Day four of Chad Daybell’s trial focused heavily on the digital trail prosecutors said connected Daybell and Lori Vallow to the beliefs and events surrounding the deaths. FBI tactical specialist Nicole Heideman continued walking jurors through internet searches and electronic records tied to Chad and Lori, including searches for “Ned Schneider,” the name associated with the entity they believed had possessed Charles Vallow, as well as a search asking whether bodies could be possessed after the original occupant died. Chandler Police Detective Nathan Duncan then testified about the investigation into Charles Vallow’s July 2019 shooting death and reviewed text messages between Lori, Chad and Alex Cox. Among them was a message from Cox telling Lori to “get rid of Ned already,” along with exchanges between Chad and Lori about Charles’ life-insurance policy after Lori learned she was no longer the beneficiary. Prosecutors used the evidence to show jurors how the couple’s unusual spiritual beliefs overlapped with discussions about death, money and people they had labeled as possessed.
The day also brought financial evidence into sharper focus when Social Security Administration investigator Mark Saari testified about benefits Lori continued receiving for JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Saari said Tylee had been receiving $1,859 per month following the death of her father, Joe Ryan, while JJ received $1,951, with Lori serving as representative payee; prosecutors highlighted that Lori changed the account receiving Tylee’s benefits less than a month before Tylee was last seen alive. Outside the jury’s presence, the court also dealt with a significant fight over whether prosecutor Rob Wood could be called as a witness because of roughly 340 text exchanges between Wood and Melanie Gibb. Judge Steven Boyce ruled that Wood would not testify for the prosecution, although the messages could still be explored when Gibb testified. Overall, day four pushed the state’s case deeper into motive and conspiracy, using electronic communications, financial records and the couple’s belief system to argue that the deaths were part of a broader pattern rather than isolated events.
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