Day 23: Vallow Daybell showed no remorse after husband’s death, FBI special agent says

The fifth week of Lori Vallow Daybell’s criminal trial is wrapping up, and conversations about setting a date for her husband and co-conspirator’s trial have begun.

Lori and Chad Daybell have been charged with the first-degree murder of two of Vallow Daybell’s children: 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.

To be convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the jury will need to conclude that they killed, encouraged or commanded someone else to kill Vallow Daybell’s children.

The Daybells are also accused of conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell — Chad Daybell’s first wife — along with the children.

Chad and Lori — who had a months-long affair — got married on a Hawaii beach two weeks after Tammy Daybell’s body was buried in a Utah cemetery, according to witnesses throughout the trial.

Vallow Daybell’s trial, at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, began in early April and could last another three weeks. A trial date hasn’t been set for Chad Daybell — also charged with first-degree murder in Tammy Daybell’s death by asphyxiation — but it’s possible his trial could occur in June 2024.

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

Authorities said they believe Vallow Daybell’s brother Alex Cox also conspired to kill 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.

Former FBI Special Agent Douglas Hart has been called to the stand as the first witness of the day. The prosecution said Thursday they expect his testimony to be lengthy.

The trial is expected to wrap up around noon Friday.

10:30 a.m. — Text messages between Daybells presented in court

It took Vallow Daybell over a day to inform Charles Vallow’s biological sons their father had died.

“Hi boys. I have very sad news,” Lori Vallow texted Charles Vallow’s sons in the late afternoon of July 12, 2019. “Your dad passed away yesterday. I’m working on making arrangements and I’ll keep you informed on what’s going on. I’m still not sure how to handle things. Just want you to know that I love you and so did your dad!!”

One of the sons responded by asking what happened, and Vallow Daybell said they were still waiting for the medical examiner’s report. Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Cox, Vallow Daybell’s brother, in the early morning of July 11, 2019.

“Lori ... you can’t just tell us our dad died and disappear,” one of Charles Vallow’s sons texted Vallow Daybell back roughly two hours after the initial text. “You’re not too busy to just let us know he died and disappear.”

Three days later, Vallow Daybell still hadn’t texted the boys any details about what happened to their father. The entire text message exchange wasn’t published in court Friday, but East Idaho News previously reported on the entirety of the text messages.

These were just a few of the roughly 4,500 text messages Hart reviewed as a part of his investigation, he said Friday. Hart obtained access to Lori Daybell’s iCloud accounts and searched for any content between October 2018 to November 2019 — from around the time the Daybells met to around the time law enforcement began looking for the children.

When the prosecution asked Hart whether he found any evidence of remorse in Vallow Daybell’s texts regarding the death of Charles Vallow, Hart said, “None.”

The prosecution also published additional text messages — which Hart reviewed — in the days leading up to Charles Vallow’s death and in the days after. Roughly 36 hours before Charles Vallow was killed, Vallow Daybell texted her brother, asking him to stay close to her and their niece Melani Pawlowski for the next couple of days. Throughout the trial, witnesses have characterized Cox as Vallow Daybell’s protector.

In the text, Vallow Daybell also told Charles that it’s “all coming to a head this week.” The next night, on July 10, 2019, Vallow Daybell told Pawlowski by text that Cox was at the house, and that Charles will be over in the morning — that was when he was shot and killed.

The defense pointed out during Hart’s testimony that Hart wasn’t showing the entire text exchange. But Hart responded, when questioned by the defense, that there were simply too many texts so he chose messages he felt were relevant.

Just days after Charles Vallow was killed, several text messages between the Daybells showed them discussing plans for Chad Daybell to visit Arizona and their love for each other.

On July 13, 2019, Chad Daybell texted Vallow Daybell that he said he believed Tammy Daybell would be dead by July 23, 2019, and that he could be with Vallow Daybell after he dealt with all the “hoopla.” Several people said Chad Daybell had told them he had a vision Tammy Daybell would die before she turned 50, according to Hart’s testimony. Tammy was 49 years old when she was killed.

“I need so badly to just gently kiss you … for hours,” Chad Daybell texted Vallow Daybell in another string of text messages before Tammy’s death. “It would likely lead to other activities.”

“Likely or luckily?” Vallow Daybell texted back.

“It would LUCKILY lead to nakedness,” Chad Daybell responded.

Before the text messages were presented to the courtroom, Hart said he reviewed several communications between the Daybells that he felt were relevant to Tylee and JJ’s deaths. When asked by the prosecution how it was relevant, Hart responded that the Daybells “discussed their deaths.” Those text messages weren’t admitted Friday, but Hart is expected to continue testifying Monday.

Hart also said that Chad Daybell characterized Tammy Daybell, Charles Vallow and the children as “obstacles.” Court adjourned for the weekend at 11:55 a.m.

9:30 a.m. — FBI special agent at scene when children’s bodies were found

Hart, who currently works as the chief deputy for the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, said he contacted the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team regarding the disappearance of JJ and Tylee.

But Hart said that since the children had been missing for a while before police were contacted, the FBI’s unit wasn’t going to be of any assistance because the unit typically responds to immediate missing children cases. He added that law enforcement “knew very quickly” Vallow Daybell had lied to the police about the children’s disappearance.

Police also received help from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Hart said he was at the scene at Chad Daybell’s property when the children’s remains were located and searched the backyard for any mounds, signs of depression in the ground, or areas where the grass was different.

“When you’re looking for a clandestine grave, there are certain tell-tale signs,” Hart said.