BOISE, Idaho — The third week of the trial of Idaho vs. Chad Daybell at the Ada County Courthouse in Downtown Boise is underway. The prosecution is calling on Eastern Idaho detectives who investigated the case.
- Rexburg Police Detective Eric Wheeler detained Chad Daybell during a search of his property.
- Daybell's daughter Emma spoke with her father while he was cuffed.
- Daybell told Emma to take care of family business because he wasn't coming back.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Detective Eric Wheeler from the Rexburg Police Department, who was at Chad Daybell’s property helping in the search for JJ and Tylee, testified that he followed Daybell as he drove away from his daughter Emma’s nearby home during the search. Wheeler detained and cuffed Daybell and put him in his car. Emma arrived and asked if she could speak with her father.
The prosecution played a portion of that conversation when Daybell is asking Emma about taking care of finances and getting something from her brother Marks’ room.
“In the middle drawer on the left side in Mark’s room there’s about $9,000 in two white envelopes. Get that. We’ll talk more about the car payments and stuff. I’m not coming back,” Daybell said to Emma.
During cross examination, Defense attorney John Prior asked Madison County deputy Vince Kaaiakamanu how he could possibly know where Daybell was going and why.
“You don’t know why he left his daughter's house and drove off, do you?" asked Prior.
"I’m not aware why he drove off," Kaaiakamanu said.
"So to suggest that the fact that they found a body on the property is the reason Mr. Daybell drove off, you don't know the reason. There could be another reason, is that fair?" Prior asked.
"There could be another reason, yes," replied Kaaiakamanu.
On June 9, 2020, Kaaiakamanu was employed at the Fremont County jail and was responsible for monitoring phone calls from inmates. Lori Vallow called Chad Daybell while Daybell was watching authorities search his property for the missing children.
Here's a portion of the phone call conversation.
Vallow: “Are you okay?”
Daybell: "They are searching the property."
Vallow: "Are they in the house?"
Daybell: "No, they’re out on the property."
Vallow: "Are they seizing stuff again?"
Daybell: "They're searching. They have a search warrant."
More from both sides on Tuesday.
