‘Guilty’: Jury finds Chad Daybell guilty for murder

BOISE, Idaho — After a modest five and half hours of jury deliberations for the high-profile murder trial of Chad Daybell, a 12-person jury found the East Idaho man guilty of murder in the first degree on all counts.

In the verdict reached on Thursday, May 30, Daybell was convicted for murdering his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and the two children of current wife Lori Vallow-Daybell, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan. The convictions carry a potential sentencing of the death penalty.

“I was praying for a just verdict, and we got one,” Larry Woodcock, Grandfather of JJ Vallow told the media after leaving court. 

Daybell will be sentenced in a hearing scheduled for Friday at 8:30 a.m., as guilty convictions in capital punishment cases require an immediate sentencing in the state of Idaho.

Daybell was charged with nine crimes in total in the capital punishment murder case. He received a guilty verdict on all of them.

In addition to three counts of first-degree murder, he was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit grand theft by deception and three counts of insurance fraud.

“The pressure’s been taken off your shoulders just knowing that the verdict is done, it’s there, he’s not getting off,” Dawson Murray, who is related to a Daybell family member, told KTVB. 

Tammy Daybell, 49, was found dead in she and Chad’s bedroom in October 2019. Her death was initially thought to be from natural causes. After the strange disappearance of Vallow’s two children in September 2019 began to draw suspicion, Tammy’s body was exhumed and ruled death by asphyxiation in December 2019.

Lori Vallow’s children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, were found buried in shallow graves on Chad Daybell’s Rexburg property in June 2020 after disappearing in September 2019. The decaying remains of Tylee were found in charred, burnt pieces; while JJ was found suffocated and bound in duct tape. 

“What did they accomplish? Nothing. What did they do? They destroyed families,” Woodcock said. 

Chad Guy Daybell was found guilty of the following charges on May 30, 2024:

1. Conspiracy to commit murder, Tylee Ryan – Guilty
2. First-degree murder, Tylee Ryan – Guilty
3. Conspiracy to commit murder, JJ Vallow – Guilty
4. First-degree murder, JJ Vallow – Guilty
5. Conspiracy to commit murder, Tammy Daybell – Guilty
6. First-degree murder, Tammy Daybell – Guilty
7. Insurance fraud, Tylee Ryan’s benefits – Guilty
8. Insurance fraud, JJ Vallow’s benefits – Guilty
9. Insurance fraud, Tammy Daybell’s benefits – Guilty

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Chad Daybell’s guilty verdict on the murder charges has the potential to sentence him to death by lethal injection; a sentence taken off the table for 50-year-old Lori Vallow due to insufficient review of evidence. 

The self-proclaimed “Doomsday Prophet” and “Doomsday Mom” were both charged with the murders, among other charges. 

Vallow was found guilty by jury in early 2023 and sentenced to five life terms in prison without parole on July 31, 2023, following her guilty verdict for the murders of her two children and conspiracy to murder Chad’s wife, Tammy.

For Chad to receive the death penalty, Idaho law requires all jurors in capital punishment cases to unanimously find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.

Woodcock said he’ll respect whatever decision the jury makes.

“I will absolutely live with it,” he said. 

Daybell’s trial began April 1, 2024, with jury selection and concluded May 29 with closing arguments. Presiding Judge Steven Boyce dismissed the jury to deliberate at 4:33 p.m. following the arguments, before appearing to cease deliberations for the day at around 6:45 p.m. The jury reconvened Thursday morning and came to a decision at approximately 1 p.m.

The verdict of “guilty” was reached within five and a half hours. 

“I hope they get help if they need it,” said about the jurors on this case. “They’ve heard and seen things that they can’t unhear and they can’t unsee.”

Chad Daybell’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, May 31 at 8:30 a.m.

Watch more coverage of the Chad Daybell trial on the KTVB YouTube channel:

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