A jail phone call played in court on Wednesday revealed that “doomsday” author Chad Daybell told his wife Lori Vallow that he texted her dead brother.
Daybell, 55, is on trial for the 2019 murders of his former wife Tammy, and Vallow’s children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and JJ, seven.
In the never before heard jail phone call, Vallow asks Daybell for reassurance the day before her children were found buried in Daybell’s Idaho backyard.
Prosecutors said that the couple conspired with Vallow’s brother Alex Cox to carry out the murders as part of their doomsday cult beliefs – but also so they could collect life insurance money and the kids’ social security and survivor benefits.
The call played in court on 8 June 2020 – months after Cox was dead.
Prosecutors say Daybell’s “desire for sex, power, and money” led to the murders. But his defence attorney claims he was manipulated by Vallow.
Last year, Vallow was convicted in the three murders and sentenced to life in prison. Jurors heard how she, Daybell and her late brother Alex Cox were fuelled, in part, by their bizarre cult beliefs.
If convicted, Daybell faces the death penalty or life in prison.
Jail call reveals Daybell told Lori Vallow he texted her dead brother
A jail phone call played in court on Wednesday revealed that Daybell told his wife Lori Vallow that he texted her dead brother, Alex Cox.
“I texted Ray,” he is heard on the recording. Det Hermosillo says Cox often went by Ray LeMar. He had a gmail account [email protected].
“He was very optimistic,” Daybell tells her and the two giggle multiple times.
“He’s said it will work out. He didn’t want me to say he misses you but he’s not far from contact. We can text him whenever we want.”
Daybell says he asked Ray about the “video project.” Vallow’s sister Summer Shiflet posted a video online about Alex Cox after he died.
Daybell and Vallow talk about completing the project on time and if they get a bonus.
Daybell tells her: “he’s still very interested and hasn’t forgotten about us. He’s involved in this latest batch.”
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 18:56
FBI agent Rick Wright is back on the stand
Investigator Rick Wright is back on the stand.
He analyzed cell phone data and GEO locations for phones linked to Alex Cox from September to November 2019.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 16:15
Day 24 of Chad Daybell’s trial begins
Chad Daybell is back in an Ada County courtroom in Boise, Idaho on Wednesday for the 24th day of his triple murder trial.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 16:09
FBI investigator testifies about phone locations near children’s buried bodies
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 15:00
What happend at Lori Vallow’s trial?
A year before Chad Daybell’s began, his wife Lori Vallow was at the centre of this bizarre case involving cults and multiple deaths with her own trial at the same Ada County courthouse in Boise, Idaho.
She is currently in jail in Arizona where she faces charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the 2019 death of her fourth husband Charles Vallow, and in the 2019 attempted murder of her former nephew-in-law, Brandon Boudreaux.
Rachel Sharp explains the most crucial moments from her high-profile trial, which ended with Vallow’s conviction for the murder of her two youngest children.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 14:30
Chad Daybell’s trial resumes today in Boise
The “doomsday” author’s trial will resume today in Boise, Idaho around 10:30am ET.
The trial, which began 1 April, is expected to last two to four more weeks.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 14:00
WATCH: Chad Daybell sends texts after alleged burial of Tylee Ryan
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 13:00
RECAP: Tylee Ryan’s best friend testifies she was ‘almost maternal’ with brother JJ
Tylee Ryan’s best friend Ashlyn Rynd testified on Monday in court that Tylee’s relationship with her younger brother JJ Vallow, seven, was “almost maternal.”
“She was there for him. … he was going for anybody who was going to provide for him, and Tylee would always be the one to show up,” Ashlyn said.
Ashlyn temporarily moved to Texas in 2017, but the two friends remained close, and she moved back to Arizona.
However, when Tylee moved to Idaho in 2019, they “tried for two weeks” but fell out of contact.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 11:00
Jury hears gruesome testimony about tools used to chop up Tylee Ryan’s remains
On Monday, jurors listened to Douglas Halepaska, FBI Toolmark Analyst, describe tools used to chop and shattered Tylee Ryan’s remains.
The 16-year-old’s remains were found buried and burned on Chad Daybell’s property. Her hip bone and spine were shattered.
“The force you can kind of see at the top left, you can see that the bone has actually shattered in separate places and fractured,” the analyst said.
“Based on my training experience, it appears that the tool that was used actually cut through the bone and into that soft tissue and may have actually carried into it.”
Mr Halepaska testified that many of Tylee’s injuries came from tools like a machete, a hatchet, a cleaver and a pick.
A pickaxe and shovel were among the numerous tools found on Daybell’s property that tested positive for human remains.
The defence argued that the tools analyst could not specifically identify the tools that were used on Tylee.
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 09:00
ICYMI: Chad Daybell gets emotional as 911 call is played at his murder trial
Andrea Cavallier15 May 2024 05:00