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BOISE — Jurors in the Chad Daybell murder trial listened to testimony Wednesday about the autopsy of Tammy Daybell and from friends of Tammy and Chad Daybell about his reaction to her death and comments about his new wife and her missing kids.
Chad Daybell is charged with killing his wife as well as killing Lori Vallow Daybell's children — 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan — before marrying Lori Vallow two weeks after his wife's death. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of each of the victims, grand theft and two counts of insurance fraud.
Medical examiner firm about asphyxiation
Dr. Erik Christensen showed jurors photos of the procedure and spoke Wednesday about what he saw that made him think she died by homicide.
Christensen, who recently retired as Utah's chief medical examiner, performed the autopsy on Tammy Daybell. He determined her cause of death was asphyxia, or not getting enough oxygen, and the manner of death was homicide.
Christensen said asphyxia can be caused by different things, including smothering, choking, drowning or someone placing something inside an airway.
For Daybell, Christensen said there were only a few things that could explain the death, and they believe it was "some form of strangulation."
Initially, Daybell's death was said to be the result of natural causes, but after police were notified that JJ and Tylee had gone missing, her body was exhumed for an autopsy.
Lori Daybell trial:
Tammy Daybell may have been restrained when she died, Utah medical examiner says
Witnesses in the Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial testified on May 1, 2023, that Tammy Daybell may have been restrained when she died.When Christensen was questioned by Chad Daybell's attorney John Prior, he said he was firm that asphyxiation was the cause of death. During the investigation, he said he and others spent a lot of time searching for toxins that might have caused her death because they found fluid in her lungs, which is common in deaths from a drug overdose or poison. He said they did not find anything to support this theory.
He also discussed natural causes of death that could show limited signs after an autopsy, specifically seizures, after Chad Daybell told first responders his wife had been having shaking fits prior to her death. Christensen said there were no signs or history of seizures in Tammy Daybell's medical records, and starting seizures at her age would be very rare, so he did not consider this a reasonable cause of death.
Christensen also testified that bruises seen on Tammy Daybell's arms and chest during her autopsy "would have occurred sometime in the minutes or hours prior to her death." He said they could be consistent with her being restrained by another person.
Chad Daybell 'didn't seem really mournful'
Christensen's testimony was followed by testimony from Alice Gilbert, a friend and neighbor of Tammy Daybell. Gilbert said she had not seen any signs of poor health in Tammy Daybell before her death. "I had just talked to her on Wednesday, and she was fine. She was excited — she had just gotten a new grandbaby," Gilbert said.
Gilbert testified that Emma Ramirez, Tammy Daybell's daughter, called her the morning she was found dead. She said Chad Daybell took the phone from Ramirez and told her not to tell anyone about the death for an hour, but Gilbert called their bishop right away to let him know.
After calling the bishop, Gilbert said she and her husband went to the Daybell home. "The children were stunned, they could hardly speak, and crying," she said, adding that Chad Daybell was not as upset as his children.
Gilbert attended the funeral in Utah a couple of days later and said Chad Daybell "didn't seem really mournful" that day. She said his message to the congregation was "like a church talk," which surprised her because "most spouses are too devastated to speak."
'She didn't like people, and she didn't like me'
Gilbert testified that she was "absolutely stunned" when Chad Daybell told her seven days after Tammy Daybell died that he was going to marry someone else. In the next few days, she was introduced to then-Lori Vallow for the first time.
During that meeting, Gilbert said she had the impression that the woman was an empty nester. She also said she did not get a definite answer from Lori Daybell about how many children she had. She said Chad Daybell told her she had a daughter who recently died, and she assumed that daughter was an adult.
Gilbert said when the couple later visited her home, Chad Daybell was more affectionate with Lori Daybell than she had seen him with Tammy Daybell.
"They were giggling and laughing, and my husband and I were embarrassed," Gilbert said.
Soon, she said, Chad Daybell was excited to show them wedding photos.
After they learned Lori Daybell's children were missing, Gilbert said her husband called and asked him to verify and was told it was a custody battle and that everything would be fine.
Gilbert said she asked Chad Daybell how many daughters Lori Daybell had, and he told her Lori Daybell's daughter died earlier. She said he denied ever saying that.
The woman asked, "Where's Tylee? She's a teenager; doesn't she want a life?" and she testified that Chad Daybell responded, "She didn't like people, and she didn't like me."
Gilbert said she noticed that he used the past tense.
Chad Daybell asks for help to get Lori Daybell out of jail
Alice Gilbert's husband Todd Gilbert also testified on Wednesday about his relationship with Chad Daybell and some of the same events. He said when they went to the Daybell home the morning Tammy Daybell died, Chad Daybell "seemed kind of businesslike," and that was strange to him.
Todd Gilbert said Chad Daybell had told him in February 2019, about eight months before Tammy Daybell died, that her mission in life was going to end.
A week after his wife died, Chad Daybell told him the second half of his "mission" on the earth would be with Lori Daybell, Todd Gilbert testified.
Gilbert said he talked with Chad Daybell in November 2019 about a family trip with his children, but Lori Daybell's children weren't mentioned. He also testified that Daybell told him Tammy Daybell had visited him as a spirit and let him know that everything was fine with her.
After Lori Daybell was arrested for not bringing her children to the courthouse when given a court order to do so, Chad Daybell asked the Gilberts for help.
Todd Gilbert said Daybell came to their house and said, "Christ has sent me here to ask you guys if you would put your home up for bond to get Lori out of jail."
Alice Gilbert said they decided not to help with getting Lori Daybell out of jail, although he asked multiple times.
Insurance broker has suspicions
Taylor Ballard, a health insurance broker, testified on Wednesday that Chad Daybell reached out to her first in October 2019 about a health policy for him and three of his children because he was losing coverage through Tammy Daybell's employment after her death.
She said Chad Daybell misrepresented his income. Ballard also testified that Chad Daybell asked a question about adding a new wife to the policy on Nov. 21, saying he would "probably be married by the end of the year," but the question was asked weeks after his wedding.
The insurance broker said Chad Daybell never mentioned Tylee, JJ or Lori Daybell to him, but when she learned on Dec. 23, 2019, that he had married someone whose two children were missing, she was "confused."
"It also made me question his deceased wife. ... I was just curious of the timing, it just seemed fast," Ballard said.
KSL.com is streaming the trial each day. Testimony is expected to resume Thursday at 8:30 a.m. MDT.
Monday's testimony:
