LIVE UPDATES | Jury to be finalized in Chad Daybell murder trial

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL

11:54 a.m. Court is dismissed.

11:53 a.m. Boyce says opening statements will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

11:51 a.m. Boyce says he has concerns about media coverage and isn’t going to allow backchannel communication through his staff or court personnel. He says the confidentiality of the jurors will be protected and some jurors were lost during voir dire because of confidentiality concerns.

11:48 a.m. Boyce is back on the bench. He says the gag order he previously issued is in effect until after opening statements. Blake says new concerns have been raised and asks to extend the order through the duration of the trial. Prior concurs with the state. Boyce says he will take the matter under advisement but will extend it now through April 10.

11:36 a.m. Boyce going to meet with the jurors but we are taking a brief recess. When he comes back, he wants to discuss the non-dissemination (gag) order. Will be back shortly.

11:35 a.m. There are 10 men and 8 women on the jury. The exit the courtroom and walk into the jury room.

11:34 a.m. Boyce tells the jury they will be back here on Wednesday morning. He reminds the public and media about the courtroom conduct order and gag order that are currently in effect. The jurors will get new numbers when they return on Wednesday.

11:31 a.m. Judge dismisses remaining jurors. They stand up and exit the courtroom.

11:30 a.m. Boyce explains rules to the jurors – they can’t talk about the case during breaks and they need to wait until deliberations. He tells them to ignore any improper communication and if someone tries to talk with them about the case, tell them they cannot talk about it.

11:27 a.m. Prosecutors and defense approve the jury. Boyce thanks the group and says on Wednesday morning, the final jurors will return for opening statements and that’s when they will be sworn in.

11:26 a.m. Boyce reads the numbers. He asks those people with numbers who were not read to stand up.

11:23 a.m. Boyce will announce jurors will be excused.

11:22 a.m. The attorneys are back in the courtroom and Boyce is on the bench.

11:15 a.m. Peremptory challenges took a little over 30 minutes. Boyce asks for a brief sidebar with the attorneys. They go back into his chambers.

11:14 a.m. The prosecutors are making their final choice in eliminating a juror. Prior now makes his and it heads back to the prosecutors so they can mark it down. Now the paper goes to Judge Boyce.

11:13 a.m. Prior makes his 15th choice, the sheet goes back to the prosecutors and up to Boyce.

11:11 a.m. The prosecutors now choose their 15th juror for elimination. They are reviewing the list as a team. They’ve taken the longest on this one versus any of the others. Blake signs the paper and it moves over to Prior.

11:09 a.m. Prosecutors will now makes their 14th selection. They whisper between the four of them and the bailiff walks the sheet over to Prior. He has not conferred with Daybell (at least in the courtroom) on any of their choices. Paper goes back to prosecutors and up to Boyce.

11:08 a.m. Each side has selected their 13th choice. They will choose three more and, at that point, 32 of the jurors will get to go home.

11:06 a.m. Boyce comes off his bench to talk with the bailiff. It appears Prior made a mistake as he’s taken the paper and audibly says, “Sorry.” He then appears to correct it and the sheet is handed to Boyce. Now it’s headed back to the prosecutors for their 13th choice.

11:05 a.m. Before court today, one of the bailiffs said it would be like church in here – very quiet. He’s right – except there aren’t any crying babies.

11:04 a.m. Blake signs the paper indicating their choice for the 12th juror to be eliminated. Prior makes his choice. The paper goes back to Blake so they know who he chose. Then it’s passed up to the judge.

11:02 a.m. The 11th juror for elimination has been selected by prosecutors and defense.

11:01 a.m. Peremptory challenges continue as prosecutor and defense each choose a tenth person for elimination.

11 a.m. Seated next to me in the courtroom is Tom Evans, a juror who served in Lori Vallow’s trial. One year ago this week he was in the same spot as the jury in here – but he was one who made it to the final pool. He had no clue what was ahead of him.

10:58 a.m. The ninth person has been chosen by prosecutors and Prior. As Boyce is given the paper, he looks over at the jury pool to get a look at who is going home.

10:56 a.m. Blake whispers with Batey and Wixom and then indicates which juror they are eliminating for their eighth choice. The paper is passed to Prior. He makes his selection, then back to prosecutors, then up to Boyce. We are halfway done.

10:55 a.m. Prosecutors make their seventh selection, as does Prior. Boyce signs the paper.

10:54 a.m. It’s very quiet in the courtroom. Most in the jury pool are looking straight ahead, some have heads bowed.

10:53 a.m. The sixth juror for elimination is now being picked by the prosecutors. Prior makes his choice and, once again, the judge will initial the decisions.

10:50 a.m. The prosecutors select their fifth juror. The list goes over to Prior. He initials their selection and then makes his own. The bailiff takes the paper back to the prosecutors, so they can see who Prior chose, and then it’s given to Boyce.

10:49 a.m. Prosecutors choose their fourth juror for elimination. Bailiff gives Prior the paper. He makes his pick. List goes back to prosecutors and back up to Boyce.

10:47 a.m. Blake and Wood whisper to each other before picking their third juror. Prior now choosing his. The sheet goes back to the prosecutors so they can make a note of it. The bailiff then hands the paper to Boyce.

10:46 a.m. Prosecutors select their second choice. Prior chooses his. Paper goes back to prosecutors so they can see who he chose. Then it goes up to Boyce.

10:44 a.m. State picks their first juror. Prior now looking at the sheet. As he marks it, Daybell looks down at the paper and then up at the jury. Bailiff now walks the paper to Boyce.

10:43 a.m. State will go first with peremptory challenges. They will note on a paper who they want removed from the pool. Defense will then get a turn. It will go back and forth. Boyce will then initial and approve the challenges.

10:42 a.m. Judge asks the four jurors who are not needed if they want to leave. Three of them raise the cards and they exit the courtroom. There are 50 remaining in the pool. Blake and Prior pass the jury pool.

10:41 a.m. Everyone is back. The juror is not a resident of the county so she was excused.

10:37 a.m. Boyce back on the bench and asks jurors if any of them are currently not a resident of Ada County. One juror raises her red card. The judge and the attorneys leave the courtroom with the woman. Law requires that those on the jury are residents of the county.

10:36 a.m. Blake asks to approach. The attorneys huddle in the corner of the courtroom while white noise is played. Daybell sits at his table looking at the jurors.

10:34 a.m. Boyce says because there are extra jurors, five of them will not need to serve. It’s the jurors who were part of the group on Friday. He thanks them for their service and they are excused. They will remain in here during the strikes but are then free to go.

10:33 a.m. Roll call complete. One juror failed to appear. Boyce now explaining what will happen today.

10:29 a.m. Mics are working. All proceedings are digitally recorded so it’s important there is clear sound. None of the jurors know anyone in the group. Roll call of jurors underway.

10:28 a.m. All the jurors are in the courtroom. None of the microphones are working. Court staff doing some troubleshooting. Boyce asks the jurors if any of them know each other in the group. He asks them to stand up, look around and do the “opposite of a meet-and-greet.”

10:25 a.m. Life is about to change for 18 people in this group. They will be spending the next 8-10 weeks in a courtroom determining if Chad Daybell killed Tammy Daybell, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. If they decide he is guilty, they will then decide whether he serves the rest of his life in prison or is executed.

10:24 a.m. The jurors are walking into the courtroom carrying their red number cards. They quietly file into the rows.

10:18 a.m. We are waiting for the jurors to be brought into the courtroom. Out of the group of 57, there are 30 men and 27 women.

10:16 a.m. Judge Boyce takes the bench. The public is sitting in the left and middle benches of the courtroom. When the jurors come in, they will sit on the right side of the courtroom.

10:12 a.m. Daybell is wearing a blue shirt and tie. He’s chatting and smiling with John Prior, his attorney. Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake, Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood, Special Prosecutor Ingrid Batey and Fremont County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rocky Wixom are at the other table.

10:10 a.m. Larry and Kay Woodcock arrived in Boise over the weekend. They are in the courtroom. Vicki Hoban, Tammy Daybell’s aunt, is also here. There are about 20 members of the public/media in the gallery. Once peremptory challenges are complete, there will be nothing further today.

10:09 a.m. Today’s proceedings will not be livestreamed. All 57 jurors who made it into the final pool will report back to the courthouse. Prosectors and defense will then do their peremptory strikes. Each get to eliminate 16 jurors so the pool is whittled down to 18 – 12 jurors, 6 alternates.

10:08 a.m. The jury will be finalized this morning in the Chad Daybell case. The courtroom has been rearranged so those of us in the gallery are face-to-face with Daybell and the attorneys. I am sitting directly in front of Daybell – he’s about 10 feet in front of me.