LIVE UPDATES | Witnesses testify about raccoon text, what was found in SUV and hair found on tape during day 20 of Daybell trial

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL

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Please excuse the typos. These are live updates from the courtroom.

1:49 p.m. Join me tonight on ‘Courtroom Insider’ tonight at 6:30 p.m. You can find it on my Facebook page and the EastIdahoNews.com YouTube channel.

1:47 p.m. Boyce wants to clarify something about exhibits. He raised a concern with counsel about markings when the trial started. Lori Vallow Daybell was mentioned on the markings, and Boyce wanted the name removed so jurors would not speculate about her involvement. Boyce says there doesn’t appear to be any cause for speculation with the exhibits so they can now be admitted without redactions.

1:46 p.m. Court is finished for the day as there is some maintenance being done on the courtroom tomorrow. Boyce says there is a brief issue that needs to be discussed outside the presence of the jury.

1:42 p.m. Prior has no questions. Pam is excused.

1:41 p.m. Pam says Tammy had lost some weight, and “I was a little jealous of that. She looked good and was happy she felt better and had changed some of her habits.” Wixom has nothing further. Prior will now question the witness.

1:39 p.m. Pam was with Tammy on Thursday at recess duty speaking with her and watching her with the kids. “I saw nothing wrong with her so I was shocked” when she learned of Tammy’s death. Pam thought Tammy was quite healthy. She had been training for a race, according to Pam, and on the Thursday before her death, they spoke about it. “She had told me she felt she was in the best health of her life. She had been eating better and losing some weight and training. She said very good about her health.”

1:38 p.m. “She was a good friend as well as a co-worker,” Pam says. Tammy would engage with the children during play time and make sure they were OK. She was very involved with the kids. Pam learned about Tammy’s passing from another teacher.

1:37 p.m. Pam worked with Tammy for 2-3 years. She saw Tammy around the school every day because she was running around doing her library and computer stuff with the children. Pam was at recess duty twice a week with Tammy. “Tammy would be able to run around with them and interact with them. She knew each child by name – all of them in the school. She loved the children, and they loved her very much,” Pam says through tears.

1:35 p.m. Pamela Peebles is the next witness. Rocky Wixom is questioning her. Pam lives in Rigby and works at Central Elementary in Sugar City. She is a Title One teacher – she helps children not on grade level in their reading.

1:34 p.m. Prior asks if there were preparations for the book fair the next week. Gee doesn’t remember. Prior asks if Tammy kept to herself about her personal life. “Not really. I wouldn’t say that,” Gee says. Prior has nothing further. No more questions from the prosecutor. Gee is excused from her subpoena.

1:33 p.m. Gee received a text message from the principal the next day that Tammy had died. “I was shocked. Shocked. I didn’t see any indication that she was sick,” Gee says. Batey has nothing further. Prior will now cross-examine.

1:32 p.m. Gee spoke with Tammy between 3:20-3:30 p.m. the day before Tammy died. They spoke about one of Gee’s students. Tammy was very animated, friendly and kind. “I didn’t see any health issues. We talked just like I would on a regular day,” Gee says, describing Tammy’s energy level as “great.”

1:31 p.m. Gee and Tammy worked together for around three years. During this testimony, Chad is scrolling with his mouse on the computer in front of him.

1:29 p.m. Next witness is Tammy Gee. She works at Central Elementary in Sugar City and has worked there for 14 years. She teaches kindergarten. Ingrid Batey is questioning her.

1:28 p.m. Prior has nothing further. No re-direct. She is released from her subpoena.

1:27 p.m. Prior asks about the book fair Tammy was preparing for the day before she died. He asks if it was a significant endeavor to prepare for the fair. Janet says the book fair wasn’t until the next week, so there wasn’t a lot of extra work that needed to be done on that Friday.

1:26 p.m. Prior asks if Janet agrees that Tammy’s one confidante at the school was Emma, her daughter. Janet says she doesn’t agree with that – she had lots of friends at the school and would chat with others. Prior asks if Tammy and Emma spent a lot of time together when they had down time. Janet says she doesn’t think they did.

1:25 p.m. Prior asks Janet if she remembers speaking with Officer Mattingly. She asks who that is. She explains an officer came by the office to take a report. Prior asks about Janet telling police that Tammy kept to herself. She explains that she kept to herself because she wanted to do her job and work. She never said personal things to Janet.

1:24 p.m. Wixom asks Janet if she noticed if Tammy gained or lost any weight. She doesn’t think so. She was always on the go where she needed to be. Wixom has nothing further. Prior will now cross-examine.

1:23 p.m. Janet last saw Tammy at 3:45 p.m. the day before she died. Janet didn’t notice anything wrong with her and “she seemed like she had energy no matter what time of day it was. She was just always on the go.”

1:22 p.m. “I thought, ‘How could this be? I just barely saw her Friday at 3:45. She was laughing, she was happy, she was talking about putting up curtains in the computer lab. It was really quite a shock. I didn’t know how it could happen,” Janet says. Tammy and Emma stopped at the office on the way out to tell her about the curtains in the computer lab.

1:20 p.m. Tammy was never sick. She never had a cough or sniffle or limp – nothing that Janet noticed. Tammy never complained about her health. “She was the Energizer bunny. She was everywhere and did everything she needed to. She never quit and was always where she needed to be.” Tammy did lunchroom duty, computer lab, recess duty.

1:19 p.m. Janet saw Tammy several times every day. Tammy would often visit the office. She says everybody loved Tammy. She was very friendly and nice to everyone.

1:16 p.m. Next witness is Janet Andersen. Rocky Wixom will question her. Janet lives in St. Charles, Idaho, by Bear Lake. She used to live in Lyman, near Rexburg. Janet was the secretary at Central Elementary in Sugar City.

1:15 p.m. Wood has nothing further. Dean is done but will remain under subpoena just in case he needs to be called again.

1:13 p.m. Prior has no further questions. Wood has some re-direct. Wood asks if Dean was provided with devices for the entire length of the Daybell marriage. Dean says he was not.

1:12 p.m. Prior asks Dean if he looked at other devices Tammy Daybell may have had. Dean says no. Prior asks if Dean was aware Tammy communicated with her children about locating and finding raccoons. Wood objects and says this misstates prior testimony. Boyce sustains objection.

1:10 p.m. Dean says the outgoing messages on Tammy’s phone ended Oct. 18, 2019. There were some ingoing messages afterward. Prior asks Dean how long Tammy and Chad were married. Dean doesn’t know the exact amount. Prior asks if Dean evaluated all the text messages from their entire marriage. Dean did not.

1:08 p.m. Prior asks Dean if the mention of animals in communication with Tammy was unusual. Dean says it happened a few times.

1:07 p.m. Prior begins by asking Dean if he reviewed Chad’s phone too. He did not – just Tammy’s. Prior asks if there were frequent discussions between Tammy and other members of her family. Dean says yes. There were three people living in the Daybell home – Tammy, Chad and Garth.

1:06 p.m. “Chad told Tammy he started a fire, shot a large animal and buried that large animal – he did those things on the day after Tylee Ryan was last seen alive,” Dean says. Wood has no further questions.

1:04 p.m. Dean says this message was the only one on the device where Chad wrote to Tammy “such a lengthy and detailed explanation of his days events.” The date caught Dean’s attention because his first assignment in the investigation was to review tips about JJ and Tylee. “After having reviewed hundreds of photographs and video files taken all across Yellowstone National Park on the 8th of September 2019, I was very much aware that date was the last day Tylee Ryan was seen alive.”

1:03 p.m. The first message stood out to Dean because it was longer and more detailed than any other messages that were exchanged between Tammy and Chad. “Messages sent between the two were relatively short and they dealt with routine matters, household matters, things of that nature,” Dean says.

1:02 p.m. Tammy sent a message to Chad at 1:47 p.m. “Good for you.” Chad sent a message to Tammy at 1:48 p.m. “I’m back home now.”

1:01 p.m. Chad sent a second message to Tammy the same day at 10:56 a.m. “Gonna shower now and then go write for a while at BYU. Love you.”

1 p.m. The message was sent on Sept. 9, 2019 at 10:53 a.m.

12:54 p.m. Dean looks at the exhibit and Wood asks to publish. It’s a message Chad sent to Tammy: “I’ve had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storm. While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!”

12:50 p.m. Back in the courtroom. Dean remains on the stand. Wood continues to question.

11:51 a.m. We will take lunch and be back at 12:45 p.m.

11:49 a.m. On Sept. 9, 2019, a text message from Chad’s phone caught Dean’s attention. Wood moves to admit an exhibit and the projector has a technical issue. Court staff working to fix the problem.

11:46 a.m. All outgoing communication on the device ended on the evening of Oct. 18. 2019 – the day before Tammy was found dead.

11:45 a.m. The BlueRay discs contained data from a cell phone belonging to Tammy Daybell. There were incoming messages to Tammy and outgoing messages from Tammy. There were group messages involving members of the Daybell family including Tammy.

11:41 a.m. Dean used a BlueRay player to review the two discs. He explains how he was able to open and view the files using Cellebrite software.

11:40 a.m. The FBI received 600-800 tips – many of which had photos and videos. Dean was asked to review devices that were seized from Daybell’s home in January 2020. He completed his review in May 2020. He was also asked to review the contents of two BlueRay discs containing data extracted from storage devices seized from Chad’s property on Jan. 3, 2020.

11:37 a.m. Dean began working with the Daybell case in late March 2020. His initial assignment was to review tips submitted by members of the public in response to a news release issued by the FBI and Rexburg Police on March 5, 2020 regarding Tylee and JJ. This was the story we did that day.

11:35 a.m. Dean has worked for the FBI for eight years. He is currently assigned to the Salt Lake City field office. His main job is to analyze information and make assessments regarding specific threats.

11:26 a.m. Next witness is FBI Intelligence Analyst Benjamin Dean. Rob Wood will question him but needs to run and grab his questions.

11:23 a.m. Batey will now cross examine. Batey asks about Chad not saying anything during encounters with police. “He didn’t say, ‘What’s this about?'” Nesbitt says he didn’t say anything. Batey asks a few clarifying questions and is finished. Nesbitt is released from subpoena.

11:22 a.m. The currency was found in the backpack along with the MacBook Pro and HP laptop. A wallet with four credit cards belonging to Chad Daybell was also found in the backpack. A death certificate and marriage license was also located in the bag. Prior has no further questions.

11:20 a.m. Prior asks about the handbag and what was found inside. The bag was found in the rear passenger seat behind where Chad was sitting. Prior asks who owned the black backpack. Nesbitt doesn’t know. Prior asks if Lori was trying to flee when they pulled her over. Nesbitt says no – Lori and Chad were completely cooperative and did not try to flee.

11:18 a.m. Chad was sitting in the front passenger seat. Prior asks if anything of evidentiary interest was found on Chad’s side of the car. Nesbitt says no. Prior asks about a book found in the car. He asks what faith the book comes from. Nesbitt doesn’t know.

11:17 a.m. Prior asks if Chad made any comments when the papers were served at the pool. Nesbitt says no. He looked over at the papers that were served to Lori. Prior asks if it was a custody order for the kids to be returned back to Idaho. Nesbitt says yes. Prior asks about the credit card found on the driver’s side of the car. Lori was driving.

11:15 a.m. Nesbitt was present when the condo was searched on Jan. 26, 2020. Around three items were taken including rubber wedding bands. There was no sign that children lived there or had ever been there. Batey has no further questions.

11:14 a.m. We now see a photo showing an envelope full of cash that was found in the backpack. There was $10,500 in the envelope.

11:12 a.m. There is a page that has several blue sticky notes attached to it. Nesbitt says he doesn’t know what any of it means. There was also a MacBook Pro and an HP laptop in the bag.

11:10 a.m. The next photo is JJ’s original birth certificate from Louisiana. Now we see a Blue Sky Property Management document for Lori’s Rexburg apartment. The patriarchal blessing Chad gave to Alex on Nov. 24, 2019 was also found in the bag. The next photo is a black Jansport backpack.

11:08 a.m. Social Security cards belonging to JJ and Tylee were also found along with a few birth certificates including Tylee’s. There is also a death certificate from the state of Arizona but it’s hard for him to read the tiny print to say who it is.

11:06 a.m. We see a photo of an iPad that says “JJ” written in red on the iPad cover. The next photo is Charles Vallow’s death certificate and there were 17 total copies. A real estate paper for the condo Chad and Lori were renting was also in the handbag.

11:04 a.m. Batey shows more photos of the vehicle interior. We see the bikes and backpack. There is also a handbag. Inside the handbag is a Visions of Glory book, two iPads, a manila envelope and a folder.

11:02 a.m. Police found Tylee Ryan’s debit card in Lori’s purse. Photos of the card are shown on the screen. A cell phone was also found in the side pocket of Lori’s purse. The phone and other items were shipped to the Rexburg Police Department. The next photo shows the rear view of the SUV. Two adult bikes were found in the cargo area of the car.

10:59 a.m. The search of the vehicle took place two days after Chad and Lori were served the warrant. The firs photo shows the front of the rental vehicle that was seized. The second photo shows inside the SUV from the front door driver side. Lori’s purse is on the seat. The next photo is a close-up of the seat.

10:56 a.m. Batey shows the video. On Jan. 26, police obtained a search warrant for their condo and vehicle. They served it on Chad and Lori. They cooperated with police and a search of the vehicle was performed. Photos were taken of the SUV. Batey moves to admit the pictures as evidence.

10:53 a.m. Nesbitt served Chad and Lori papers at 2:39 p.m. in the swimming pool area of the condo where they were staying. Here is the body camera footage that was recorded:

10:51 a.m. Nesbitt was a detective in 2020 assigned to the major crimes unit. Nesbitt and his team was assisting Rexburg police in serving a legal document to Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell on Jan 25, 2020. The document ordered Lori to bring JJ and Tylee to the Dept. of Health in Rexburg.

10:49 a.m. Next witness is Detective Colin Nesbitt. He works for the Kauai Police Department. Ingrid Batey is questioning him.

10:48 a.m. Wood has no further questions. Prior says he wants some follow up. Wood says he didn’t go anywhere Prior did not. Judge agrees and Prior isn’t allowed to ask anything more. Dace remains under subpoena.

10:46 a.m. Wood asks what consumptive testing is. Dace says in order to do a DNA consumptive test, you would need to use the entire sample and it would be destroyed. Wood asks if she has ever been on a case where she has tested every single possible DNA sample. She says no – not in a large case. They test to answer questions and do their best not to overly consume evidence just to test more of the same thing.

10:46 a.m. Prior has no further questions. Wood will now re-direct.

10:44 a.m. Prior asks the date and time the DNA was put on the tools. She says she can not. She can’t ascertain when the DNA was on there. She says there was no DNA associated to Chad Daybell.

10:43 a.m. Prior says he wants to ask about soil and DNA. Dace smiles and he says, “Do you know where I’m going?” She says no. He says, “That’s why you’re smiling.”

10:40 a.m. Dace says the police department requested her department do the testing. Dace was under guidelines not to consume evidence during testing so some stuff was not tested. The handles of the tools were not tested for DNA or latent prints.

10:37 a.m. The first set of hairs was tested in June 2020. The second set was tested in Dec. 2022. Dace says for the type of DNA testing she does, you need a root present. A latent print of JJ Vallow’s hand was found on tape.

10:35 a.m. Back in the courtroom. Prior continues to question Dace about the hair collection. There were 15 total collection of hairs and each collection had one or more fibers inside. Dace is not in a position to talk about who all the hair belonged to. The Bode test hair was linked to Lori Vallow.

10:05 a.m. Morning break. Back in around 20 minutes.

10:03 a.m. Dace says the majority of the hairs were collected prior to latent print processing. When she went back and swabbed the unidentifiable prints on the tape, she found more hair.

10:01 a.m. Prior asks about the investigation of the plastic and the tape. Prior asks whose DNA was found on the tape. She says JJ Vallow’s. That was the only DNA sample she obtained. The hair samples came from the adhesive side of the tape on the plastic. Dace says she collected “a lot” of hair samples.

9:59 a.m. Prior shows the photo from earlier that shows the same shovel. He asks if she removes things from the tools. Dace says she swabs and collects items from the handles and other parts of the tools.

9:55 a.m. Prior shows a photo of the tools in Chad’s shed. Dace recognizes them. Another photo is shown with the tools lying on the ground. She said some of them appear to be the tools she received. Prior zooms into a long shovel and asks Dace to closely look at it. She believes it is one of the tools she received. He points out an off-white substance on the handle.

9:54 a.m. Prior asks if there was DNA on the necklace found on the property. She found some possible material that she could have run for DNA but it was consumptive.

9:50 a.m. All the tools were obtained by the lab on July 30, 2020. JJ and Tylee were buried in September 2019 – ten months earlier. Prior asks if we know who had contact with the tools in the ten months. Dace says we don’t. Dace says none of the stains or materials tested had Chad’s DNA on it. The handles of the tools were not swabbed for DNA. Dace says if they had been at the property for years, you would expect to find the owner’s DNA on it.

9:49 a.m. Prior says if he sets down his pen, he could leave DNA on it by sweat, skin cells, saliva, etc. Dace says yes. She found potential blood on nine of the ten tools. The remaining eight tools had no blood or DNA.

9:47 a.m. Dace was unable to test all the blood because the spots were very small and would have been consumed. Prior asks how she collects DNA. Dace says there are different ways to test – blood, semen, saliva, sweat, skin cells, in gloves, on clothing, etc.

9:45 a.m. Prior asks Dace how many tools were provided to her. There were 18. She tested all of them. Prior asks how many tools tested positive for blood. She needs to review her notes and responds that out of the first 10 tools she looked at, nine were positive for blood.

9:40 a.m. Wood has no further questions. Prior will now cross examine.

9:35 a.m. The report says DNA profiles were provided for Tylee Ryan, Lori Vallow and Melanie Gibb. The partial DNA profile on hair obtained from tape on the black bags matched Lori Vallow. Probability it was Lori is 1 in 71 billion. Wood asks for a brief sidebar.

9:33 a.m. Some of the hairs collected were sent to private labs including Bode Technology in Virginia. Wood moves to admit a report from Bode Technology.

9:31 a.m. Hairs and fibers were collected. Wood shows an image showing three yellow sticky notes. Each one of the sticky notes contain hairs or fiber that were collected. These hairs were collected from tape and plastic wrapped around JJ. Several hairs were tested for DNA. No profiles were able to be generated.

9:29 a.m. The two spots on the pickaxe handle tested positive for blood. Dace performed DNA testing on the blood. She was able to obtain a profile. The profile matched Tylee Ryan – 604 octillion times that it was her versus an unrelated, randomly selected person.

9:25 a.m. Wood shows a photo of dark material that was removed from the eye of the pickaxe. Wood shows a photo of the largest piece of material that Dace found. She ran part of it for DNA. She obtained a partial DNA profile on the sample. That’s common on some samples that are degraded. Heat and fire causes degradation. Dace was still able to do a comparative analysis with the partial profile. She compared the profile against the known reference samples – JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Tylee Ryan was a possible contributor to the possible DNA profile. 159 trillion times that it was her versus a random person from the general population.

9:23 a.m. Wood shows a photo of the pickaxe on the screen and a close-up of the pickaxe blade area. Dace found material she could run for DNA. Wood shows a close up photo of stains on the handle on the pickaxe that tested positive for blood.

9:22 a.m. Dace made circles on the handle of the pickaxe and swabbed the head of the tool. “There did appear to be some possible burn marks in the item as well in addition to the burn material that was in the eye,” Dace says. There was also two stains on the pickaxe that she ran for DNA.

9:21 a.m. Dace leaves the stand again and goes to table to retrieve the pickaxe. There was blood on the axe and it was dirty. She removed the dirt and found ashes and human remains embedded in the eye of the pickaxe. She collected, photographed and ran the samples for DNA.

9:18 a.m. Wood shows another photo. Dace says a green substance was found on part of the shovel. She was able to obtain a DNA profile on the spot. The DNA profile matched Tylee Ryan – 604 octillion — that’s 27 zeros — that the DNA is hers.

9:16 a.m. The next picture shows that Dace took photos of possible DNA with a stereoscope – a special type of microscope.

9:14 a.m. Dace returns to the witness stand and a picture of the shovel is shown on the screen. She confirms it’s the same shovel that is on the table. Another photo shows a close up of the substance that was on the back lip of the shovel.

9:12 a.m. Dace takes a handheld microphone and approaches the table wearing black rubber gloves. Wood refers to a shovel on the table. Dace points out it was very dirty and she observed a lip on the back edge of the shovel that she believed was human remains. Dace performed DNA testing on the material.

9:10 a.m. The next picture is a close-up of what was on the right of the shovel. Wood asks for the shovels to be brought out for the jury to see. The bailiff brings the tools to the table in front of jurors.

9:09 a.m. We now see a photo of another shovel. Dace tested it for blood and examined the tool head for blood or human remains. Another photo is material she collected from the shovel. The material on the left was very, very small but there was more on the right that was selected for DNA.

9:07 a.m. The first photo is of a shovel. Dace examined it for blood and swabbed it. She collected some possible human remains from the shovel too. The next picture shows possible charred flesh that Dace collected and photographed. She ran a portion of it for DNA. The next picture is a close-up of what she collected and ran for DNA. She was not able to generate a DNA profile from the material.

9:04 a.m. Wood moves to admit an exhibit showing photos Dace took of the tools along with hairs and fibers on tape.

9:01 a.m. Dace found areas on handles of the shovels with small amounts of blood. On four of the tools, she found matter that could have been human DNA. She photographed the tools and tested them. She collected hairs and fiber if she saw them. Some of the tools were quite dirty so she needed to remove the dirt and ashes.

8:59 a.m. There was blood on all of the tape and plastic. DNA testing was not done as it was presumed to be JJ’s. A lot of the tape had small hairs and skin attached to it. A swab from a knife blade in the Rexburg apartment was negative for blood. There was a swab from the wall with a small amount of blood but DNA analysis was not performed. Dace received 18 tools from a garage barn on Daybell’s property.

8:58 a.m. Dace says her lab received the tape and plastic wrapped around JJ’s body for testing. No DNA testing was done on the bag but testing was done on the tape. “When examining the tape, I was looking for irregular edges that indicated someone may have torn the tape with their teeth and left behind saliva.” Dace also swabbed areas of unidentifiable fingerprints.

8:55 a.m. Dace explains you get half of your DNA from your mom and half from your dad. She explains that their testing shows Lori is Tylee’s biological mom and Dennis is JJ’s biological dad.

8:53 a.m. Wood moves to submit a lab report written by Rylie Nolan, Dace’s supervisor. The first page shows that molars from Tylee were tested, a reference sample from Lori Vallow and Dennis Trahan, JJ’s biological father. There was also a reference profile from JJ Vallow.

8:50 a.m. Dace explains her experience and training. As part of her job, she examines items of evidence and generates DNA profiles from the items. M2020-2233 is the case number for JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Dace received autopsy samples from JJ, tape from around his hands, ankles, mouth along with tape and plastic from around his head and body. She also received two swabs from an apartment in Rexburg and tools and a necklace from the Daybell property. She received samples from JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, Melanie Gibb and others.

8:47 a.m. First witness today is Katherine Dace – a forensic biologist and supervisor with Idaho State Police. She will be questioned by Rob Wood.

8:44 a.m. Chad Daybell just walked in the courtroom wearing a checkered dress shirt and yellow tie. Judge Boyce is on the bench. Jurors are being brought in.

8:31 a.m. Larry Woodcock and Vicki Hoban, Tammy Daybell’s aunt, are in the gallery this morning. There are around 25 members of the public here.

8:27 a.m. Back in the courtroom. Prosectors Lindsey Blake, Rob Wood, Ingrid Batey and Rocky Wixom are at the prosecution table. John Prior is at defense. Attorneys are headed back to meet with Judge Boyce. I spotted FBI evidence analyst Benjamin Dean walking into the courthouse this morning.