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IDAHO FALLS — A new app containing comprehensive information about the Daybell murder cases is available to the public.
Annie Cushing, Tylee Ryan's aunt, has spent years working on the project while finishing her master's degree in data science.
"I started pulling together details of the case back in January 2020 with a timeline," Cushing tells EastIdahoNews.com. "In May 2020, I decided to take a break because it was just too much. But I got pulled back in, created an interactive timeline, and just went from there."
Cushing's brother, Joseph Ryan, was Lori Vallow Daybell's third husband and Tylee's father. He died in April 2018. Tylee and her brother, Joshua JJ Vallow, were killed in September 2019. Their mother and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, were found guilty of first-degree murder for their deaths and the death of Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell's first wife.
Lori Daybell was recently on trial in Arizona for conspiracy to commit the murder of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband. Cushing attended the trial every day, and a jury found Daybell guilty.
"I started work on the app about a month and a half before the trial began. I originally wanted to do it just for myself but decided to make it public," Cushing says.
Cushing built a database for the case using transcripts from news programs, documentaries, interviews, court documents and other sources. She pulled information from live updates posted on EastIdahoNews.com during the trials and created a custom dictionary specific to this case.
"What made this case particularly unique is that it kind of has its own lexicon. There are terms that wouldn't be used outside of this case, like dark spirit, evil spirit, and zombies – but then also individual zombie names like Ned, Hiplos, Viola (and others)," Cushing says.
While building the app, Cushing was surprised at how much she learned. She plans to add updates when Lori Daybell is on trial again in June for conspiracy to commit the murder of Brandon Boudreaux, her former nephew-in-law.
"I think it will be helpful for people interested in researching the case and hopefully it will be of interest for others who might want to search for details about it," Cushing says.
You can check out the free app here.
