Day 2: Detective says Chad Daybell connected to the attempted shooting of his then-wife

Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of child deaths.

It’s the second day of Chad Daybell’s criminal trial.

The 55-year-old father is accused of murdering and conspiring to murder two of his wife’s children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and his then-wife Tammy Daybell. He’s also charged with two counts of insurance fraud.

Daybell has pleaded not guilty to all eight felonies.

The potential eight-week trial is expected to mirror the trial of his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, which saw roughly 60 witnesses, including key witness Rexburg Police Det. Ray Hermosillo. He was the lead investigator during the months-long search for Vallow Daybell’s children.

Hermosillo, who was at the scene when the children’s remains were found on Chad Daybell’s property, was the first witness called by the prosecution Wednesday.

He’ll continue testifying Thursday.

2:30 p.m.: Detective connects Chad Daybell to attempted shooting of first wife

During the cross-examination of Hermosillo, Daybell’s attorney questioned his client’s involvement in the attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell. In October 2019, Tammy Daybell called the police after someone attempted to fire what she thought was a paintball gun at her.

Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood followed up with Hermosillo, who clarified that all the events surrounding the attempted shooting — Tammy Daybell’s death, the quick marriage to Vallow Daybell, the crimes in Arizona, and the children’s remains on Chad Daybell’s property — connected Chad Daybell to the shooting.

“So that’s why we believe it wasn’t just a paintball gun,” Hermosillo said. “We believe (Vallow Daybell’s brother) Alex Cox was there to shoot Tammy Daybell.”

“And, it’s your belief that Alex Cox was tied to these events, correct?” Wood asked.

“Yes,” Hermosillo said.

“Was it your belief that Chad Daybell was tied to these events?” Wood asked.

“Yes,” Hermosillo said. He added that based on all the events, lies told to police and the inability to contact the Daybells or Cox, he believed Daybell was connected to the deaths.

Hermosillo also said Daybell never contacted the police about Tammy Daybell’s death or about the children’s remains on his property.

Daybell’s attorney John Prior re-questioned Hermosillo, and during that Hermosillo said Cox’s cellphone wasn’t on Chad and Tammy Daybell’s property during the attempted shooting. Hermosillo left the witness stand just before 2:20 p.m.

“We are going to go ahead and conclude for today,” 7th District Judge Steven Boyce said.

The trial will continue at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

2 p.m.: Chad Daybell isn’t charged in Arizona, detective says

It’s now Daybell’s attorney’s time to question Rexburg Police Det. Ray Hermosillo, the first witness called to the stand by the prosecution.

John Prior, the attorney representing Daybell, questioned Hermosillo about the Rexburg Police Department’s body-camera policy and why the police’s initial interaction with Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, at Vallow Daybell’s apartment wasn’t recorded.

The Rexburg Police Department performed a welfare check at Vallow Daybell’s apartment when JJ was initially reported missing. Hermosillo said the department records interviews with people that take place at the station, but they don’t have a policy about recording interactions with people aside from that.

Prior also focused on how authorities connected Cox and the Daybells to the attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell just before her death. Authorities have previously said that in October 2019, Cox attempted to shoot Tammy Daybell, though it was called into question by Prior as Tammy Daybell in a Facebook post said she thought someone pointed a paintball device at her and not a gun.

Police never discovered any bullets, but Hermosillo said he didn’t believe it was a paintball gun.

Cox searched what kind of caliber of bullet would penetrate the windshield of a Dodge Dakota, the car that Tammy Daybell was getting out of, along with other Google searches.

“And you took that as a threat, as a means of saying, ‘That’s why Alex Cox was trying to shoot Tammy Daybell?’” Prior said, questioning.

Prior also pointed to the fact that after Tammy Daybell died Cox was still searching things about weapons. The Rexburg Police Department searched Vallow Daybell’s Rexburg apartment in November 2019, and during that search located guns, knives, and other items that police said they believed belonged to Cox.

When Prior asked if Hermosillo was aware that Chad Daybell wasn’t charged with any crimes related to Charles Vallow in Arizona, Hermosillo responded that he was.

“Brandon Boudreaux’s next,” Prior said. “Who’s been charged in the allegations against Brandon Boudreaux?”

“Lori Vallow,” Hermosillo responded.

“Is there anybody else?” Prior asked.

“Not that I’m aware,” Hermosillo replied.

During his line of questioning, Prior pointed toward Cox regarding the shooting of Boudreaux and the homicide of Charles Vallow, Vallow Daybell’s fourth husband. However, Prior wasn’t able to get too far into that line of questioning as the judge said it was outside the scope of this trial.

Prior concluded his cross-examination around 2 p.m., but said he’d pick things back up when he recalled Hermosillo as a witness for the defense’s portion of the case. During Vallow Daybell’s trial, the defense didn’t call any witnesses.

Noon: Law enforcement also investigated crimes in Arizona

Into the sixth hour of Rexburg Police Det. Ray Hermosillo’s testimony, he began to establish the years-long timeline of the cases against Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell, and how investigators believe it went beyond their department and Idaho.

Hermosillo said while the Rexburg Police Department was investigating the children’s disappearance, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Tammy Daybell’s death at “the exact same time.”

“It was important because the suspects in that case were the same suspects in our case,” Hermosillo said, referencing why they communicated with other law enforcement agencies. He added that they were also in contact with Arizona law enforcement.

Vallow Daybell faces two felony charges in Arizona for conspiring to commit first-degree murder of her former husband, Charles Vallow, and her niece’s ex-husband Brandon Boudreaux, the Statesman previously reported.

In October 2019, Boudreaux was driving home from the gym in Gilbert, Arizona, when he noticed a Jeep Wrangler outside of his home. He said during Vallow Daybell’s criminal trial that he noticed the Jeep’s back window open farther and “heard a bang.” Arizona authorities found a bullet hole in the driver’s door and a shattered window on Boudreaux’s vehicle.

Police believe that Vallow Daybell’s late brother, Alex Cox, attempted to kill Boudreaux. He’s also accused of shooting and killing Charles Vallow. Cox, who is also named in the indictment against the Daybells and accused of being involved in the deaths of JJ, Tylee and Tammy Daybell, died from natural causes in 2019.

Chad Daybell wasn’t charged with any crimes in Arizona.

When Hermosillo began to present a timeline of events that he’d made to the jury, including events that occurred in Arizona, 7th District Judge Steven Boyce excused the jury and took up an evidentiary matter behind closed doors.

Typically, in criminal trials, evidence that indicates other alleged or convicted crimes aren’t talked about. According to Idaho Rules of Evidence, “evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person’s character.” This was a point of contention by Vallow Daybell’s attorneys during her trial. They didn’t want evidence about crimes in Arizona presented during the trial.

After a break, Boyce read instructions to the jury informing them that just because certain evidence — like information about alleged crimes in Arizona — is admitted during the trial doesn’t mean the jury should believe Daybell has a “disposition to commit crimes” or that the information should be used against his character. Instead, the evidence can only be used to demonstrate Daybell’s “motive, opportunity, intent, plan or absence of mistake or accident.”

10 a.m.: Detective testifies about discovering children’s remains

Months after JJ and Tylee went missing, local law enforcement located their remains on Chad Daybell’s East Idaho property on June 9, 2020.

Hermosillo said they located JJ’s body buried near a tree and wrapped in a black garbage bag. His body was able to be lifted, placed in a body bag and taken to the local morgue. Tylee’s remains, however, were found near a pet cemetery on Daybell’s property and weren’t as easily transported.

Remains that would later be identified as Tylee were found badly burnt and in pieces. A large portion of her buried remains were found in a melted green bucket.

Hermosillo said when he attempted to move Tylee’s remains from the ground, they broke apart because nothing was holding them together, as Tylee’s body was dismembered.

Throughout Hermosillo’s testimony, several images showing the crime scene were displayed to the courtroom. However, once certain photos of the children’s remains during the autopsy were about to be presented, 7th District Judge Steven Boyce ruled that because of their “graphic nature,” they’d be hidden from the public and instead only shown to the witness, attorneys and jury. During Vallow Daybell’s trial, autopsy photos of the children were shown in the courtroom.

After the children’s remains were removed from Daybell’s property, local law enforcement decided to transport them to Ada County to conduct an autopsy on the children, Hermosillo said.

The Ada County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on the children’s remains on June 11, 2020, two days after police located them.

Hermosillo, who was present during the autopsy, said the boy, who was later identified as JJ, was wearing red pajamas and was wrapped in layers and layers of duct tape, along with a plastic bag.

It wasn’t until the duct tape and the plastic bag were removed that Hermosillo said he was able to identify the boy on an Ada County autopsy table.

“At that point, I recognized it was JJ,” Hermosillo said.

Chad Daybell murder trial in Boise begins. Here’s what to know about the case

The Idaho Statesman will have a reporter covering the trial at the Ada County Courthouse providing live, daily updates at idahostatesman.com. You can also follow criminal justice reporter Alex Brizee on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @alex_brizee or breaking news reporter Sally Krutzig at @sallykrutzig.