The trial of “doomsday prophet” Chad Daybell began Wednesday in Idaho, with prosecutors alleging he conspired to kill his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, and his partner’s children, JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16.
Daybell is accused of creating an alternate reality so he could fulfill “his desire for sex, money and power.”
“When he was given the opportunity for what he considered his rightful destiny, he made sure no person and no law would stand in his way,” prosecutor Rob Wood said.
Daybell, 55, is charged with first-degree murder, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit murder and robbery in connection with the deaths that became internationally infamous after the release of the Netflix documentary Sins of Our Mother.
Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, the mother of the deceased children, was given a life sentence without parole for the murders.
Prosecutors say the couple justified the three murders by creating an elaborate and apocalyptic belief system, part of an elaborate scheme to remove all obstacles to their relationship and obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance.
Chad Daybell, 55, pictured here in 2020, is accused of creating an alternate reality so he could fulfill “his desire for sex, money and power.”
Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, pictured here in February 2024, the mother of the deceased children, was given 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 her stepfather’s backyard in June 2020
Vallow Daybell called her two youngest children zombies, a friend testified at her trial.
“The evidence will show that this was a convenient story,” Wood told jurors. “This story gave them the pretext to remove people from this world for their own good.”
Daybell’s attorney John Prior painted a different picture to jurors. He noted that Chad Daybell was a religious person, but suggested that his belief in things like premonitions was fairly mainstream.
Prior also explained to jurors that Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, had a history of violence. He was previously convicted of assaulting Vallow Daybell’s third husband, and he shot and killed her fourth husband.
“Every time there was a problem with Lori Vallow, Alex Cox came to the rescue,” Prior said in his opening statement.
Daybell’s attorney also argued that his client lived a normal, faith-oriented life before meeting Lori Vallow Daybell, who he said showered Daybell with attention.
His legal team described her as a “beautiful, vibrant person” who drew Daybell into an extramarital relationship.
Daybell’s attorney also said he would present several experts in DNA, forensics and pathology who would testify that it is impossible to determine what caused Tammy Daybell’s death and that there is no DNA of Chad Daybell found near 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: seven-year-old Joshua (JJ), left, and 16-year-old Tylee, right
Vallow grinned in a mugshot taken in August after she was sentenced to life in an Idaho prison for the murders of 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 that she refused to see a doctor, instead treating her illnesses at home with herbs and oils.
“What’s important are facts and evidence,” Prior told the jury. ‘Do not be distracted by speculation, do not be distracted by guesses, conjectures or hunches. It all comes down to facts and evidence.”
The prosecutor, Wood, also described the basics of the case against Daybell, structuring his presentation to jurors as chapters in 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 self-published fiction loosely based on its teachings.
In the fall of 2019, prosecutors say he fraudulently tried to collect on his late wife’s life insurance policy, and Vallow Daybell continued to collect Social Security benefits from both children after they died.
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 attorney John Prior did not return a telephone message seeking comment. A judge has issued a gag order in the case, barring attorneys from speaking to the media until the trial is over.
The grim story began in the fall of 2019, when family members reported the two children missing and law enforcement officials launched a search that spanned several states. The ensuing investigation took some unexpected turns.
During her court appearance in February, Vallow was seen wearing blush and lipstick and her dyed blonde hair curled 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 revealed that she died of asphyxiation
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were having an affair when both of their husbands died unexpectedly, investigators said.
Vallow Daybell’s husband was shot and killed by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019; The brother told police it was in self-defense.
Wood told jurors that the evidence in the case will show that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow manipulated Daybell Cox into doing their bidding by promising him spiritual rewards.
A few months later, in October 2019, Tammy Daybell died. Chad Daybell initially told police she suffered from an illness and died in her sleep, but an autopsy later determined she died of asphyxiation.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell married just two weeks after Tammy Daybell died, surprising family members and raising suspicions among authorities.
Friends later told investigators 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 were dismembered and burned, and JJ’s remains were bound.