DAY 7 | LIVE UPDATES: Rexburg police detective takes the stand in Lori Vallow Daybell trial

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE LORI VALLOW DAYBELL TRIAL

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some of the details in this story are graphic. Reader discretion is advised.

3:31 p.m. Boyce reminds Thomas that it’s 3:30 p.m. so court is adjourned for the day. Hermosillo will be back on the stand in the morning for more cross-examination. I’ll have a full recap of everything that happened today live at 7:30 p.m. on my Facebook page and the EastIdahoNews.com YouTube channel.

3:30 p.m. Thomas asking Hermosillo if they used a straight-edged shovel or another type of shovel when they began digging in the yard. Hermosillo can’t recall.

3:28 p.m. Lori has been looking down this entire afternoon. From my vantage point, it appears her head is bowed, and I can’t even see her face.

3:25 p.m. Thomas is asking Hermosillo to describe how big the firepit area was in Chad’s backyard that was surrounded by pink tape.

3:23 p.m. Hermosillo says Boise City Police were set up along the highway in eastern Idaho the day of the warrant “in case somebody needed to be followed.”

3:21 p.m. Thomas asks if this was the first time he was at the scene of a crime where the FBI was in charge. “I’ve worked with the FBI, Homeland Security, we’ve served search warrants with them,” he responds, but says he has not worked with them on something of this magnitude.

3:19 p.m. Hermosillo says police planned for “weeks” to execute the warrant on June 9, 2020 – the day the bodies were found. Hermosillo says he, Lt. Ball and two other detectives showed up that morning before the rest of the law enforcement agencies showed up. Everyone else staged at a church about two miles away.

3:18 p.m. Thomas asking Hermosillo if he knows where Lori was on Oct. 19 – the day Tammy Daybell died. Hermosillo says she was in Hawaii.

3:16 p.m. Hermosillo says hundreds of tips came in after Sept. 8 – the last time Tylee was seen alive – and police followed up on every tip.

3:15 p.m. Thomas going over the evidence that was found in Lori’s garage – guns, weapons, etc. Thomas asks Hermosillo if during the investigation he ever thought Lori owned those items. Hermosillo says, “No, sir.”

3:10 p.m. Thomas asking for clarification on some of Hermosillo’s answers from earlier today. Asks why he got a warrant after the first visit to Lori’s apartment. Hermosillo says it was based on fact that Lori said JJ was with Melanie Gibb but he was not.

3:07 p.m. Hermosillo says the first time they heard about JJ was on Nov. 18 when Gilbert police came to seize the infotainment system in the Jeep. The infotainment center is the middle portion of the vehicle where you program your maps, listen to radio, etc.

3:06 p.m. Hermosillo says they parked in front of Lori’s house on and off and tried to gather information for Gilbert police. The surveillance was done in front of Lori’s house – not Chad’s. Hermosillo says they saw Chad and Lori at her apartment on Nov. 1. He doesn’t recall seeing them again at the unit.

3:03 p.m. Thomas asking Hermosillo some timeline questions – when he was contacted by Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and Gilbert Police. He asks Hermosillo about the “intermittent” surveillance police were conducting and the detective says it was probably 15 hours of surveillance on and off over two weeks in Nov. 2019.

3 p.m. Boyce is back on the bench. John Thomas will now cross-examine Det. Hermosillo. Thomas begins by asking how Hermosillo is doing and says, “It’s been a tough day.” Hermosillo responds, “It has been a tough day.”

2:50 p.m. While we are on a break, here is a sketch of Det. Ray Hermosillo from today.

2:39 p.m. During previous breaks, Lori has smiled and laughed with her attorneys. This break she is quiet, stoic, scowling, saying nothing.

2:35 p.m. That set of photos is complete. Wood says he has no further questions for Hermosillo at this point but may need to call him again later. Boyce says we will have a 15 minute break “due to the evidence just published” and resume after.

2:34 p.m. Next image is JJ’s face. It is gray/black. Duct tape is still over his mouth. “It was very easy to identify that little boy on the tape as the one we had been looking for for the past eight months,” Hermosillo says.

2:33 p.m. Next image shows the plastic bag that was placed over JJ’s head. It shows body decomposition from JJ’s face inside the bag.

2:32 p.m. We now see an image of JJ’s head that was wrapped in tape and covered in plastic. It is in various stages of decomposition. Larry Woodcock continues to sob. Lori is not looking at the screen.

2:31 p.m. Second image shows JJ’s legs and feet wrapped in duct tape. He was wearing black Sketchers socks and red pajama pants. The whole bottom half of his red pajamas were soaked with body decomposition, Hermosillo says.

2:30 p.m. Photo of JJ in his PJs with white plastic on his head wrapped in duct tape and his arms taped is shown on the screen. Hermosillo describes the image.

2:28 p.m. Wood asks to admit autopsy photos as evidence.

2:28 p.m. Larry Woodcock is sobbing.

2:27 p.m. After JJ’s autopsy was complete, the doctor brought in the second set of remains.

2:25 p.m. Hermosillo recognized the little boy as JJ Vallow. “His pajamas were soaked with body decomposition, he still had on his pull-up nighttime diaper, there was some visible bruising on his arms that the medical examiner had pointed out to us.”

2:24 p.m. The medical examiner cut the plastic bag over JJ’s head and duct tape was covering his mouth. Duct tape was also around JJ’s wrists. Larry is bent over crying as Hermosillo describes the situation.

2:23 p.m. Hermosillo: “I saw a little boy in red pajamas. He had a white plastic bag around his head, several layers of duct tape from his chin to his forehead area, his arms were duct taped with several layers of duct tape. His arms were folded across his chest. His feet were also duct taped and bound. He had a white and blue child’s blanket placed on top of him.”

2:20 p.m. An autopsy was performed on the remains on June 11, 2020. Ball and Hermosillo were there and met with the medical examiner. They signed in, wore booties and protective clothing. The medical examiner put the bag on a metal table and cut the seal on the bag.

2:18 p.m. Next image shows teeth that were found in the area. Next image shows parts of Tylee that were found – bone, charred bone, rotting flesh, the orbital sockets, the top of her skull – “some of the parts we had to get out of the ground.”

2:16 p.m. Next image is a close-up of the partial skull that was underneath the green bucket. Lori is not looking at the screen. Hermosillo uses a laser pointer to show the top of the skull and the jaw bone. It took investigators hours to uncover all of this as the stench was so strong, Hermosillo says.

2:15 p.m. Next image is burnt flesh, fatty tissue, organs that were not completely burned that were found in the bucket in the ground. Under the bucket you can see the partial remains of a human skull.

2:13 p.m. Second image shows a piece of charred bone sticking up through the dirt and moist soil from “rotting flesh.” The third image is flesh and bone found in the ground placed on a blue tarp. “This is just a portion of some of the flesh and charred broken bone we had uncovered at that time.” No visual response from Lori as this image is shown.

2:11 p.m. The first image shows pet cemetery surrounded by pink tape. Police knew it was the pet cemetery because of the black dog statue outside of the cemetery. The fire pit is also in the photo and blue tarps where any evidence was placed that had been dug out of the ground.

2:09 p.m. Wood asks to admit more photographs showing the pet cemetery and the burial site where Tylee was located. Hermosillo says he saw this spot with his own eyes on June 9 and 10, 2020.

2:04 p.m. Wood asks to admit two more exhibits Hermosillo created. One shows key dates pre-investigation — date of Charles’ death, date of Brandon’s shooting, dates of Tammy’s shooting and date of her death. The second document is key dates during the investigation.

2:02 p.m. Wood asks to admit an exhibit showing a document Hermosillo put together that shows the photos and names of key figures in the case – Chad, Lori, Aelx, Tylee, JJ, Chad, Tammy, Melani P.

2 p.m. Det. Hermosillo is back on the stand.

1:59 p.m. Jury is brought in. Everyone is asked to stand. Lori stands and John Thomas holds on to her arm.

1:57 p.m. Lori has no reaction to the judge’s decision.

1:56 p.m. Boyce says the court has authority to override the request of defendant to voluntarily excuse herself from certain portions of the trial where she has been here for the first day and a half of the trial. Boyce says her presence can and should be required so the judge denies the request and orders that Lori cannot leave.

1:54 p.m. Boyce says Idaho law allows some defendants to waive their right to be present during part of their trial but there is a process if someone wants to be voluntarily absent. Boyce discussing what authority the court has to allow someone to miss part of the trial.

1:51 p.m. Boyce cites Idaho Criminal Rule 43 and says presence is required at a defendant’s trial in every stage of the trial, but part of the law says a defendant can waive their right to to be present under certain circumstances.

1:51 p.m. Blake says if Lori is allowed to leave, the state would be allowed to comment to the jury during closing arguments that she was not present during this portion of the trial.

1:49 p.m. Lindsey Blake argues it’s important to have the defendant present and the state of Idaho deserves to have her here. “This isn’t the first time the defendant has been uncooperative with this court.”

1:48 p.m. Archibald says Lori wishes to waive her right to be present for the remainder of the afternoon. He says it was emotional this morning and Lori has fragile mental health.

1:47 p.m.Boyce is on the bench and says a legal issue has arisen that needs to be taken up outside of the presence of the jury. Archibald will now argue that issue.

1:46 p.m.Lori’s mood is visibly different. This morning she was chatting with her attorneys, smiling, laughing. This afternoon she is silent and appears upset.

1:45 p.m. Lori has entered the courtroom. Her face is red and she appears to have been crying. The deputy is locking her leg shackles into the floor. She sits down and is looking down.

1:43 p.m. Larry Woodcock is in the courtroom and Kay Woodcock has joined him. She was not here this morning. Other family members are also in the courtroom.

1:41 p.m. Jim Archibald and John Thomas are looking at some papers while the prosecutors remain seated at their table. Judge Boyce is not in the courtroom.

1:40 p.m. All attorneys have re-entered the courtroom but Lori is not here.

1:37 p.m. Before lunch, we saw images of where JJ and Tylee were found. Det. Hermosillo was going to continue his testimony this afternoon and we were warned the evidence would be graphic. Lori has some idea of what would be shown and discussed this afternoon. It’s possible her attorneys have shown her the images before today.

1:35 p.m. I think I’m safe to assume that everyone in the courtroom is wondering what is going on. It has been 30 minutes and no updates. Jurors remain outside of the courtroom. They were never brought back in from their lunch break.

1:31 p.m. John Thomas opens the door to the hallway from where he, Archibald and Lori have been. He motions for prosecutors to come back there.

1:30 p.m. Defense attorneys and Lori have not entered the courtroom.

1:28 p.m. Prosecutors are back in the courtroom. Also – it is Rob Wood’s birthday today.

1:10 p.m. Personal observation: Lori Daybell appeared upset this afternoon. I’ve seen her in multiple court hearings, in Hawaii, face-to-face at the Rexburg Airport — I’ve never seen upset/sad before today.

1:08 p.m.Prosceutors and defense attorneys came into the courtroom. Lori never returned. Prosecutor Rachel Smith grabbed some documents and all of the attorneys went back into the hallway area where they had originally met. Hearing will resume at 1:35 p.m.

1:06 p.m.We have just been told the court is taking a 30 minute recess.

1:02 p.m. Boyce said the afternoon session would begin at 12:45 p.m. Everyone was ready to go when John Thomas asked if he, Archibald and Lori could meet in private following lunch.

1 p.m. All the prosecutors and judge have left the courtroom and gone into the hallway where Lori was with her attorneys.

12:54 p.m. Jurors have not yet been brought back into the courtroom. Rob Wood is ready to continue questioning Det. Hermosillo. I’ve been told the evidence this afternoon will be graphic.

12:52 p.m. Lori has left the courtroom with her attorneys to have a discussion in a private hallway.

12:50 p.m. Court was about to resume, but John Thomas asked for some time to visit with Lori. Lori appeared visibly upset. Court is in recess again.

11:40 a.m. Attorneys are now having a sidebar conference with the judge. Jurors are standing to stretch their legs. It’s now understandable why Kay Woodcock decided not to come this morning. We are headed into a lunch break until 12:45 p.m.

11:38 a.m. Next image shows moist soil after the body was removed. Hermosillo says it shows fluids from body decomposition. Nothing else was buried in the area. Lori appears to show no emotion during any of the photo presentations.

11:36 a.m. Next image shows black plastic wrapped around a body buried in the ground. Hermosillo says he helped lift the body out of the burial site.

11:33 a.m. Next photo is moist soil after the wood paneling was removed. You can see black plastic coming through the dirt. The next image shows plastic around the area believed to be where JJ’s head was. There was white plastic under the black plastic, and the next image shows where police cut the plastic exposing human hair.

11:30 a.m. A fourth image shows the grassy area where JJ was buried. One section has longer grass, the other area is shorter. The fifth image shows topsoil over JJ’s burial site. Sixth image shows three large, white rocks on top of wood paneling that was on top of JJ’s body. Next image shows wood paneling after rocks were removed.

11:24 a.m. First image shows the front of Daybell’s home with a vehicle parked in the driveway. Second photo shows the firepit where Tylee’s remains were found, including burnt bone fragments and teeth. A third image shows the tree where JJ’s body was found buried.

11:17 a.m. Wood asks for photos taken from Daybell’s property the day of the search to be admitted as evidence.

11:14 a.m. JJ and Tylee’s remains were then taken to the Ada County Coroner’s Office. There are currently no places in eastern Idaho for autopsies to be conducted, so bodies are often transported to Ada County.

11:13 a.m. Tylee’s remains were put into a body bag and taken to the morgue at Madison Memorial Hospital. Jurors listening intently – some taking notes.

11:11 a.m. Police stopped working as it was getting late, so they secured the scene with crime scene tape and officers stood guard at the property all night. Large lights were brought in from the fire department to keep the scene illuminated. The search continued the next day on June 10, 2020.

11:10 a.m. Hermosillo says each detective could only work for a few minutes at a time because the smell was so bad. Police then uncovered a human skull and they worked to put all the pieces into a body bag.

11:09 a.m. Hermosillo says more burnt flesh and bone was found in a green bucket that had melted. “It was kind of deformed and the flesh and bone was all kind of stuffed in that melted bucket.” Lori looks at Hermosillo and shows no emotion as he testifies.

11:07 a.m. “We started finding burnt flesh, decomposing bones. The smell was so bad we had to take turns digging,” Hermosillo says. “Eventually, we uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee, whom we assumed was Tylee, that had been burned. There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart.”

11:05 a.m. Hermosillo says when he arrived back at Chad’s property, police were digging in the area of the pet cemetery. “In digging down, they located items of interest that we needed to slow down and dig more methodically.” Hermosillo says they then got on their hands and knees and began digging around “this moist section of dirt.”

11:03 a.m. After the body was dropped off, Hermosillo and Ball returned to Chad’s house. Hermosillo is now pointing out on a map where the body in plastic was found and where the firepit was.

11:01 a.m. Hermosillo went back to the burial site after Chad was taken into custody and the small body wrapped in plastic was put in a body bag. It was then placed into the coroner’s vehicle and driven to the morgue by the Fremont County Coroner and a Fremont County deputy. Hermosillo and Det. Ball followed the vehicle.

11 a.m. Police made a slit in the plastic and there appeared to be human hair. At this point, officers were told Chad was leaving his daughter’s house across the street “at a high rate of speed.” Officers followed Chad, pulled him over and took him into custody.

10:58 a.m. As police scraped away more dirt, they discovered a round object “that appeared to be the crown of a head.” Police continued to remove soil and Hermosillo says they appeared to find a small body wrapped in plastic.

10:56 a.m. After the rocks were removed, there were pieces of large wood paneling. The team started to brush away damp soil that was a different composition compared to the soil on top of the ground. As the soil was being removed, police saw a black, round object starting to protrude through the dirt.

10:54 a.m. Hermosillo says when he went over to the tree/pond, there was a section of shorter grass and dirt compared to the rest of the area that had longer grass. A team began excavating the section by removing the top layer of soil. “As they began to remove the top layer of soil, it exposed three large rocks. At that point, there was a strong odor that, through my training, I knew was a decomposing body.”

10:52 a.m. As Wood shows the image to the jury, Lori is taking notes and occasionally looks up at the jurors.

10:50 a.m. Wood asks to admit a Google Earth image of Chad Daybell’s property so the jury can have an idea of the layout.

10:48 a.m. Hermosillo was assigned to sift through the area around the firepit. “While we were sifting through the firepit, there were a lot of people going to the pond area under the tree so we were called over to assist in that location,” he says.

10:46 a.m. Hermosillo says Chad was looking over his shoulder while he was in the car on the phone. Hermosillo said he looked where Chad was looking and saw the tree and pond in the backyard area.

10:43 a.m. Chad went outside to his car to make a call. The FBI and other law enforcement officers arrived to help execute the search warrant. (Personal note: it was around this time I received a tip that something was happening at Chad’s house. I made some calls and was in a helicopter an hour later. Story here).

10:42 a.m. Chad asked to call his attorney who, at the time, was Mark Means. Chad called Mark and police went into the front room with Chad, where they served him with the warrant. Chad asked if he needed to leave. Police said he did not but if he left, an officer would need to accompany him for safety reasons.

10:40 a.m. Hermosillo recounts what happened the morning of June 9, 2020. Police went to Chad’s house and Chad’s son Mark opened the door. He said his dad was still asleep. Officers went to Chad’s room, he sat up in bed and officers said they were there to serve a search warrant. Chad got dressed and then walked downstairs with police into the kitchen.

10:36 a.m. These are the photos just admitted as evidence:

10:35 a.m. Wood asks to admit a photo of JJ, Tylee and Alex in Yellowstone Park. He also asks to admit a photo of JJ on the couch in Lori’s apartment.

10:33 a.m. Hermosillo says he has reviewed the iCloud account and says it belongs to Lori Vallow based on the photos and records contained in the account.

10:28 a.m. Wood asks to have a business document from Apple related to an iCloud account admitted as evidence.

10:23 a.m. First photo is the gray Jeep Wrangler. Second photo shows the rear view of the Jeep with Texas plates. Third photo shows the interior of the Jeep taken from the driver’s door. Fourth photo shows the interior of the Jeep from the passenger’s side.

10:21 a.m. Hermosillo remains on the stand. He is handed four photos of the Jeep that the state wants to admit as evidence.

10:20 a.m. Back from the morning break. Lori was walked in wearing leg shackles and then a deputy locked the shackles to the floor in the courtroom so she cannot leave the table.

9:57 a.m. Hermosillo says the last date he is aware of “proof of life” of Tylee Ryan is from Sept. 8, 2019, based on a photo of her in Yellowstone. Last date of “proof of life” for JJ is Sept. 22, 2019, based on a photo of JJ sitting on a couch in Lori’s front room. Court is now taking a 15-20 minute morning break.

9:55 a.m. Hermosillo says the interior of the condo appeared as if two adults lived there. There were no toys or kids’ medication or clothes inside the apartment. Hermosillo said nothing indicated children had been living there.

9:52 a.m. Hermosillo says through his investigation, police used cell phone data and tips to determine Chad and Lori were in Kauai. Hermosillo and other officers went to Hawaii to assist Kauai police in issuing a court order on Jan. 25, 2020. RPD also assisted Kauai Police in issuing a search warrant on Daybell’s rental vehicle and their condo.

9:51 a.m. The first photos the world ever saw of Tylee and JJ issued with that original news release.

9:47 a.m. Police set up a tipline and issued a news release on Dec. 20, 2019 about the missing children. Here is the original story EastIdahoNews.com did when we learned JJ and Tylee were gone.

9:46 a.m. Hermosillo says they contacted any family members who would take their calls to try and find the kids. He says Lori Vallow never called the police about her missing children. On Dec. 11, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were contacted and RPD entered JJ and Tylee’s names as missing and endangered children.

9:45 a.m. After serving the search warrant, Hermosillo says RPD contacted the FBI and were trying to get a hold of Lori and Chad. Police contacted Colby Ryan, who told them he had not spoken to his sister in a while. The search for JJ now included the search for Tylee. Hermosillo says Chad and Lori’s phones were shut off.

9:43 a.m. Wood shows an image that displays more emails from Chad Daybell along with another photo showing books written by Chad that were also found in the garage. The final photo is a cell phone found in the garage.

9:42 a.m. Next image shows documents found inside Lori’s garage. There were emails from Chad Daybell. As Hermosillo is reviewing this evidence, Lori is taking notes.

9:39 a.m. Next image shows two silencers found inside the garage. Next image shows knives that were found near the rifles. Next image shows a handgun found in a tub in the garage. Next image is a Halloween mask that was found on top of a plastic Walmart bag. Inside the bag was rope and duct tape. Next image shows Alex Cox’s active passport found inside the garage.

9:38 a.m. Second image shows clothing laid out on the ground. Third image shows several rounds of ammunition that was discovered in a tub. “A lot of ammunition in that specific tub,” Hermosillo says. Fourth image shows a rifle found in the garage and the barrel is threaded for a silencer. Fifth image shows the same rifle laid down on the table at the police department. Another rifle was inside of the same bag.

9:35 a.m. First image shows items in a garage that were taken out of a tub. There is a Ghilli (camouflage) suit laid out on the ground. Police also found gun magazines and silencers to put on the end of a gun to keep it quiet when it’s fired.

9:32 a.m. Hermosillo now being shown images of items found in Lori’s garage. The photos are admitted into evidence.

9:30 a.m. Hermosillo is now being shown images of the contract Lori signed with the storage unit company. Lori signed her name as Lori Ryan.

9:27 a.m. The next photo is another bedroom with some of Alex Cox’s belongings. His name was on a plastic tub in the closet. In another room was some Hazmat-looking white suits lying on the floor. A tub on the closet had Alex Cox’s belongings.

9:25 a.m. The next photo was taken looking down the stairs. The next photo is the master bedroom. The next photo is the master bedroom closet with all the empty hangers in the closet. No clothes – just a towel hanging on the back door. “Normally when people go on trips and plan to come home, they don’t take all their belongings from their closet. This caught our attention because there was nothing in the closet other than empty hangers.”

9:22 a.m. The first photo is the exterior of Lori’s apartment. The second photo is the front room of apt. 175, looking into the living room and dining area. The next photo shows the living room/area going upstairs. The next photo is a Star Wars suitcase with 3-5 preparedness bags with emergency kits.

9:20 a.m. State asks to admit into evidence images of the apartment complex and interior photos taken the day the search warrant was executed. Pictures are admitted.

9:16 a.m. Hermosillo says in apt. 175, they found a rental agreement for a storage unit in Rexburg. Police obtained a search warrant for the storage unit. Here’s a story I did in Feb. 2020 about the storage unit and what was inside. A follow up story where we enhanced the footage can be found here.

9:14 a.m. Police found a few toys and items belonging to JJ, including a prescription medication. They also found several guns in the garage of apt. 175, several Army-type knives, several empty magazines for various weapons – “there were things of that nature in the garage that caught our eye.”

9:12 a.m. The next morning, Nov. 27, police obtained a search warrant for the apartments of Lori, Alex and Melanie P. They started with Lori’s and had to break down the front door. There were couches, dishes in the sink, food in the pantry, food in the refrigerator, beds and toiletries were upstairs – everything that looked like somebody had lived there “except there were no clothes on any of the hangers. All of the hangers were empty.” Nobody was in the apartments and apt. 107 was completely empty.

9:10 a.m. Wood back to questioning Hermosillo. The detective says he contacted a Gilbert police detective late that evening and said they still did not know where JJ was. Another detective then reached out to Melanie Gibb to see if JJ was with her, Gibb said he was not.

9:05 a.m. Hermosillo begins to describe what he saw on the body camera footage but Thomas objects and says it’s hearsay. Attorneys are now in a sidebar conference with the judge. Sidebars are private and white noise is played in the courtroom so nobody can overhear what is said.

9:03 a.m. Police did not get a warrant that day because Lori returned Det. Hope’s call and agreed to open the door to talk with Det. Ball and Det. Stubbs. They were wearing body cameras that recorded the interaction.

9:01 a.m. Hermosillo called Det. Ron Ball and said he was concerned about JJ’s whereabouts. Other detectives were called and they began knocking on doors at the complex. Ball told Hermosillo to go to the prosecutor’s office for a search warrant while the other officers stayed on scene to wait for Lori, Alex or Melani Boudreaux.

9 a.m. Hermosillo knew Chad was lying because police were aware Chad and Lori had recently got married. Hermosillo asked Chad for Lori’s phone number and he said he didn’t have it. Eventually Chad gave Hermosillo the number and said he originally didn’t provide it because he thought Hermosillo was accusing him of something.

8:58 a.m. Hermosillo asked if Alex had Lori’s phone number. Alex said he did not, which Hermosillo did not believe. Hermosillo and Hope knocked on Lori’s door, but nobody answered. He and Hope began knocking on other doors and Hermosillo observed Chad leaving in his Chevy Equinox. Hermosillo stopped him and asked Chad when was the last time he saw JJ. Chad said it was in October in Apt. 107 with Lori Vallow. Hermosillo asked Chad how he knew Lori. Chad responded he hardly knew her and said they had only met a couple times.

8:54 a.m. On Nov. 25, a Gilbert detective contacted Hermosillo and said they could not find JJ. Kay Woodcock asked a welfare check on JJ. The next morning, Hermosillo and Det. Hope from RPD went to Lori’s house. They saw Chad Daybell and Alex Cox unloading a pickup. Hermosillo walked up to Alex, asked if Lori was home and Alex said Lori was not there. Hermosillo said he was there to do a welfare check on JJ. Alex looked at him with a “blank look” – he looked “scared” – and then Alex looked at Chad. Chad and Alex did not say anything. Hermosillo became suspicious and he again asked Alex where JJ was. Alex said JJ was with Kay in Louisiana and Hermosillo said that wasn’t possible as Kay was the one who asked for the welfare check.

8:52 a.m. Hermosillo says police seized the Jeep on Nov. 4 from the residence. Gilbert police came to Rexburg on Nov. 18 to serve a warrant on the Jeep data information system. That is when Hermosillo first heard about JJ and Tylee. RPD was told JJ’s grandmother was concerned that she had not heard from JJ in a while and police in Arizona were going to check if he was down there.

8:51 a.m. Hermosillo contacted Gilbert police about the Jeep and they asked him to conduct surveillance on Lori Daybell’s apartment on Pioneer Road. They observed Chad and Lori but they never saw a teenage girl or young boy with Lori.

8:49 a.m. Hermosillo has been a detective for four years and has been with RPD for 22 years. He worked on patrol and as a patrol supervisor. He says he became involved in the investigation on Nov. 1 when he was contacted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office that there was a Jeep in Rexburg that was possibly involved in a homicide.

8:48 a.m. Jurors are brought in, Det. Ray Hermosillo is sworn in.

8:42 a.m. Judge Steven Boyce has entered the courtroom. Prosecutors Rob Wood, Rachel Smith and Lindsey Smith are here.

8:40 a.m. John Prior, Chad Daybell’s attorney, is in the courtroom again this morning. We are waiting for the jurors to be brought in.

8:39 a.m. I’m told there are 16 people watching the trial in the Madison County Courthouse room this morning.

8:35 a.m. Larry Woodcock is here in the courtroom with some family members but Kay Woodcock is absent.

8:25 a.m. Back in the courtroom. Lori is sitting between her attorneys dressed in a pink blouse. She’s wearing black-rimmed glasses, smiling, very chatty with Jim Archibald and John Thomas. The first witness today will be Rexburg Police Dept. Detective Ray Hermosillo.