LIVE UPDATES | Jury selection continues on day 5 in Chad Daybell trial

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL

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12:40 p.m. Boyce and attorneys are back in the courtroom. The judge says enough jurors have been secured for preemptory challenges. That will happen at 10 a.m. Monday. Court is dismissed for the day. Will recap everything tonight on ‘Courtroom Insider.’

12:33 p.m. Correction – we have 57 jurors, not 58. One of the jurors who originally advanced did not come back with the group. So it’s 57 in the pool.

12:32 p.m. Boyce calls for a sidebar with the attorneys. They go back into his chambers.

12:31 p.m. Boyce tells the jurors to avoid researching the case and advises them not to watch the news.

12:30 p.m. State passes the group for cause. Defense agrees. With these five jurors, we have 58 in the pool. Boyce says jurors will likely return Monday morning. That’s when preemptory challenges would occur.

12:29 p.m. Back in the courtroom. There are five who made it from the panel. 2 men, 3 women.

11:50 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench and attorneys are at their tables. There are private matters with the remaining jurors that will be discussed outside the view of the public. We are leaving the courtroom. Will resume updates when we’re back inside the courtroom.

11:48 a.m. During the sidebar, Chad Daybell leans over and reviews the juror’s questionnaire on the laptop screen.

11:46 a.m. Juror takes her seat. Prosecutors have no questions for her but Prior wants to speak with the juror outside of public view. Boyce asks for a quick sidebar. White noise plays.

11:45 a.m. Prosecutors and defense have no questions for the man. Juror #56 advances.

11:42 a.m. New juror takes his seat. No questions about hardship or bias. We move straight to death penalty questions. The juror opposes the death penalty but says he can put aside his feelings and follow instructions given to him in the case.

11:40 a.m. State has no questions about the death penalty for the man. Prior asks a clarifying questions. Boyce advances the juror to the pool. He is #55.

11:37 a.m. Prior has no further questions. Boyce will now discuss the death penalty with the juror. He supports the death penalty but will follow the facts, laws and instruction given to him.

11:33 a.m. While the man says he doesn’t have an opinion on the case, he says his wife does. He commits to not talk about the trial with his wife. Wood has no more questions, Prior begins voir dire. He is concerned that the juror’s wife has a strong opinion on the case and could affect the juror.

11:29 a.m. The juror takes his seat and Wood begins questioning him about his media consumption on the case. He has seen local news stories but hasn’t researched the case. He says he knows there were deaths but he doesn’t know the facts based on what he’s seen in the media. He has no opinions on the case.

11:28 a.m. Batey moves to excuse the juror, Prior agrees. Boyce dismisses the juror. Next juror will be escorted into the courtroom.

11:27 a.m. Batey questions the juror about what she knows about the case. “There’s three people dead and they found the bodies in Mr. Daybell’s backyard in Rexburg,” she responds. She also watched ’48 Hours’ and says she has formed an opinion that Daybell is guilty.

11:25 a.m. Next juror takes her seat. Boyce asks her how she is feeling about the situation. The lady says she has panic attacks and admits she has seen news about the story. She has also watched ‘Dateline.’

11:22 a.m. She is generally opposed to the death penalty but believes she could put aside her feelings and follow court instruction. Prosecution has no questions, defense doesn’t either. Boyce advances this juror forward. She is #54.

11:20 a.m. We are back in the courtroom after an extended break. Boyce picks up with the juror and asks her about death penalty.

10:44 a.m. Boyce returns to the bench. We are taking a break and will be back in 20 minutes.

10:38 a.m. The lady is a mom and is asked about being away from her kids. She doesn’t consider it a big hardship but says there will always be concerns – she’s a mom. Wixom has no further questions, Prior asks some questions about the woman’s media consumption. Wixom asks for a sidebar with the judge. White noise is played.

10:35 a.m. Next juror walks in. Rocky Wixom asks about her knowledge of the case. She says she mainly remembers the billboards when the kids went missing. The lady does not watch the news. She doesn’t know where the crimes occurred and says she has not firmed any opinions about the case.

10:33 a.m. Woman opposes the death penalty but she feels she could impose it based on the facts, law and instructions given by the judge. State has no further, neither does defense. Boyce advances the juror. She is #53.

10:31 a.m. Next juror takes her seat. Rob Wood asked the lady if she has any concerns about childcare if chosen to serve. The lady says she does not. Prior has no questions. Boyce now asking about the death penalty.

10:29 a.m. The next juror is being summoned to the courtroom. Just glanced outside and it’s snowing in Boise.

10:26 a.m. Boyce asks clarifying questions on the death penalty before granting the request to have her dismissed. The juror leaves.

10:23 a.m. The juror strongly opposes the death penalty and says she will not vote for it. Batey thanks the woman for her honesty. The woman says she will not impose the death penalty under any circumstances. Batey moves to excuse the juror. Prior has follow-up questions.

10:20 a.m. Next juror takes her seat. Ingrid Batey asks the woman about an answer on her questionnaire where she said there should be a higher burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. She says she could follow the judge’s instructions. Prior has no questions. Boyce now asking about the juror’s view on death penalty.

10:17 a.m. First juror of the group takes her seat. The lady has since moved from Ada County to Canyon County. She no longer lives here so Boyce says she needs to be excused. She leaves.

10:14 a.m. Prior wraps up and individual voir dire will commence. Boyce says we will do this until 10:30ish before we have a morning break.

10:12 a.m. Prior asks if jurors agree the photos are being shown to sensationalize. Two disagree and say they are being shown because they are evidence. Prior follows up by explaining the pictures don’t automatically mean Chad is guilty.

10:09 a.m. Prior mentions his “beautiful girlfriend” and all of their future plans. He asks the jurors if just because they talk about their future, does that mean they have an agreement to get married. Jurors say no. Prior goes on to talk about graphic photos that will hurt their hearts. “They hurt my heart. I look at these pictures and it hurts my heart.”

10:05 a.m. Update on why this new group was brought in this morning. I’ve learned that it’s common to go above the number and add additional jurors. It has been several days since the first group was brought in. If there was an issue with anyone in the previous groups and jurors needed to be dismissed (maybe they went home and researched the case, etc.), the number could drop below 50 – causing a problem before peremptory strikes. If several of members of this group pass through today, Boyce may feel comfortable stopping. Guess we will see!

10:03 a.m. Prior asks if anyone believes Chad needs to testify to prove that he’s innocent. None of them raise their cards. Prior explains Chad doesn’t need to present any facts or evidence and the jury can’t hold that against them.

9:58 a.m. Blake asks the jurors if any of them have come in with a preconceived notion about what evidence should be presented. None of them raise their cards. Prior will now conduct voir dire for the defense.

9:55 a.m. Blake mentions the Kansas City Chiefs winning the Super Bowl this year and asks some jurors if everyone should get a ring. They agree everyone should get the ring. She compares this to conspiracy — regardless of the level of involvement, all participated.

9:51 a.m. Blake talking about the cheesy eggs her little boy wants every morning. The recipe: eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper. He wants it very specific. One juror says her dad’s cheesy eggs are the best. Many laugh. Blake will compare this to following the court’s instructions exactly as given by the judge.

9:48 a.m. Blake asks the jurors if they will have concerns over seeing graphic photos. One juror asks if looking away or closing her eyes would be acceptable. Blake asks further questions about the woman’s concern. She moves on to the airplane analogy and the importance of “landing the plane.”

9:44 a.m. Blake now addresses the remaining group of nine. She mentions the term brutal honesty and how important it is to be completely honest during the voir dire process.

9:43 a.m. Many are asking why this new group of jurors was brought in for voir dire. I have reached out to several people will clarification and will let you know when I receive an answer. Other reporters in the courtroom are also confused.

9:41 a.m. Another juror has plane tickets for a friend’s wedding in Texas that would be during the trial. Prior moves to have the juror dismissed. Boyce grants the dismissal.

9:39 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench and has some questions for a juror about access to social media. She has seen things pop up on her feed about the case but she hasn’t read further.

9:33 a.m. Boyce asks several questions about whether the jurors know the attorneys, Daybell, or if they have any other reasons why they can’t give the case their attention and be fair. Prior asks for the brief sidebar. Attorneys huddle with Boyce on side of the courtroom.

9:31 a.m. There are 10 jurors left in the group. Boyce asks them if they have knowledge of the case and three raise their red cards. They will be asked about this during individual voir dire.

9:29 a.m. The next juror has paid jury leave through his employer but it only covers two weeks. Blake motions to have the juror removed, Prior agrees. Boyce dismisses the juror.

9:25 a.m. The next juror is a teacher. Jury service would put her out the remainder of the school year during testing season. She would have to go in on weekends to prepare her plans for the substitute. She has other jobs too. Blake motions to dismiss the juror, Prior agrees. Boyce grants the request.

9:23 a.m. Next juror started a new job 12 days ago. He said he discussed with his employer his jury service but they didn’t give him much of a response. Blake motions to have the juror removed for cause based on hardship. Prior agrees. Boyce dismisses the juror.

9:22 a.m. Boyce says he’s disappointed with the man’s employer not accommodating him for jury service and they are likely involved in litigation all the time so they should understand the civic duty of their employees.

9:16 a.m. First juror with a concern is a software developer at a large company. He is worried his employment could be in jeopardy and he could be punished if he is picked for the jury. Blake asks if his concern would be a distraction – the man says it would be. Blake moves to dismiss the juror, Prior agrees. Boyce excuses the juror.

9:15 a.m. Boyce asks the jury if serving for 8-10 weeks would create a hardship. Several jurors raise their red cards.

9:12 a.m. Boyce tells the jurors that they may be excused and if they are, they should not be offended.

9:09 a.m. Boyce explains what voir dire is. Voir dire: a preliminary examination of a witness or a juror by a judge or counsel.

9:06 a.m. Boyce introduces himself and is reading the charges to the jurors. He explains the defendant never has to prove his innocence and a guilty verdict must be beyond a reasonable doubt. He tells them they must follow the instructions and not discuss the case with others.

8:58 a.m. Peremptory strikes won’t be happening yet as this new group of jurors will be questioned this morning. There are 14 in the group – 9 women, 5 men. Unclear when this process of voir dire will stop and how many more groups of jurors will be questioned. Boyce said on the first day 50 jurors were needed. We hit 52 yesterday.

8:55 a.m. Boyce is on the bench. He says we are continuing with voir dire today and a new group of jurors will be brought in. Two of the jurors in this next group did not show up this morning.

8:49 a.m. Judge Boyce is not yet on the bench. Once he arrives, the live stream will start. You can watch it here.

8:47 a.m. There are more people in the gallery today – nearly 20 including Vicki Hoban, Tammy Daybell’s aunt. Chad Daybell is sitting next to his attorney, John Prior. At the prosecutors table: Madison Co. Prosecutor Rob Wood, Fremont Co. Prosecutor Lindsey Blake, Special Prosecutor Ingrid Batey and Fremont Co. Dep. Prosecutor Rocky Wixom.

8:45 a.m. We are back in the courtroom for day 5 of jury selection in Chad Daybell’s case.