Day fifteen of Chad Daybell’s trial centered on testimony from people close to both Chad and JJ Vallow, beginning with JJ’s grandmother Kay Woodcock. Woodcock described becoming increasingly alarmed after Charles Vallow’s death as Lori stopped allowing regular contact with JJ, eventually leading Woodcock to discover through Charles’ email account that Lori had moved to Rexburg. She also testified that she found internet searches for malachite wedding rings, beach wedding dresses and men’s beach clothing that had been made on October 2, 2019—more than two weeks before Tammy Daybell died—evidence prosecutors used to reinforce the argument that Chad and Lori were already planning a future together. Chad’s mother, Sheila Daybell, testified that Tammy had appeared healthy when she saw her just days before her death and later described learning that Chad and Lori had already married when she met them at a restaurant the following month. Lori also told Sheila that she had a daughter who had died, even though Tylee Ryan was still officially considered missing at the time. One juror was also excused for medical reasons during the day, leaving the court with 17 jurors, five of whom would ultimately serve as alternates.
Chad’s sister-in-law Heather Daybell then gave some of the day’s most damaging testimony, describing concerns she had held for years about Chad’s increasingly extreme religious teachings and his predictions about earthquakes, visions and future events. Heather said Chad’s explanation of Tammy’s death had sounded “scripted” and that he later gave her a different explanation, claiming Tammy had died from a pulmonary embolism related to weight gain. She also said Chad seemed able to switch his grief on and off at Tammy’s funeral and had insisted on holding the funeral quickly despite family members asking him to wait. Later, retired Rexburg Police Officer David Stubbs testified about surveillance of Chad and Lori and the November 26, 2019 welfare check for JJ. Jurors watched body-camera footage showing Lori falsely claiming JJ was staying with Melanie Gibb, minimizing her relationship with Chad by calling him a friend of her brother, and offering a series of explanations about why family members were trying to find her. Stubbs testified that officers could not verify JJ’s whereabouts, could not confirm Lori’s claims about Tylee attending BYU-Idaho, and ultimately obtained search warrants for the apartments belonging to Lori, Alex Cox and Melani Boudreaux. Day fifteen therefore tied together family concerns about Chad’s beliefs and behavior with the first concrete police efforts to locate JJ, showing jurors how the missing-children investigation began unraveling the story Chad and Lori had been telling.
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