Day 25: All evidence presented in Lori Vallow Daybell trial. Closing arguments are next

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In the last five weeks, roughly 60 witnesses have made their way to the Ada County Courthouse and testified in the criminal trial against Lori Vallow Daybell. The 49-year-old mother and her husband, Chad Daybell, were charged with the first-degree murders of two of her children.

Prosecutors have alleged Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell also conspired to murder her 7-year-old son, Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, and Chad Daybell’s then-wife, Tammy Daybell.

To be convicted of the first-degree murder charges of JJ and Tylee, the 18-person jury — which will be whittled down to 12 jurors — will need to conclude that Vallow Daybell killed, encouraged or commanded someone else to kill Vallow Daybell’s children.

Chad Daybell is also charged with first-degree murder in Tammy Daybell’s death by asphyxiation.

Lori Vallow Daybell’s case spans 3 states, 4 deaths. Here are the key people involved

Vallow Daybell’s trial at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise began in early April. A trial date hasn’t been set for Chad Daybell, but his trial could occur in June 2024.

Authorities said they believe Vallow Daybell’s brother Alex Cox also conspired to murder JJ, Tylee and Tammy Daybell, according to the indictment filed by prosecution teams from Madison and Fremont counties.

Cox died of natural causes in 2019. Vallow Daybell also faces a felony charge for allegedly conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, with her brother.

Check back for live updates.

2:30 p.m. — Closing arguments scheduled for Thursday

The defense will not be presenting any evidence, and Vallow Daybell will not be testifying.

“We don’t believe the state has proven its case,” Vallow Daybell’s attorney Jim Archibald said.

Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce specifically asked Vallow Daybell if she understood that she had the right to testify and was choosing not to.

Vallow Daybell quietly responded, “Yes.”

The attorneys for the defense and prosecution, along with Boyce, are expected to work on instructions for the jury Wednesday. Closing arguments are expected to start Thursday morning.

1:40 p.m. — Prosecution done with its portion of the trial

The prosecution has rested, which means they have no more witnesses to call and it’s now the defense’s turn.

The defense made a motion for a judgment of acquittal — which is typically requested by the defense at the end of the prosecution’s side of the case or at the end of the case.

Archibald asked Boyce to review the evidence and decide whether there is enough evidence to hand the case over to the jury.

The request is under advisement as the defense requested to speak with Vallow Daybell for roughly 15 to 20 minutes to discuss their portion of the case.

11 a.m. — 90 texts and calls between Daybells, brother and friend

Nicholas Edwards, an investigator with the Idaho’s attorney general’s office, testified late Tuesday morning about timelines he’d created around the attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell and her death.

Edwards said Cox, and his soon-to-be-wife Zulema Pastenes, along with the Daybells called and texted each other 90 times around Oct. 9 — the day that someone attempted to shoot Tammy Daybell.

He also noted that Vallow Daybell and Pastenes were performing a casting on Tammy Daybell on the same night.

Vallow Daybell participated in castings with several people, including two of her former friends — Pastenes and Melanie Gibb — during which they would cast out certain people who had dark spirits.

Gibb during her testimony said that if individuals were properly cast out, they’d die, and Pastenes said a dark spirit could be kept out by binding or burning the body.

When asked by the defense, Edwards said he couldn’t speak to what the texts or calls said, but that based on his “training and experience,” he said he believed they were talking about the attempted shooting.

Edwards also said the number of calls stood out to him because there were “significantly more” than on an average day.

He also presented a timeline of texts and calls involving Cox, Pastenes and the Daybells on Oct. 18, 2019 — the night before Tammy Daybell was killed.

It also showed that Tammy Daybell was active on her phone until about 11:30 p.m. that night. Edwards said Cox was at a Latter-day Saints church roughly 2.5 miles from Chad and Tammy Daybell’s home.

At around 11:35 p.m., Chad Daybell sent two texts to Vallow Daybell, and then Cox left the church parking lot, according to the timeline presented by Edwards.

Cox then called Vallow Daybell at 12:09 p.m. and Chad sent her a text later.

Tammy was killed in the early hours of Oct. 19, 2019, and her death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.

9 a.m. — Chad Daybell texted Vallow Daybell a romance novel

The prosecution recalled FBI Analyst Nicole Heideman on Tuesday morning. Heideman previously testified about the Daybells’ Gmail accounts and reviewed their search histories.

Heideman said during her testimony Tuesday that she also reviewed Vallow Daybell’s iCloud account and spoke about a series of text messages between Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell.

Chad Daybell — who authored various books about the end times — sent Vallow Daybell several text messages with sections of a romance story about two people named James and Elena.

Heideman said the story reflected the Daybells’ real life and pointed to specific details that mirrored their relationship, including similar dates that both Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell and the characters visited Latter-day Saints temples. Former FBI Special Agent Doug Hart during his testimony Monday said Chad Daybell referred to himself as James in various text messages.

The entire story hasn’t been published by the prosecution, but East Idaho News previously obtained the text messages.

“I love you Elena, what wonderful chemistry we have,” Chad Daybell texted Vallow Daybell, according to text messages presented by Heideman on Tuesday.

“I love you more, that’s so hot. I just need you now more than ever,” Vallow Daybell texted back to Chad Daybell.