Wednesday 1st - morning update
REFRESH FOR UPDATES
LIVE UPDATES FROM THE CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRIAL LIVE
Please excuse the typos. These are live updates from the courtroom.
11:55 a.m. Gilbert says Chad and Lori never mentioned taking Lori’s kids to Disneyland. Gilbert assumed Lori was an empty nester and the daughter who died was older. Blake says now may be a good time for lunch. Be back at 1 p.m.
11:53 a.m. That October was very cold and there was a hard frost in the Rexburg area. Chad and Lori told the Gilberts they were going to get married but they didn’t know when or where. They also planned on taking Chad’s kids to Disneyland at Thanksgiving. Chad said he was also going to Hawaii to write a book.
11:52 a.m. Lori said her husband had died of a heart attack in December. Gilbert asks Lori if she had children. Chad said she recently had a daughter who had passed away. Lori told Gilbert she had children but didn’t give a definite answer as to the amount of kids.
11:52 a.m. Chad and Lori sat on the couch and Gilbert says “it was awkward.” They were very affectionate with each other – more than he had ever seen Chad. They were giggling and laughing and Gilbert says she and her husband were embarrassed. Chad had never acted that way with Tammy.
11:50 a.m. Chad told the Gilberts that Lori was in town. The following Tuesday, the Gilberts went to the temple. They were waiting for a meeting to begin and Chad was there with Lori. Melani Boudreaux was also there. Later that week, Chad and Lori went over to Gilbert’s house.
11:48 a.m. Chad went over that night. Gilbert had made cookies. Chad said he had found the woman he was going to marry. Gilbert and her husband were “absolutely stunned when he said that.” Chad said he had met the lady at a conference in St. George in 2018. Chad didn’t want to tell who she was at first but then told them her name was Lori Vallow. Gilbert had not heard that name but then remembered that Lori had done a podcast with Melanie Gibb.
11:47 a.m. Garth was living in Chad’s house at the time and Emma was staying in the home kitty corner. Gilbert called Chad on Oct. 26 to see if she and her husband could come visit with him. He told them no, he would come to their house that evening. Gilbert never saw where Chad was living in Rexburg.
11:45 a.m. The following Friday, Gilbert went and saw Emma. She was sobbing, had lost a lot of weight and meals were organized to help her and Garth out. Gilbert says both kids were struggling. Chad had moved out by Friday. Gilbert believes he moved after the memorial.
11:44 a.m. Tammy is pronounced dead on Saturday and by the following Wednesday, Chad had plans to move out of the house. Chad told his kids to go through Tammy’s items and Gilbert was surprised things were moving so fast.
11:42 a.m. Gilbert was surprised Chad spoke because most spouses are too devastated to talk. Gilbert says Chad’s speech was like a church talk. Other talks at funerals are loving tributes – she says Chad’s wasn’t. After the memorial in Idaho the next day, Gilbert took a meal over to Chad’s house. The kids started to eat and Chad told Gilbert he was moving to a condo in Rexburg. He said his friend had a place for him to stay.
11:41 a.m. Gilbert says before the funeral, she noticed Chad standing by the casket. He didn’t seen mournful. Gilbert said Tammy looked good and Chad said, “Yes she does.” Gilbert recalls Chad and all the kids speaking at the funeral. Gilbert was impressed with the children’s talks.
11:41 a.m. Blake asks if Gilbert went to the funeral. She responds, “Yes, I needed to see her,” and breaks down crying. Gilbert says Tammy looked nice in the casket. Gilbert never spoke to Chad about why he held Tammy’s funeral in Springville.
11:40 a.m. Gilbert knew the preparations and time needed for a funeral and was surprised it was so soon. She was also surprised because the funeral was going to be in Utah. This was Saturday and the funeral was scheduled for Tuesday. Gilbert felt like the funeral had been planned.
11:37 a.m. Chad didn’t seem devastated, Gilbert says. She says Tammy left a church activity that previous Wednesday at 8 p.m. to go to a clogging class. Gilbert says Tammy wasn’t coughing that night. When Gilbert arrived, they asked if the kids had breakfast. They had not. Gilbert and her husband stood up to go get the kids some food. Chad told her that the funeral would be Tuesday. Gilbert was shocked it was so soon. She asked if Chad had planned that and he said no.
11:36 a.m. When Gilbert asked Chad what happened, he said Tammy vomited at midnight and he thinks she passed away at 2 a.m. Her legs were hanging over the bed and she had fallen out of bed. Chad also said he thought she died of an embolism.
11:35 a.m. Gilbert and her husband went over to the Daybell’s home around 8:30 a.m. Chad answered the door and hugged them. All the kids and their spouses, except Mark, were sitting in the living room. “They were stunned. They could hardly speak and were crying.”
11:33 a.m. Gilbert recalls getting a phone call from Emma Daybell on Oct. 19. Emma was sobbing. Chad took the phone and told Gilbert Tammy had died. Chad asked Gilbert not to tell anyone for an hour that Tammy had died. Gilbert said she needed to tell the bishop. Chad told her not to tell the bishop. She called the bishop because he was leaving for work. Gilbert was surprised Tammy had died. They had just spoken on Wednesday.
11:31 a.m. Gilbert observed Chad coming to the church and setting up chairs. In 2019, she noticed Chad and Tammy’s relationship was “distant.” Tammy did mention to Gilbert that sometimes the finances were strained in her marriage. Gilbert never observed Tammy slowing down. She never complained about health issues.
11:30 a.m. Gilbert says Tammy was great to work with. She was organized and computer-savvy. Tammy had a lot of empathy for the women in the ward and had a good wit.
11:28 a.m. Gilbert moved into the neighborhood in March 2017. She got to know Tammy as they served in the LDS Relief Society Presidency together. They met once a week and on Sundays.
11:27 a.m. Blake is questioning Gilbert. Gilbert says when they moved into the neighbor, they got to know Tammy and Chad through their LDS ward and community.
11:25 a.m. Next witness is Alice Gilbert – Chad Daybell’s neighbor.
11:22 a.m. Boyce will allow Prior a brief re-cross. Prior asks about the medical records – one from 2017 and one from 2019. There were also records from 2015 and 2016 that Christensen also reviewed. He says he also looked at records from 2014. Prior asks about Tammy going into the doctor for a wrist injury. Testimony is over for Christensen. He remains under subpoena.
11:21 a.m. Blake is done questioning and Prior asks for a sidebar. Boyce grants the request and attorneys huddle in the corner of the courtroom while white noise is played.
11:20 a.m. Blake asks if it was possible someone restrained Tammy while someone else suffocated her. Christensen says it’s possible. Blake asks Christensen if it’s likely Tammy died of a seizure. He says no.
11:16 a.m. Blake asks if anemia is treatable. Christensen says yes, most times. Tammy started having anemia five years before her death. Prior objects and asks to approach. Boyce overrules the objection and denies the request to approach. Blake asks if there were any signs in medical records that Tammy had blood pressure, seizure problems. Christensen did not. He did not find any indication that Tammy had negative interactions with her drugs and herbal remedies.
11:14 a.m. Blake asks Christensen to explain what anemia is. It’s a problem of not having enough healthy red blood and can happen for a variety of reasons.
11:12 a.m. Christensen doesn’t know if the kids ever agreed to speak to law enforcement. Had the kids made statements about Tammy’s health, Christensen would have wanted to review them.
11:10 a.m. Prior has no further questions. Blake will now re-direct. She asks about the exhumation order. Christensen say he was not the one who requested it. Blake asks if any of Chad’s kids ever reached out to the medical examiner’s office. He says not to his knowledge. None of them ever passed along information to the office either.
11:09 a.m. Prior is asking if anemia goes undiagnosed for five years and Tammy isn’t getting treatment, and there is insufficient oxygen to reach her heavy lungs, could we get the same results. Christensen says he doesn’t think so. Tammy was active and exercising.
11:07 a.m. Prior says arrhythmia could happen to any one at any time. Christensen says that’s very unlikely. He says based on Tammy’s heart, it’s very unlikely she suffered from arrhythmia.
11:06 a.m. Prior asks about seizures. He asks Christensen if he can exclude the fact Tammy didn’t have a seizure. He says he can’t 100% rule it out but it is very unlikely.
11:04 a.m. Prior asks if the “heavy” lungs could have an impact on the cause of death. Christensen says yes. Prior asks if that was taken into account before determining asphyxia. Christensen says absolutely.
11:03 a.m. Prior asks Christensen about Tammy taking fluoxetine – a form of Prozac. Prior asks if fluoxetine is mixed with the wrong medicine, could there be significant consequences. Christensen says there could be.
11:01 a.m. Prior says there are situations where people pass away and there’s no way to determine how they died. Christensen says that’s correct. He reviewed Tammy’s medical records from Rexburg and Utah. There were not a lot of records.
11 a.m. Prior says in this situation, if there was insufficient evidence to determine a cause of death, it could be listed as undetermined. Christensen says yes. It doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t foul play involved.
10:58 a.m. Prior asks Christensen to list the five options for manner of death: natural, accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined. Prior asks Christensen about undetermined. He says it’s used when you don’t have enough information to decide between two different manners.
10:57 a.m. Prior asks if Christensen is firm on the idea that the death is from asphyxiation. He says he is.
10:56 a.m. Prior asks if Christensen is suggesting someone stopped Tammy from breathing. He says yes. Prior asks if someone was holding her arms down, how did bruises get on the front of the arm and the back of the right arm. Christensen says you can have bruises from a grab.
10:54 a.m. Prior shows the bruise diagram on the screen. He asks Christensen how many bruises were on Tammy’s right arm. Eight. Four on the front, four on the back. On the left arm, there is one bruise. On the chest, there is one bruise.
10:52 a.m. Prior tries to ask repeatedly why Tammy Daybell was “dug out of the ground.” Blake objects each time saying the question has been asked and answered. Boyce grants the objections.
10:51 a.m. Prior asks Christensen if he spoke to any of the immediate family members about the bruises. He did not. Christensen says he did not talk to any family members about what she used to treat bruises. He says there were ointments and other creams photographed at the house that Tammy used to treat bruises.
10:50 a.m. Prior asks Christensen if he can determine the cause of bruises on someone’s body. Christensen says he can not but he can offer opinions on how they might have been inflicted upon the person.
10:48 a.m. Prior asks about the order that was obtained to exhume Tammy’s body. Blake has objected over 10 times to Prior’s questioning over the past few minutes as questions being asked and answered. Boyce has sustained most of the objections.
10:47 a.m. Prior asks if there was discussion about Charles Vallow or Brandon Boudreaux at the exhumation hearing. Christensen doesn’t recall.
10:44 a.m. Christensen says the reason Tammy was exhumed was to determine the cause of death. Prior pushes him for the exact reason that was given in the court hearing. Christensen doesn’t recall the exact reason.
10:43 a.m. Prior asks about the initial cause of death for Tammy Daybell – it was pulmonary edema. Christensen says pulmonary edema was present, but not the cause of death.
10:41 a.m. Blake asks Christensen if it’s likely Tammy died of a seizure. He says no. Likely she died of arrhythmia? No. Intoxicant? No. Christensen reaffirms caused of death was asphyxia. Blake has no further questions. Prior will now cross examine.
10:39 a.m. Christensen believes Tammy had likely been dead at least an hour or two or longer for her body to have been stiff – but it’s unlikely she had been dead more recent than an hour.
10:36 a.m. Rigor mortis can help determine time of death but it’s imprecise, Christensen says. As a forensic pathologist, he generally does not determine a time of death. Christensen recalls Tammy was reported dead prior to 6 a.m. She was described as being cold and stiff. Based on that description, it would indicate to Christensen that rigor mortis would have set in.
10:33 a.m. All of the lividity was on Tammy’s back, Christensen says. Blake asks about rigor mortis – stiffening of the joints and muscles a few hours after death. The body becomes solid and very difficult to move. Once it’s fully developed around 12 hours, it will stay that way until the body starts to decompose.
10:31 a.m. Christensen says the bruises could be consistent with someone being restrained. Blake asks if Christensen noticed any signs of lividity. He says yes. Lividity is pooling of the blood to the part closest to the ground.
10:29 a.m. Blake asks when the bruises would have occurred. He says they all showed evidence of hemorrhage in the tissue without any inflammation – so they would have occurred sometime from minutes to hours prior to Tammy’s death.
10:29 a.m. Blake displays more images of the bruises for the jurors. Christensen describes the different aspects of each photograph.
10:27 a.m. Chad and Prior are looking closely at the images on the screen in front of them.
10:25 a.m. Many jurors looking closely at their screens as more photos of the injuries are shown. Christensen explains what dark coloration means on the bruises.
10:24 a.m. The next image shows the bruise on the left bicep. There was hemorrhage in the bruise. The following photo shows the two bruises on the back of Tammy’s right upper arm. The next image is three bruises on the right biceps and two on the right forearm.
10:21 a.m. Christensen describes the first photo – the bruise on Tammy’s left chest. The next image is a close up of the bruise that shows hemorrhage in the tissue. The next picture shows tissue that was removed. They looked at the tissue under a microscope that showed the hemorrhage.
10:20 a.m. Blake says the photos are graphic. We will not see them in the courtroom or on the livestream. The jurors will see them on their monitors.
10:18 a.m. Photos were taken during the autopsy to document the injuries. Blake moves to admit the series of the pictures.
10:16 a.m. There were no bruises on the lower part of Tammy’s body or her head.
10:14 a.m. The diagram is shown on the screen. There are markings on Tammy’s right arm – front and back, one bruise on her left arm and a bruise above her left breast:
10:10 a.m. Blake asks for Christensen to be handed a diagram of Tammy’s body. She asks him to mark where the bruises were on the body. The exhibit is now taken to Prior for him to see the markings. Chad leans over to look at the diagram.
10:09 a.m. Pulmonary edema itself is not a cause of death. Lots of things can result in pulmonary edema including asphyxiation.
10:08 a.m. Tammy’s lungs were a little on the “heavy side,” according to Christensen. There was some fluid in them. Nothing else was abnormal.
10:07 a.m. Christensen says if he had responded to the scene, he would have done an autopsy. Tammy was young and there was no medical explanation as to why she died.
10:06 a.m. The foam is a sign of pulmonary edema, according to Christensen.
10:05 a.m. A photo is displayed showing foam coming out of Tammy’s mouth. We can not see the photograph but the jurors can. So can Chad, prosecutors and the judge.
10:01 a.m. We are in the courtroom. Boyce in on the bench. Matt Daybell is back in the courtroom sitting in a different spot with a clear view of his big brother about 10 feet in front of him.
9:36 a.m. Chad has repeatedly looked over to his brother Matt during the past few minutes. Boyce is back on the bench. Apparently there are problems with the juror’s monitors. We are taking a morning break to get them fixed.
9:34 a.m. It appears they are going to show graphic images to the jury. The people sitting on the right side of the courtroom are being asked to move. The jurors have monitors in front of them and some people on the right side may be able to get a glimpse at the images.
9:31 a.m. Blake asks to publish an exhibit. Boyce asks for a sidebar.
9:30 a.m. Fluoxetine was found in Tammy’s system but at a non-toxic level. There was also selenium at a non-toxic level.
9:28 a.m. Christensen says extensive toxicology testing was done on Tammy’s body because of the circumstances surrounding her death. The fact Tammy had been embalmed didn’t inhibit the ability to do the toxicology test.
9:25 a.m. Blake asks about intoxicants. Christensen says tissue testing sample was done to look for intoxicants. The liver provides the best specimen. Samples were taken on Tammy’s liver and sent to the lab to see if there were pesticides, heavy metals, drugs, biologic toxins, etc. Nothing was found.
9:21 a.m. Christensen found nothing in Tammy’s health history that would support her having seizures. Blake asks about heart arrhythmia. He says there was nothing in Tammy’s heart that showed irregularities and normally heart arrhythmia would not exhibit itself in someone who is 49.
9:20 a.m. Christensen says there were no signs of seizure activity during Tammy’s autopsy. Christensen reviewed her medical records. No mention of seizures. Christensen says it would be very uncommon for someone of Tammy’s age to start developing seizures.
9:19 a.m. Blake asks what a seizure is. Christensen says they are abnormal electrical charges in the brain that result in abnormal behavior external. He has conducted autopsies on people who have had seizures. Usually there is trauma to the person’s tongue and evidence of incontinence.
9:16 a.m. Blake asks what a negative autopsy is. He says it means there are no findings that explain the death – basically a person with a normal anatomy who has died.
9:14 a.m. Christensen says he saw no external injuries or traumatic event that could have been the cause of Tammy’s death. Tammy’s heart, lungs, liver, kidneys were normal. There was no pathologic explanation for her death. There was some bruising on her arms and one bruise on her chest.
9:13 a.m. Asphyxia can result from anything that blocks the airway – smothering, choking, drowning, chemicals (carbon monoxide, cyanide).
9:11 a.m. Blake asks the cause of death. Christensen’s says asphyxia. Matter of death: homicide. To the medical examiner, homicide means another person was involved in the victim’s death. Asphyxia means the person was unable to get enough oxygen.
9:10 a.m. Christensen says it’s hard to tell the age of many blunt injuries or bruises. The colors don’t tell you the age of the bruise until you start seeing yellow, green or brown. It’s harder to tell the age of a red, blue or purple bruise.
9:08 a.m. The body is then opened up and everything is examined – the brain, internal organs, the rectum, the spine, the neck, etc. X-rays are also performed in many cases to evaluate the presence or absence of skeletal trauma.
9:06 a.m. Blake asks how an autopsy is conducted. It begins with a detailed external examination. The body is photographed and documented in its original condition. They look for any damage to clothing, the body, etc. Clothes are then removed and photographed separately. The body is then photographed unclothed before being cleaned. Pictures are taken again. Fibers and hairs found on the body are collected.
9:05 a.m. Christensen says he conducted the autopsy with Dr. Lily Mardsen, who was a trainee at the time. Christensen says they discussed their findings as they did the autopsy and after it was over.
9:02 a.m. Christensen reviewed information from the coroner’s office and sheriff’s office before Tammy’s body was exhumed. Blake asks if exhumations are common. Christensen says no. The first exhumation case he was involved in was in 1998.
9 a.m. Blake asks if there were any concerns about Tammy’s exhumation that would affect the autopsy. Christensen says no. He goes on to explain that a forensic autopsy is different than a regular, hospital-type autopsy. In a forensic autopsy, they are looking for evidence and focus on what is present on the outside of the body before delving into the internal parts.
8:57 a.m. Christensen was present when Tammy’s body was exhumed and transported to the medical examiner’s office. Someone from his office always attends when bodies are exhumed so they can observe the condition of the grave.
8:56 a.m. Christensen has performed around 7,200-7,300 autopsies over the course of his career. He performed the autopsy on Tammy Daybell. Christensen’s office was contacted in Nov. 2019 by someone in Fremont County. An order was then received by the court to exhume Tammy’s body.
8:54 a.m. As a medical examiner, you need a medical degree and go through speciality training. They perform autopsies. Coroners do not perform autopsies but can request them from medical examiners. The medical examiner will then determine if one needs to be done.
8:53 a.m. There is not a lot of national uniformity to death investigation systems, Christensen says. Historically most states have had elected county coroners. Over time, things changed. In Utah, it is entirely a medical examiner system and there are no coroners.
8:51 a.m. Christensen says he has undergone training in autopsies and forensic autopsies. Blake asks who determines cause and manner of death in Utah. Christensen says 80% of death certificates in Utah are signed by physicians. The other 20% fall under jurisdiction of medical examiner.
8:47 a.m. Christensen was the chief medical examiner for the state of Utah before retiring.
8:46 a.m. Lindsey Blake will question the first witness – Utah Medical Examiner Dr. Erik Christensen.
8:44 a.m. Boyce is on the bench. Jurors are being brought in.
8:41 a.m. All the attorneys have left the courtroom and are back meeting with Judge Steven Boyce in chambers.
8:33 a.m. Madison Co. Prosecutor Rob Wood, Fremont Co. Prosecutor Lindsey Blake, Fremont Co. Deputy Prosecutor Rocky Wixom and Special Prosector Ingrid Batey at the state’s table. Chad Daybell is wearing a checkered dress shirt with dark tie. Around 30-40 people are in the courtroom gallery.
8:32 a.m. We are now in the courtroom. When Matt walked in, Chad said to John Prior, “That’s my brother.” Matt is seated between Kay Woodcock and Vicki Hoban, Tammy Daybell’s aunt.
8:28 a.m. Back at the courthouse for day 14 of Chad Daybell’s trial. We are waiting to get in the courtroom. Matt Daybell, Chad’s brother, is here chatting with Larry and Kay Woodcock. He is NOT here to support his brother and will be sitting with the Woodcocks. Matt has not seen Chad since Tammy’s memorial service.
www.eastidahonews.com
