Following nearly two months of trial testimony from more than 70 witnesses—many of whom had previously testified in the criminal trials of the 55-year-old Rexburg man’s wife and co-murderer Lori Vallow Daybell—the decision was reached to sentence him to the ultimate punishment for the murders of his then-wife and two of her children.
Lori, who was 50 years old at the time of her conviction last May, received a life sentence for identical accusations.
During the punishment phase of the trial, dozens of spectators flocked to the courtroom to hear the sentencing once a judgment was reached.
After two days of deliberation, the 12-person jury that heard the case of Chad Daybell found the killings to be “especially heinous,” manifesting exceptional depravity.
It would be reasonable to inflict the death penalty, according to the jury’s verdict, 7th District Judge Boyce stated in court.
The victims were Tammy Daybell, the father’s ex-wife, and Lori Vallow Daybell’s two youngest children, JJ Vallow, aged 7, and Tylee Ryan, aged 16. In addition to amplifying Tammy Daybell’s life insurance coverage, he was found guilty of insurance fraud and three counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Shortly after the shooting death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, Lori
Vallow Daybell relocated from Arizona to Rexburg in August of 2019. Tammy Daybell passed away at home in the months that followed, and her children never returned.
Two months after Tammy Daybell’s death, her remains were excavated because investigators decided her death was suspicious. Following an examination, the chief medical examiner of Utah determined that her death was the result of a murder.
The remains of JJ and Tylee were found in June 2020 by the Rexburg Police Department after a lengthy investigation. On Chad Daybell’s ranch in Eastern Idaho, the shallow graves held the charred and mutilated remains of Tylee as well as JJ’s tied body.
The brother of Vallow Daybell, Alex Cox, who was her “protector,” according to the authorities, may have been involved in the deaths of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy Daybell as well. He passed away in 2019.
Witnesses testified that Chad Daybell, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thought he had revelations from God telling him that some people, including the children of Vallow Daybell and Tammy Daybell, were possessed by evil spirits and needed to be “cast out,” or murdered.
The state will “cast out” Chad for his evil.
