Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
IDAHO FALLS — Larry Woodcock knows this trial will be different.
For one, the man accused of killing his grandson, JJ Vallow, and the boy's sister, Tylee Ryan, is facing the death penalty.
The trial will also be livestreamed for the world to watch.
But, perhaps the biggest difference for Woodcock is while he knew Lori Vallow Daybell — JJ and Tylee's mother — he has never met Chad Daybell and doesn't know much about him.
"I was angry at Lori — that she would do something and participate in something like this," Woodcock tells EastIdahoNews.com. "I really don't have a lot of feelings about Chad. I'm angry at him, sure, and I certainly share no love for him. But it's just a really different set of feelings."
Chad Daybell, who married Lori Vallow two weeks after his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died in October 2019, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of Tammy Daybell, JJ and Tylee. Jury selection for his trial is scheduled to begin April 1 in Ada County.
Lori Vallow Daybell was found guilty of similar charges last year and is serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole. She is currently in an Arizona jail on charges of conspiracy to commit the murder of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband, and Brandon Boudreaux, her former nephew-in-law.
Chad Daybell has pleaded not guilty, but Woodcock believes prosecutors will prove their case and a jury will find Daybell committed the horrific crimes.
"I'm totally confident that he'll be found guilty," Woodcock says. "If you took a picture of Chad on April 1 in court and you found a picture of him four years ago when he was in court, I don't think there's any change. His demeanor hasn't changed, his attitude hasn't changed — he's so blasé and just a wimp of a man."
Woodcock and his wife, Kay Woodcock, will travel from their home in Louisiana to attend the trial in-person every day. They were in the courtroom daily during Lori Vallow Daybell's trial last spring, although Kay Woodcock did not attend when autopsy photos and other graphic evidence was presented.
"There are some things she doesn't need to see and I think that's one of the bonds I have with the jurors because they had to see what I chose to see," Larry Woodcock says. "That reinforces my desire for an honest, fair trial. When you've seen those photographs and the gravity of them, you want things done right. You don't want a sloppy job. We want the prosecutors and defense to do the best that they're able."
Chad Daybell's trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. If the jury finds him guilty, Daybell could be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. Woodcock hopes Daybell is given life without parole.
"There are certain things in life I think are worse than death. Life in prison without the possibility of ever getting out and dying in prison may be worse than death," Woodcock says. "I certainly don't wish him the best."
EastIdahoNews.com will livestream proceedings daily and will be in the courtroom when jury selection begins April 1. Reporter Nate Eaton will recap the events of each day during "Courtroom Insider," a program livestreamed weeknights from Boise at 6:30 p.m. MDT.
