The adult children of a man from Idaho who is accused of killing their mother and his girlfriend’s two young children testified this week to support his defense. Chad Daybell’s legal team began presenting their case in a complex triple murder trial that started last month. One of Daybell’s daughters, Emma Murray, told jurors that her father was deeply upset after her mother’s death. She also clarified that it was she, not Daybell, who objected to an autopsy.
Chad Daybell, 55, faces charges including first-degree murder, insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit murder, and grand theft related to the deaths of Tammy Daybell, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Lori Vallow Daybell, their mother, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the killings last year.
Chad Daybell (Via RK Myers/Shutterstock)
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell married shortly after Tammy Daybell’s death, which drew suspicion from local law enforcement. Tammy Daybell’s body was later exhumed, and authorities reported she died from asphyxiation after an autopsy, though Daybell had claimed she died peacefully in her sleep after being sick.
Murray described her father’s genuine grief the morning after her mother’s passing, noting that while their romantic relationship had changed, Daybell still deeply valued her as a person. The prosecution has spent the past seven weeks presenting numerous witnesses to support their argument that Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell conspired to eliminate the two children and Tammy Daybell to clear obstacles in their relationship and gain financial benefits from survivor benefits and life insurance.
