tammy died, her phone is active and playing games at 10:22 p.m. At 11:28 p.m., a jpeg is deleted from her phone. There are then texts between Chad and Lori. At 11:46 p.m., Alex is leaving the LDS church parking lot near Chad’s house. Alex calls Lori and then talks from 11:53 p.m. -12:09 a.m Lori texts Zulema at 12:10 a.m. Chad texts Lori at 12:35 a.m.

11 a.m. Lori was in Hawaii on Oct. 18 to 19. It shows text messages and location activity between 6:13 p.m. and 12:35 a.m. There are texts between Lori and Chad, Alex and Chad and Alex and Lori.

10:58 a.m. Thomas objects to the timeline and asks Lori was not anywhere in the area, so she has nothing to do with it.

10:56 a.m. Blake asks to admit another exhibit. It shows the timeline of events on Oct. 18-19.

10:55 a.m. The casting was being done the night of the attempted shooting. On Oct. 9, homerjmaximus searched for how to clean an AR and searched for what a Grendel AR might do through a Dodge Dakota. The Daybells owned a Dodge Dakota.

10:53 a.m. The attempted shooting occurred around 9:15 p.m. There are lots of calls and texts along with a casting that Zulema and Lori performed that day. As Fremont County deputies are on scene, there are texts between Alex and Lori, Chad and Alex and Chad and Lori. At 10:42 p.m., the deputy leaves. There is then a 38-minute phone call between Alex and Zulema. The next morning there are messages between Alex and Zulema.

10:51 a.m. Thomas objects to the exhibit but Boyce allows it in for demonstrative purposes – not as evidence. The first slide shows a timeline of Oct. 9, 2019 from 5 p.m. – 12:28 a.m.

10:49 a.m. Blake asks to admit a timeline from 2019 that Edwards created.

10:48 a.m. Edwards found on the homerjmaximus account that a search has been done for a Grendel drop – meaning the searcher was trying to figure out what adjustments needed to be made on the scope to hit your target. Scopes were recovered in Lori’s garage.

10:46 a.m. Blake asks about the email Tammy sent to her son Mark. During his investigation, Edwards says he spoke with neighbors about paintball guns. They did not own any paintball guns. Blake asks Edwards if he did additional follow-up after the shooting. He says he spoke with many people in the area and reviewed reports.

10:43 a.m. Blake shows an image of the Grendel AR gun. Edwards has used AR rifles in the military and in law enforcement. He is a certified sniper and has completed long-distance sniper courses. Edwards says a paintball gun was originally reported in Tammy’s shooting. He says a paintball gun and AR could resemble each other if the base of the weapon looks similar, and the hopper (where you feed the paintballs) could be mistaken for a scope.

10:42 a.m. Edwards learned Tammy usually parked along the long driveway at the back of the property. She would often enter through the back door. On the night of the shooting, she parked in the front of the house. This was different from her usual pattern.

10:41 a.m. Blake now shows a photo of the front of Chad’s house. We now see an overhead image of the Daybell property.

10:40 a.m. We now see a slide showing a breakdown of the 90 calls between Alex, Chad, Lori and Zulema on Oct. 9 and 10. Chad and Alex were communicating between 8:28 p.m. and 9:29 p.m. the night of Oct. 9. This would have been during and right after the time Tammy Daybell was shot at.

10:40 a.m. We are back from the break. Lori was passionately speaking with her attorneys for a few minutes during the recess. Edwards is likely the prosecution’s last witness. Jim Archibald tells me Lori still has not decided if she will be taking the stand or not.

10:10 a.m. We are now taking a morning recess. Back in 20 minutes.

10:09 a.m. Edwards says there were significantly more calls during this timeframe compared to other days. Blake asks for a brief sidebar.

10:06 a.m. There are some technical issues, so we aren’t able to see the exhibit. Edwards will describe what is on it. Between 9:12 a.m. and 2:28 a.m. on Oct. 9-10, there were 90 calls between Alex, Chad, Zulema and Lori. Chad and Alex were texting each other all day, and their devices were together in the afternoon. Four messages between Alex and Chad were sent the night of Oct. 9.

10:03 a.m. Blake argues it’s not cumulative. Boyce says the exhibit will be allowed in as a demonstrative exhibit, not as evidence.

10 a.m. Blake asks to admit another exhibit that Edwards created. Thomas objects, says the presentation is cumulative and a rehash of things that have already been said by other people.

9:58 a.m. The attempted shooting of Tammy happened on Oct. 9, 2019. She was killed 10 days later. Edwards reviewed the homerjmaximus account linked to Alex Cox. He says the device visited Sportsman Warehouse on the day of the attempted shooting. Edwards never found any connection between Alex and Tammy.

9:56 a.m. The first message we see is from Chad to Lori on Oct. 3, 2019. “Good night, angel Lili. So excited to go on our date! Fire emoji.” On Oct. 4, 2019, Chad wrote to Lori at 4:20 a.m.: “Dreaming of caressing you in your bed. I adore you and sholow (sic) you. Heart emoji.” On Oct. 4, Chad urged Tammy to visit her family in Utah.

9:55 a.m. Blake asks to admit an exhibit containing messages related to Edwards’ investigation. The defense does not object to the exhibit.

9:54 a.m. Edwards says he reviewed messages that showed Chad urged Tammy to take a trip to Utah to see her parents just weeks before Tammy died.

9:51 a.m. Edwards learned Lori was the connection between Alex Cox and Chad Daybell. Edwards learned Charles and Lori initiated a divorce in February 2019. There were never any divorce proceedings between Tammy and Chad, Edwards says.

9:50 a.m. Edwards learned Tammy was married to Chad Daybell and they were raised in Utah. They had five children and moved to Fremont County, Idaho in 2015. Edwards learned Tammy worked at an elementary school as a librarian and technology specialist. Edwards learned Chad and Tammy were married. Edwards later learned Chad married Lori.

9:48 a.m. The AG’s office was asked to assist in the investigation of Tammy Daybell’s death in April 2020. When Edwards became involved, he was aware FBI, Rexburg, Madison County and police in Arizona were investigating two missing children and the death of Charles Vallow.

9:47 a.m. Edwards describes where he went to school, his training background and law enforcement experience.

9:46 a.m. Edwards is currently deployed with the United States Army. When he’s not on military orders, he is the lead investigator at the Idaho AG’s office. He has worked since 2019 at the Attorney General’s Office. He previously worked at the Pocatello Police Department.

9:45 a.m. Attorney General Investigator Nicholas Edwards called to the stand. Lindsey Blake will question him.

9:43 a.m. Thomas has no questions for Heideman. She is released from the witness stand.

9:40 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench. Blake says prosecutors will not be admitting the exhibit and she is done questioning the witness. Jurors will be brought back in.

9:35 a.m. During the break, Lori is chatting with the defense investigator and looking at a laptop as her attorneys stand behind her.

9:33 a.m. As we wait for the recess to end, a woman on our row tells me her dog’s name is Storm, and this trial has forever ruined it. (See 9:22 a.m. on Day 24.)

9:31 a.m. Blake asks for a recess so prosecutors can confer as a team.

9:28 a.m. There will now be a potential objection by the defense that needs to be taken up outside of the presence of the jury. Jurors are leaving the courtroom.

9:27 a.m. The witness was talking so fast that I missed the first message Chad sent to Lori. It was about intertwined bodies, breathing heavy and spending intimate time together.

9:26 a.m. Chad to Lori: “I love you Elena. What a wonderful chemistry we share. Fire emoji. Fire emoji.” Lori to Chad: “I love you more. That’s so hot. I need you now more than ever. Heart emoji. Heart emoji.” Chad to Lori: “You are amazing. Please save that segment. I want to read it with you naked and relive it all.”

9:25 a.m. Next message – Chad to Lori: “I completely agree. We were definitely in new territory in your bedroom.” Chad to Lori: “Elena’s magic hand has gripped the storm. Barely able to breathe as intense waves wash over them.” Lori to Chad: “Yes she did!”

9:21 a.m. The first message Blake displays was from Lori to “bubby” – Chad Daybell – on Aug. 9, 2019. “That is pretty incredible. Fire emoji. Fire emoji. Fire emoji. Fire emoji. The fire is definitely burning. I miss you way too much. You have to stop or I might explode.” Next message from Lori to Chad: “The intensity of each encounter in my mind. One greater than the last. Fire emoji. Fire emoji. Especially this last one. I’ve never loved you more. It just keeps growing.”

9:20 a.m. Thomas says he renews his previous objections to having the messages admitted. Boyce overrules the objection and will allow the exhibits in.

9:19 a.m. Blake asks to admit messages found on the iCloud account. Thomas is reviewing the documents before they are admitted.

9:18 a.m. Blake has asked a few times if there were descriptions of intimate interactions between James and Elena in the story. Heideman says yes.

9:16 a.m. In the story, James traveled to Arizona to do a podcast with Elena and her friends. Chad traveled in January 2019 to Arizona (based on flight records), and a podcast was posted online that same month “along the lines of Chad Daybell participates in a podcast about his life experiences with Lori,” Heideman says.

9:14 a.m. In the story, James stayed at Elena’s house during the conference. In real life, Chad stayed at Lori’s house during the conference. Blake asks Heideman if there were similarities to travel between Elena in the story and Lori in real life. Elena traveled to James’ hometown in the story, and Lori traveled to Idaho Falls (about 30 minutes from Rexburg).

9:12 a.m. Chad and Lori went to the temple on Nov. 16 or 17, according to temple records. In the story, James and Elena went to the temple in mid-November.

9:11 a.m. In the James and Elena story, James Google searches Elena. Heideman says that’s consistent with Chad Googling Lori. “In the story, James authored a story. Chad also authored a story,” Heideman says.

9:10 a.m. Blake shows the jury and courtroom a photo of Chad surrounded by Lori and other women at the conference.

9:07 a.m. Blake questioning Heideman about the story. “In the James and Elena story, it beings on Oct. 26 and there are multiple images on Oct. 26 of Chad and Lori at a conference in St. George, Utah. Chad Daybell was a speaker at the conference.” In case you’re lost, Chad referred to himself as James, and Lori was referred to as Elena.

9:07 a.m. If you’re wondering what the James and Elena story is, you can check it out here.

9:04 a.m. Defense attorney John Thomas objects to having the PowerPoint admitted. Boyce says he will allow the exhibit in with instruction to the jurors that the title is demonstrative and not evidence.

8:57 a.m. On another note, Judge Boyce has issued a response to media requests about carrying the verdict live when it’s time. He says the court will stream it live. We will then stream it live on EastIdahoNews.com. Here is the order:

8:58 a.m. Heideman was tasked with organizing the entire James and Elena love story. She put it into a PowerPoint presentation. Blake asks to admit the PowerPoint.

8:53 a.m. Prosecutors call FBI analyst Nicole Heideman to the stand. Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake will be questioning her. Heideman testified earlier in the trial. Blake is asking her about the James and Elena love story found on the iCloud.

8:53 a.m. Jurors have been seated. Boyce says today’s delay is due to some court business that needed to be conducted.

8:49 a.m. Boyce is on the bench. Jurors are being brought in.

8:46 a.m. Attorneys just walked into the courtroom. Lori is writing on her yellow notepad. Defense attorney Jim Archibald has said the defense team would not decide whether Lori will take the stand and testify until the prosecution rests.

8:39 a.m. A phone just went off and the bailiff is asking who it was. Nobody is fessing up. Larry Woodcock says, “Someone’s phone went off. I’m gonna take it!” Many people laugh.

8:38 a.m. Attorneys left the courtroom and are meeting with Judge Boyce. There seem to be a lot more people at the courthouse today – especially members of the media. The audience gallery is full in the courtroom and many people watching in overflow rooms.

8:33 a.m. All the attorneys are huddled on the side of the courtroom. Lori has her back to the audience.

8:30 a.m. Lori is in the courtroom wearing a blue vest with polka dots. Her attorneys are sitting next to her. Prosecutors are at their table. Bailiff is reminding everyone of conduct rules.

8:15 a.m. Day 25 of the Lori Vallow Daybell trial is about to begin. Retired FBI Agent Doug Hart was on the stand all day yesterday explaining what he found on Lori’s iCloud accounts. Today we are expected to hear from Idaho Attorney General Investigator Nicholas Edwards. If you need a refresher on what happened yesterday, click here.