Chad Daybell hearing: Jury selection begins in murder case for husband of ‘cult mom’ Lori Vallow

The husband of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is finally having his day in court as he goes on trial over the triple-murder case that shocked America.

The 55-year-old doomsday author and father-of-five is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of his first wife Tammy Daybell, and his second wife Vallow’s children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7.

If convicted, he faces the death penalty or life in prison.

Catch up on the twisted saga here:

Lori Vallow has been behind bars since January 2020 when she was arrested in Hawaii and extradited to Idaho for failing to meet a court order to present her children to authorities.

The case was largely put on hold when Vallow was found not mentally competent to stand trial. She then spent almost a year at a mental health facility before she was ruled competent in May 2022 and the case proceeded through the courts.

The death penalty was taken off the table for Vallow but not for Daybell.

Following the jury’s unanimous 2023 guilty verdict on seven counts, Vallow is spending five life terms in prison without parole for killing her children and conspiring to kill Tammy.

In a dramatic closing statement last year, Vallow’s lawyers argued that she had been “under the control” of Daybell, under the spell of the “craziness” of his cult beliefs.

Now, Vallow will be tried in two separate cases in Arizona on two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the death of her former husband Charles Vallow – who was shot and killed in 2019 by her brother Alex Cox.

A juror questioned on Monday afternoon told the court he’s never heard of Chad Daybell’s case until today.

He also said he’s never served on a jury before so this is important to him. So much so that he is willing to skip an important family reunion and a vacation in order to serve.

Meanwhile, another juror said how can anyone live in Idaho and not know about the case.

Day one of jury selection has come to a close.

There are 15 potential jurors who have progressed toward the final pool of 50.

Jury selection resumes tomorrow morning.

The process is expected to last about a week.

A juror who watches Dateline and “a lot of those types of shows” advanced to the next round of the jury selection process.

She said she learned about the case from local news and Dateline.

She said she believes Chad Daybell had some involvement in the crimes but she says she can set it aside and be fair.

Prior asks the juror about her thoughts and she said she has information based on what media has reported but is agreeable to looking at all the evidence before making her determination of his innocence or guilt.

The juror opposes the death penalty and says she can put aside her feelings if it’s called for by the facts, law, and instructions of the case.

– Murder of Tammy Daybell

– Murder of Joshua “JJ” Vallow

– Conspiracy to commit murder of Tammy Daybell

– Conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in the death of Joshua “JJ” Vallow

– Conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in the death of Tylee Ryan

Jury selection began on Monday, 1 April and is expected to take about a week.

Eighteen jurors will be selected.

Six of those jurors will serve as alternates.

Chad Daybell’s trial is expected to last up to 10 weeks.

Jury selection began on Monday with 7th District Judge Steven Boyce reading the charges to the potential jurors and telling them that it is up to prosecutors to prove the charges.

Daybell does not need to prove his innocence.

On Monday, the judge dismissed a couple of potential jurors because they said the long time commitment would present undue hardship.

He asked the others if they were aware of Daybell’s case, had already decided his guilt or innocence or if they had any bias that might prevent them from being fair.

Several indicated they had heard about the case, but only a couple said that they couldn’t be impartial.

Jury selection is expected to take about a week. Eighteen jurors will be picked, with six of them serving as alternates.

One of the potential jurors says he could listen and be fair as a juror, but he does have an opinion.

He wrote on his questionnaire that Chad Daybell is a “weak character.”

Prior moves to strike the juror for cause and the judge grants the request and the man is dismissed.