LIVE UPDATES | On Day 11 of the Chad Daybell trial, Fremont detective says Chad discussed with Tammy, their children light-dark scales
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LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL
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Please excuse any typos – these updates are live.
3:02 p.m. Thank you for following along with me today and Tuesday, it has been a pleasure. Kaitlyn Hart will be back tomorrow — and Nate Eaton back Monday.
3:01 p.m. Boyce says it is an inconvenient time to call another witness. Boyce is calling it a day. The state is hoping to get through witnesses coming in from out of town. Jury may be released early tomorrow.
3 p.m. State is done. Prior will not cross. Cook is released from all subpoenas.
2:58 p.m. Cook says the email was read and deleted. Charles’ email address had been blocked.
2:58 p.m. Wixom asks Cook to read a portion of the email. Charles says he has “vital and disturbing” information regarding Chad and Lori.
2:54 p.m. Cook recalls receiving requests from police to retrieve an email from Charles Vallow to Tammy Daybell.
2:52 p.m. Cook says he is in charge of “anything that plugs into the wall” for the school district — including all email accounts.
2:51 p.m. State calls as its next witness, Spencer Cook, Sugar-Salem School District technology director.
2:47 p.m. We are back. Jury being brought back into the courtroom.
2:19 p.m. Kaaiakamanu steps down, but his subpoena will be upheld. Boyce calls for sidebar followed by afternoon break.
2:18 p.m. Prior says the fact that Cox was looking into shooting through the type of car the Daybells own shows his target was likely someone in the Daybell family. Kaaiakamanu agrees.
2:16 p.m. Prior says if someone was trying to hurt someone at close range, they would use a pistol or shotgun. Kaaiakamanu says rifles can be used at close range.
2:13 p.m. Boyce will allow “limited” recross.
2:12 p.m. Kaaiakamanu says he is not aware of Chad ever reporting being afraid of anyone or concerned someone would shoot him.
2:11 p.m. Blake asks Kaaiakamanu if shooting through a windshield or a Dodge Dakota would be associated with hunting. He says no.
2:07 p.m. Tammy’s 911 call being played again.
2:04 p.m. First, Tammy’s message on Facebook tells people to be aware. Next, she says she was scared after the incident when thinking about what could have happened. Finally, she skipped Zumba because she was scared.
2:01 p.m. Blake working on publishing evidence exhibits.
1:59 p.m. Kaaiakamanu says there were no police reports filed around the time of the attempted shooting of a bipolar neighbor brandishing a gun of any kind.
1:57 p.m. He says there are different sounds, depending on the cause of the misfire.
1:57 p.m. Blake asks Kaaiakamanu to compare the sounds of a paintball gun and a misfiring AR with a suppressor.
1:56 p.m. Blake again shows the closeup of Cox’s rifle. Honestly, the threading for a suppressor does make the barrel look similar to a paintball gun.
1:54 p.m. There is now a sample photo of a paintball gun that looks very similar to Cox’s rifle.
1:54 p.m. Photo of Alex Cox’s rifle published and broadcast.
1:52 p.m. Tammy never showed officers a photo of a specific paintball gun saying, “This is the one.”
1:51 p.m. Kaaiakamanu says he is not surprised deputies did not search the internet for photos of paintball guns with Tammy.
1:50 p.m. Blake asks about the lighting around 9 p.m. in Fremont County at that date. Kaaiakamanu says that time is “about dusk.”
1:49 p.m. Blake now asking about the Daybells’ driveway. Kaaiakamanu says the driveway Tammy used the night of the attempted shooting was shorter but that the house had a second, longer driveway.
1:47 p.m. Blake now focusing on the possibility a dog thief was the person who attempted to shoot Tammy. Kaaiakamanu says that suspect was female and was not reported to have been armed.
1:46 p.m. Kaaiakamanu again says he never found anything in his investigation that Tammy’s reason for not driving long distances having to do with her medical concerns. He says Chad encouraged her to make the drive to Utah alone.
1:43 p.m. In her emails, Tammy tells her children she has not been sleeping well with Chad gone. Blake points out that Chad was in Houston with Lori at that time.
1:41 p.m. The children Chad rated as dark were 12. Blake asks if they’re alive. Kaaiakamanu says he hopes so. Blake asks if those children stood between Chad and Lori being involved. Kaaiakamanu says no.
1:40 p.m. Blake going right after the light-dark scale. Kaaiakamanu says it was Chad who rated people.
1:37 p.m. Kaaiakamanu says he spoke with Officer Greenhalgh about her investigation into Tammy’s unattended death. Nothing suspicious was reported. Prior is done. Blake will re-direct.
1:34 p.m. Prior asks Kaaiakamanu if he is aware Tammy didn’t drive because of medical concerns she had about herself. He says he did not know that.
1:31 p.m. Prior still discussing messages sent by Tammy in the days leading up to Tammy’s death. Three weeks before she died, she referenced herself not feeling well.
1:28 p.m. Prior now publishes two photos — one of Chad and Tammy and one of a raccoon in a trap.
1:26 p.m. Yes. Prior now references that email, sent in September 2019, two or three months later.
1:24 p.m. The Daybells had issues with raccoons eating their animal food. Still not certain if Prior is building to something, though he may be leading up to the message Chad sent to Tammy about shooting a squirrel and burying it in the backyard, where the bodies of JJ and Tylee were found.
1:22 p.m. They are now talking about Tammy tripping over a duck gate.
1:20 p.m. Ah. Prior is asking why Kaaiakamanu felt these were of evidentiary value — leading to his recording this in reports.
1:19 p.m. I am not sure what angle Prior is working on right now. He’s now asking about Chad preparing to run a 5K after being a “couch potato.”
1:16 p.m. The Daybells’ stake president (a Latter-day Saint leader) requested Chad’s publisher stop publishing the books. Kaaiakamanu does not know why.
1:10 p.m. We are back. Jury is being brought in to the courtroom. Det. Kaaiakamanu still on the stand with Prior cross-examining.
noon Boyce calling lunch. Back at 1. Prior says this testimony may “take a while.” Possible Kaaiakamanu will be on the stand all day after starting yesterday.
11:59 a.m. Their message threads include discussions about of people/children Chad identified as being dark.
11:58 a.m. In messages, Chad says he cleared a dark spirit from one of his children, and noted one of the children at Sunday School was a 4.2 dark spirit. Prior says no one killed the child.
11:55 a.m. Prior says these ideas are standard for most religions.
11:53 a.m. Chad discussed with Tammy and their children about the existence of light and dark spirits.
11:53 a.m. Police reports says some messages are “very clear” to have come from Chad using Tammy’s email.
11:52 a.m. Police obtained all information from Tammy’s email account. All info officers found relevant were included in reports. Included are chats between Tammy and son Mark.
11:51 a.m. Sidebar was to redact an identifier mark in the document.
11:48 a.m. Blake requests sidebar before exhibit is published.
11:46 a.m. Prior asks about Cox’s location history, then says he will save that for another day.
11:45 a.m. Prior says Chad drove the Dakota. It is objected to and sustained.
11:44 a.m. Prior says Cox was preparing to shoot at a Dodge Dakota to “do harm.”
11:42 a.m. As for penetration power. Cox searched for 5.56MM that would get through windshield or Dodge steel.
11:41 a.m. Ghillie, Prior says, could have been used for game hunting.
11:41 a.m. Search for preparing an AR for cold weather: Prior says October would have brought cold-weather hunting.
11:39 a.m. Kaaiakamanu is not aware if Cox applied for a hunting license that year but acknowledges that it would have been hunting season.
11:38 a.m. Cox searched “drop for 100-200 yards.” Prior points out that the driveway was around 30 feet (10 yards).
11:38 a.m. Cross continues. Prior returns to Cox’s search history.
11:31 a.m. Sidebar regarding line of questioning.
11:30 a.m. Prior says it is alleged Cox fired a gun, at distance, at Brandon Boudreaux and, at close range, killed Charles Vallow. He points out that Chad is not implicated in those incidents.
11:28 a.m. Cox also visited gun ranges in other cities. Prior says he had a habit of visiting gun ranges. He also says Cox had been Googling guns since 2017. Kaaiakamanu says he was not aware of those searches.
11:27 a.m. Prior shifting to the gun range logs. Asking about Cox’s arrival in Idaho in comparison to his gun range visits. Cox was at the gun range in St. Anthony from Oct. 7.
11:25 a.m. Cox’s Google search history being published again.
11:23 a.m. Prior says, because only Tammy and the gunman were present for the incident, Tammy would have been the only person to identify the instrument. Blake asks Kaaiakamanu if he knew of Tammy’s knowledge of guns. He says he had no way of knowing that, as he never spoke to her directly.
11:22 a.m. Prior asks if any officers were present during the attempted shooting. A confused Kaaiakamanu agrees that officers were not there during the shooting.
11:21 a.m. Tammy also searched airsoft guns around the same time. Prior points out that she never searched for a rifle or shotgun.
11:20 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says he did not see in police reports anything about that search
11:18 a.m. Tammy searched paintball guns on Oct. 10 1t 3:29 a.m. UTC. Would make the search at 9:29 p.m. local time immediately after the incident.
11:16 a.m. Prior brings up UTC — universal time coding. Idaho is UTC-6.
11:12 a.m. Prior points out that Tammy never included the words “gun” or “rifle” in the Facebook post, in which she describes the paintball gun as being empty.
11:11 a.m. Prior having Kaaiakamanu read a Facebook post from Tammy, in which she describes the paintball gun.
11:09 a.m. Just got a pretty clear view of Chad’s left hand. For those wondering, he is NOT wearing a wedding band.
11:07 a.m. Kaaiakamanu sticking strong with the fact that, in the daylight, he could tell the difference. He points out that Tammy described it being dark in the 911 call.
11:06 a.m. Chad is either taking notes or drawing something as Prior and Kaaiakamanu discuss the difference between a rifle and a paintball gun.
11:05 a.m. Prior publishes a photo of a paintball gun and says someone can clearly see the hopper. Kaaiakamanu says, if they can clearly see it.
11:04 a.m. Prior: “We can agree that the 911 call speaks for itself.”
Kaaiakamanu: “Yes. Having a rifle and shooting at her.”
Prior: “Is that what you heard?”
Kaaiakamanu: “Yes.”
11:02 a.m. Prior wants the jury to focus on the facts that Tammy never directly says it was a gun, though she did say the man held the paintball gun like it was a rifle.
11:01 a.m. Prior playing the call again
10:57 a.m. She also says, “It’s so dark out here,” and “He was holding the gun like it was a rifle.”
10:56 a.m. She says, “I could tell it was a paintball thing.”
10:55 a.m. Prior again playing Tammy’s 911 call.
10:52 a.m. Tammy said she wonders who would wander the neighborhood in a mask carrying a paintball gun. He didn’t try to rob or hurt her.
10:51 a.m. Tammy also refers, in the email, to the gun as “not-real.”
10:49 a.m. Kaaiakamanu was not aware of the fact that a bipolar teenager was “contacting” people in the neighborhood. Prior says this was another fact omitted from police reports.
10:48 a.m. In her email, Tammy says “they suspect” the assailant was a bipolar teenage neighbor.
10:46 a.m. Prior says an AR, even with a suppressor, would make a noise loud enough for Chad and Garth to hear inside the house. Kaaiakamanu says it depends on the type of round used.
10:45 a.m. Prior says primary differentiator between a gun and paintball gun is the hopper.
10:44 a.m. Prior suggests that, because Tammy was at close range to the man, she would have known what was being pointed at her. Kaaiakamanu says yes, in daylight.
10:42 a.m. She was more annoyed than scared because the man was standing between her and the door. He didn’t come toward her.
10:41 a.m. Prior asks Kaaiakamanu to reread a portion of the email Tammy sent to Mark. She describes hearing the “whooshing” of an empty paintball gun.
10:37 a.m. We are back. Jury being brought back into the courtroom.
10:10 a.m. Boyce calls for the mid-morning break. Back in 20.
10:09 a.m. Prior says Tammy Google-searched photos of paintball guns and pointed out the one she saw the night of the incident. He then says Kaaiakamanu did not know about that because it was not included in police reports.
10:08 a.m. Prior says it would be “very difficult” to confuse a hopper and a rifle scope. Kaaiakamanu disagrees, saying someone who does not know the difference could make that confusion.
10:07 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says he understands the difference between a paintball hopper and a rifle scope.
10:05 a.m. Prior now asking about the location of the attempted shooting, in relation to the Daybell home and driveway.
10:03 a.m. Price reported someone snatching her dog earlier the week of the attempted shooting.
10:01 a.m. Reagan Price (who lives “kiddy-corner” to the Daybells).
10:01 a.m. Prior asking about one of the Daybells’ neighbors.
10 a.m. Prior publishes the email introduced earlier.
9:58 a.m. Prior asks to call Det. Kaaiakamanu “Officer K.” I understand that request personally.
9:57 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says Lori and Chad were married three days after Tammy’s funeral. State ends direct. Prior will cross.
9:56 a.m. The emails addressed an affair between Chad and Lori.
9:55 a.m. Blake now asking about emails from Charles Vallow to Chad and Tammy Daybell.
9:54 a.m. Kaaiakamanu did not get any info. on devices related to Chad the night of the attempted shooting. He did get location data for Garth, who was at work.
9:52 a.m. The church is 2.6 miles from the Daybell home. The device shuts off until after 11 p.m.
RELATED | The latest timeline in the cases of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell
9:51 a.m. Cox was near the church for around 40 minutes, from around 10:05 to around 10:45 p.m. The attempted shooting occurred around 9:45 p.m., you’ll remember.
9:50 a.m. Three other devices passed through both of those locations the same day. Kaaiakamanu spoke with two of the owners, was unable to get ahold of the third — both lived in that area.
9:49 a.m. Geofence data gathered by Kaaiakamanu showed Cox around the Daybell home and a Latter-day Saint church near the house (within 150 meters on both) the day of the attempted shooting.
9:44 a.m. Officers did not collect a paintball gun from Cox’s apartment. There were no other reports of a masked man pointing a paintball gun at anyone around that time.
9:43 a.m. Kaaiakamanu discussed with other officers/detectives regarding Cox’s device locations. He says one of Cox’s devices was found near the Daybell residence the afternoon of the “attempted shooting” — as Blake calls it.
9:42 a.m. Kaaiakamanu now describing a closeup of Cox’s gun, with a threaded muzzle break, which is where a homemade suppressor could have been attached.
9:40 a.m. Blake now referring to Cox’s searches. He was looking into drilling a baffle to make a suppressor.
9:38 a.m. A photo of a gun now published — it was found inside Cox’s apartment. It has a large scope on top that could be mistaken for a hopper.
9:37 a.m. Tammy did not go to Zumba the following night because she did not want to be out after dark alone.
9:34 a.m. She was in shock. Describes seeing the hopper on the top of the gun — a container that holds paintballs. She says she wasn’t scared until after the man ran away and she thought about what could have happened.
9:32 a.m. The email is referring to the gun incident. Tammy describes the incident to her son — she thought the man behind her was Chad or Garth, turned around to find a man in a ski mask pointing a gun at her.
9:29 a.m. Tammy sent Mark Daybell an email on Oct. 13, 2019. The email will not be read into the record, and I cannot read it on the YouTube video.
9:28 a.m. Records from Tammy’s phone now being published.
9:27 a.m. After sidebar, Blake will retag the exhibit.
9:24 a.m. New evidence being presented. Affidavit for records from Tammy’s phone.
9:20 a.m. Kaaiakamanu handed a new exhibit — financial records from gun range. Cox was at the range under the name C. Quint. He was there five times from Oct. 7 to Oct. 15, 2019. Tammy died on Oct. 19, 2019.
9:18 a.m. On Oct. 12, Cox searches information regarding ghillie suit and whether a gun will shoot through the steel shell of a Dodge Dakota — the same vehicle Tammy would have been driving.
9:17 a.m. Kaaiakamanu says he searched temps for the day of the Tammy incident — it was 26 degrees.
9:15 a.m. Cox searched how a rifle responds to cold weather the day after the Tammy shooting incident.
9:14 a.m. The following day — day of Daybell shooting incident — Cox searched for AR uppers (attachments for an AR-type rifle).
9:12 a.m. Exhibit is published. It is a PowerPoint about Oct. 8, 2019. Alex Cox Googled “shooting drop” the day before the Tammy Daybell shooting.
9:08 a.m. Blake is having some difficulty publishing the exhibit to the courtroom.
9:07 a.m. The technical difficulties from yesterday seem to be going on again today.
9:04 a.m. Blake will continue direct of Kaaiakamanu.
9:02 a.m. We are back, and the jury is being brought into the courtroom.
8:45 a.m. State asks for a brief recess. We will be back on the record — with the jury and the return of Fremont County Det. Vince Kaaiakamanu at 9.
8:45 a.m. Boyce will allow that statement as evidence.
8:43 a.m. Final motion: Tammy told a co-worker she felt the best she has “ever felt in (her) life.” Boyce says there is caselaw supporting this statement’s admission.
8:42 a.m. Boyce says he finds no caselaw supporting the second statement’s admission. He will deny that as well. Again, without prejudice.
8:40 a.m. Second statement, in which Tammy told a co-worker Chad called her a zombie, now being discussed.
8:38 a.m. Boyce rules that statement will not be allowed — saying it represents hearsay. Denial is without prejudice, meaning it could be revisited to impeach defense arguments.
8:37 a.m. Boyce says the statement is vague — her co-worker alleges Tommy said Chad wants her to up her insurance “before (she) retire(s).” There was no discussion she was preparing to retire, Boyce says.
8:35 a.m. State cites caselaw supporting the statement because it has to do with her physical health. Defense argues it has to do with her financial situation.
8:34 a.m. One of the items the state would like to introduce is a statement Tammy made to one of her co-workers regarding Chad wanting her to up her life insurance policy.
8:32 a.m. Defense (Prior) argued that the new testimony is hearsay.
8:31 a.m. Boyce has called the courtroom to order. We are underway. Chad is in a blue shirt with a red tie.
8:24 a.m. Good morning. Kalama here. I will attempt to fill in for Nate again today. The jury is not expected to return to the courtroom in Boise until around 9 a.m., as Judge Boyce will hear oral arguments regarding a trio of motions filed before ruling. The motions are in regard to testimonies the state would like to be admitted despite late disclosure.
