The trial of ‘doomsday prophet’ Chad Daybell began in Idaho on Wednesday as prosecutors alleged he conspired to murder his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, as well as his partner’s children, JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16.
Daybell is accused of creating an alternate reality in order to satisfy “his desire for sex, money and power.”
“When he had the opportunity for what he considered his rightful destiny, he made sure that no person or law stood in his way,” said prosecutor Rob Wood.
Daybell, 55, faces charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit murder and grand larceny in connection with the deaths that became internationally famous following the release of the Netflix documentary Sins of Our Mother.
Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, the mother of the deceased children, received a life sentence without parole for the murders.
Prosecutors say the couple justified the three murders by creating a detailed, apocalyptic belief system, part of an elaborate plan to remove any obstacles to their relationship and obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance.
Chad Daybell, 55, shown here in 2020, is accused of creating an alternate reality in order to satisfy “his desire for sex, money and power.”
Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, pictured here in February 2024, the mother of the deceased children, received a life sentence without parole for the murders.
Tylee Ryan, 16, and her younger brother JJ, seven (right), went missing in September 2019 and their bodies were discovered in June 2020 in their stepfather’s backyard.
Vallow Daybell referred to her two youngest children as zombies, a friend testified during her trial.
“The evidence will show that this was a convenient narrative,” Wood told the jury. “This narrative gave them the pretext to remove people from this world for their own good.”
Daybell’s defense attorney, John Prior, presented a different picture to jurors, noting that Chad Daybell was a religious person but suggesting that his belief in things like premonitions was quite common.
Prior also explained to jurors that Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, had a violent history. He had previously been convicted of attacking Vallow Daybell’s third husband and shooting and killing her fourth husband.
“Every time there was a problem with Lori Vallow, Alex Cox ran to the rescue,” Prior said in his opening statements.
Daybell’s attorney also argued that his client lived a normal, faith-centered life before meeting Lori Vallow Daybell, who he said showered Daybell with attention.
Her legal team described her as a “beautiful and vivacious person” who lured Daybell into an extramarital relationship.
Daybell’s attorney also said he would present several experts in DNA, forensic science and pathology who would testify that it is impossible to determine what caused Tammy Daybell’s death and that none of Chad Daybell’s DNA was found on the children’s bodies.
Vallow denied murdering her children when she was convicted last year and said at her sentencing that she was not responsible for their deaths. Pictured: Joshua (JJ), age seven, left, and Tylee, age 16, right.
Vallow smiled in a mugshot taken in August after she was sentenced to life in an Idaho prison for murdering her children, JJ and Tylee.
Some of Chad and Tammy Daybell’s adult children will also testify, Prior said, about how Tammy Daybell suffered from a number of illnesses but refused to see a doctor and instead treated her illnesses with herbs and oils at home.
“The important thing is the facts and the evidence,” Prior told the jury. ‘Don’t be distracted by speculation, don’t be distracted by conjectures, suspicions or hunches. It all comes down to facts and evidence.’
Prosecutor Wood also described the basics of the case against Daybell, structuring his presentation to the jury like chapters of a book, an apparent reference to the defendant’s previous work as an author.
Chad Daybell was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and published fiction loosely based on its teachings.
In the fall of 2019, prosecutors say he attempted to fraudulently collect on his late wife’s life insurance policy, and Vallow Daybell continued to collect social security benefits for his two children after her death.
Chad Daybell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and the trial is expected to last more than two months. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Daybell is convicted.
Daybell’s defense attorney, John Prior, did not return a phone message seeking comment. A judge issued a gag order in the case, prohibiting attorneys from speaking to the media until the trial is over.
The grim story began in the fall of 2019, when extended family members reported the two children missing and law enforcement officials launched a search that spanned several states. The subsequent investigation took several unexpected turns.
At her court appearance in February, Vallow was seen wearing blush and lipstick with curly, dyed blonde hair as she greeted the judge and her attorney.
In 2020, police discovered JJ and Tylee’s remains in shallow graves in Chad Daybell’s yard.
Chad Daybell argued that his ex-wife was sick and died in her sleep, an autopsy found that she died from asphyxiation.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were having an affair when their spouses died unexpectedly, investigators said.
Vallow Daybell’s husband was shot and killed by his brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019; The brother told police he was in self-defense.
Wood told jurors that evidence in the case will show that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell manipulated Cox into doing their bidding by promising spiritual rewards.
Several months later, in October 2019, Tammy Daybell died. Chad Daybell initially told police that he was battling an illness and died in his sleep, but an autopsy later determined that he died of asphyxiation.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell married just two weeks after Tammy Daybell’s death, surprising family members and raising suspicions among authorities.
Their friends later told detectives that Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell believed they had been reincarnated and were tasked with gathering people before a biblical apocalypse.
Wood said Chad Daybell described both children as possessed before they disappeared, and that he repeatedly predicted to friends that Tammy Daybell would die soon.
The children’s bodies were eventually found buried on Chad Daybell’s property. Tylee Ryan’s remains had been dismembered and burned, and JJ’s remains were bound.