BOISE, Idaho — Day 17 of the trial of Chad Daybell took place on May 6, 2024. Below are live updates from the courtroom.
LIVE UPDATES:
3:18 pm: Blake has no further questions and Ian is released from the witness stand. Judge Boyce notes the time and concludes the trial for today. The courtroom livestream is expected to return tomorrow morning at 8:30 am.
3:16 pm: Ian says Chad and Lori never indicated where the children were and never did anything to assist in the search for them.
3:12 pm: Prior has no further questions, Blake initiates her re-direct by asking Ian if he recalls the phone calls where Lori and Chad designated the officers as "dark." Ian says he does. Ian says he understood what Lori meant by the officers not stopping to refer to his investigation of the whereabouts of the children.
3:08 pm: Ian explains that Alex Cox died of a pulmonary edema, Ian also says there was a point where Chad and Lori told Melani that there would be a powerful spiritual attack just before Alex died.
3:03 pm: Prior tries to get Ian to say that Chad was not leading the 144,000, but instead a member. Blake is granted several objections before Ian answers that Chad did seem to think that he was the leader and was gathering them.
2:58 pm: Prior asks if it felt more like Lori and Chad felt the Madison County police were corrupt instead of simply asking them to flee the area, Blake objects and the question is struck from the record.
2:57 pm: Ian says Lori never indicated that there was a custody dispute with Kay and Larry for JJ Vallow.
2:49 pm: Ian has an attorney in the courtroom, Judge Boyce asks that he leave for the remainder of the witness testimony. The attorney is escorted out of the courtroom. Prior asks if the attorney was nodding his head based on responses given by Ian, Ian denies the allegation and the jurors are allowed back into the courtroom.
2:48 pm: Judge Boyce releases the jurors momentarily to discuss a matter outside of their presence.
2:45 pm: During Prior's questioning, Judge Boyce calls for a sidebar.
2:42 pm: Prior asks about contact that Melani had with Alex Cox, Ian explains they would make contact every 3 or 4 days.
2:41 pm: Ian explains that the two married just 11 or 12 days after meeting on the website. Prior says that's not uncommon in the faith but Ian says his marriage was faster than most.
2:40 pm: Prior asks about Melani and Ian meeting on an LDS dating website.
2:39 pm: Following the break, Prior prepares to cross-examine Ian Pawlowski. He asks about the details of Ian's marriage to Melani.
2:16 pm: Blake has no further questions for Ian, Judge Boyce calls for a mid-afternoon break. The livestream is expected to return in 20 minutes.
2:13 pm: Ian explains that he did not view Chad as a father or look to him for advice, though Melani did.
2:11 pm: Melani and Lori can be heard discussing new code words to avoid police detection moving forward.
2:10 pm: The day after Alex Cox died, Lori can be heard telling Melani that she can do whatever she wants with the items left in Alex's apartment. Melanie also asks if Lori is calling from a new phone number, Lori says it is their phone for now but the number could be different tomorrow.
2:06 pm: Chad explains to Ian and Melani that the Rexburg Police are tracking them. Melani tells them that if they reach out to her, she will not cooperate with them.
2:04 pm: In a call, Melani says she wants her ex-husband Brandon to fear Alex Cox for the rest of his life and doesn't want him to find out about Alex's death.
2:02 pm: Ian explains that he never heard about dark curses or cutting negative cords before he met the group. Ian says he made a total of 9 recordings.
1:52 pm: More audio of blessings from Chad is being played in the courtroom.
1:44 pm: More recordings are played to the courtroom, one reveals that Alex Cox said that there was nothing left to do in Rexburg. Chad responded to him, saying "Al, you know better."
1:40 pm: Ian says that Chad and Lori designated themselves as the leaders of the 144,000, the group who would follow God through the end times.
1:26 pm: During the blessing, Chad says that Melani and Ian will team with Mother Earth to cleanse the earth with earthquakes, moving mountains and rivers to heal the hearts of mankind.
1:22 pm: Melani requests a blessing from Chad and Lori in the recorded call.
1:21 pm: Ian explains that Melani would often turn to Chad and Lori for advice. In the recording, Chad and Lori recommended places for her to live.
1:16 pm: Ian also confirms that at no time did Lori or Chad offer the whereabouts of the missing children.
1:15 pm: Ian confirms that Lori and Chad described Melani as a target for the police during the call.
1:09 pm: The recorded phone call between Ian and Chad is being replayed for the courtroom.
1:06 pm: Ian recalls being told by Chad and Lori to move away from the area during the investigation into the whereabouts of JJ and Tylee.
12:00 pm: Judge Boyce calls for a lunchtime recess, the courtroom livestream will return at around 1:00 pm.
11:59 am: Another call is played where Chad Daybell can be heard telling Ian and Melani to move away from the area during the investigation.
11:47 am: In the call, Lori can be heard saying that Det. Hope and Det. Hermosillo are "the bad ones."
11:44 am: During the call, a spiritual attack is mentioned.
11:43 am: Melani can be heard sobbing on the phone call. Ian explains that she was relieved to hear from Chad and Lori as they tended at this time to disappear for a while after talking to people.
11:40 am: In the audio of the call, Chad and Lori can be heard telling Melani that Melanie Gibb is throwing everyone under the bus to clear her conscience with God.
11:39 am: In total, Ian recorded 87 minutes of audio from conversations with Chad and Lori. Today, only portions will be played for the courtroom.
11:35 am: Blake moves to admit the recorded conversations that Ian made at the direction of law enforcement. One of the secret recordings is played for the courtroom.
11:34 am: Ian recalls Chad telling him to get away from the area once law enforcement began to investigate Lori and Chad.
11:30 am: Ian says that he was open to Lori and Chad's unorthodox beliefs until the night he got married to Melani. He explains that Melani was concerned for Tylee and JJ's safety. Ian later went to law enforcement with these concerns, and they told him to record conversations that he was a part of with Lori and Chad.
11:29 am: Ian says he received a blessing over Zoom from Lori and Chad after he married Melani. According to Ian, when he later visited them he never met Tylee or JJ.
11:26 am: Ian explains that he knows Lori to be the aunt of his wife and Alex Cox to be her uncle.
11:24 am: Ian Pawlowski, Melani's current husband, is called by the State.
11:23 am: Melani is released from the stand but remains under subpoena.
11:22 am: Blake ends her questioning by confirming with Melani that Tylee and JJ were labeled as dark and are no longer alive.
11:17 am: Melani explains that she was told about light and dark and casting by both Chad and Lori. Melani says that the LDS faith was used as a basis but that their views were extensions of those beliefs which left the bounds of common practice in the faith. Melani explains that their explanations of the scriptural basis made her more willing to entertain the ideas.
11:16 am: Prior has no further questions, Lindsey Blake initiates a re-direct.
11:13 am: Melani says that some of the information about the "zombies" may have come from Chad but she can't recall a specific instance.
11:10 am: Melani explains that Melanie Gibb was more involved with energy work.
11:09 am: Prior asks about "energy work," which Melani describes as a kind of spiritual reading. She explains that you could be on a higher or lower vibration, which has some relation with a spiritual connection and communicating with other entities.
11:07 am: Melani says that she never spoke directly with Chad about the children.
11:06 am: Prior returns to the idea of"light and dark." He asks if this is something in the scriptures of the LDS faith. Melani says yes, the basis for the terms came from the scriptures.
11:03 am: Melani says Chad spoke about the end of times and preparing for the second coming, many of the beliefs were LDS-based.
11:00 am: Melani explains that Chad already met Lori before a Preparing the People conference she attended in 2018 where Chad spoke.
10:59 am: Melani says that Chad warned her that Brandon Boudreaux was tracking her with a device on her car, which ended up being true. This validated a lot of what Chad was saying to Melani. Prior now initiates his cross-examination.
10:56 am: Melani says that Alex Cox trusted Chad enough that he would listen to him.
10:55 am: After the children were declared missing, Melani was told by Chad to leave Madison County for the time being.
10:53 am: Melani later learned from Chad and Lori that law enforcement was after them and that they could not be trusted. Chad later identified two detectives as dark.
10:52 am: Melani says she later learned from Lori that there was a kind of darkness that could not be cast out and that this would cause a person to die and become a "zombie."
10:51 am: Melani explains that Lori and Chad indicated that their mission was to assist with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
10:47 am: Melani asked again about the whereabouts of the children during a trip with Lori to Hawaii, but Lori gave her one of the excuses about the nanny and college again.
10:46 am: Melani recalls visiting Lori in Idaho, Lori told her that Tylee was at college with a friend when she asked where Tylee was. On a vacation she took with Lori later that year to Missouri, she asked about where JJ and Tylee were again. Lori told her either the nanny or Tylee was caring for JJ while she traveled.
10:45 am: Melani explains that, after Lori moved to Idaho, she got a nanny in Idaho to help care for JJ.
10:43 am: Melani says she also talked to Alex Cox about the event. Alex told her that he was hit by Charles with a bat before he shot him.
10:42 am: Melani explains that Lori later explained details of Charles's death to her following the event. She says she learned that Charles was shot during an altercation with Alex Cox.
10:40 am: Melani recalls learning of Charles's death from Brandon Boudreaux before Lori moved to Idaho. Prior objects to several questions.
10:38 am: Melani says that Chad and Lori added their own ideas to the casting teachings of Julie Rowe. Chad was a fan of Rowe's podcast and her writings.
10:37 am: Melani explains that she believed Chad had been the one to label JJ as dark.
10:35 am: Melani says the first casting she was involved in was when Chad and Lori attempted to clear Charles Vallow of a dark spirit. Charles was not present for the process. Melani says she learned that JJ had been identified as dark.
10:34 am: Melani discusses what she learned from Chad and Lori about castings, which she described as the process used to cast out demons or dark spirits. Melani says Chad and Lori taught her how to properly execute castings.
10:32 am: Melani explains that Chad believed he could gain insight into the spiritual world through a necklace or pendulum.
10:31 am: Melani explains that Chad and Lori shared their beliefs with her, both as a couple and separately, regarding "light" and "dark." She says she believes these originated from Chad.
10:28 am: The State calls Melani Pawlowski to the stand. Melani is the niece of Lori Vallow Daybell.
10:26 am: The courtroom livestream returns as the defense asks for a sidebar with Judge Boyce.
9:53 am: Judge Boyce calls for the mid-morning recess and confirms that the next section of testimony will not involve graphic imagery. The courtroom livestream is expected to return at around 10:20 am.
9:50 am: Wood asks Daniels about what else indicated the burial site of JJ Vallow besides cellphone ping data. Daniels says once the ping was used to find the general area, there were depressions and other factors that pointed to the actual burial site. Rob Wood finishes his questions by asking about animal remains that were excavated in the cemetery area. Daniels is released from the stand but remains under subpoena.
9:49 am: Prior asks about a sign and statue on the property near the pet cemetery and asks if these indicated to the investigators where the cemetery was, Daniels says yes. Prior has no further question and Wood initiates his re-direct.
9:45 am: Judge Boyce warns Prior to stop talking over the witness and himself.
9:44 am: Prior asks if the public has access to the Daybell property on June 9 and 10, Daniels says no.
9:41 am: Prior continues to show images of the tools but the agent can not determine if there are markings present in one photo that were absent in the other.
9:37 am: Prior shows a zoomed-in photo of one of the tools photographed and focuses on markings on the handle which he says were not present in the other photo of the tools in the shed, asking the agent if the markings were present on the first image of the shovel. Daniels says he can't say if there's a discernible difference.
9:32 am: Prior asks if there was anything identified in these tools that would cause concern regarding their use. Daniels says he is not sure about the specific details of the tools.
9:31 am: Prior displays the photos of the investigated tools on the Daybell property and asks if these tools were suspected of being used in the burial, Daniels says they were.
9:26 am: Prior asks if the agent is certain that all of the remains of Tylee Ryan were excavated, Daniels says he is. He says the same for JJ.
9:25 am: Prior asks when Tylee's pendant was recovered on the property, Daniels says that was June 9. He explains that the charm was found on the ground, not buried.
9:21 am: Prior asks about the distance from the house to the site of JJ's burial, Daniels is unsure. Prior asks if the special agent would agree that the grass was very high in the area, Daniels is unsure again.
9:18 am: Daniels explains that just over 50 total people were present at the Church during the two-day search of the burial sites on Daybell's property but he is unaware at what time the people were present.
9:13 am: Prior asks for details of the staging meeting at Salem Church, Daniels says he doesn't know exactly how many officers were present at the scene or how many agencies were operating at that meeting. Daniels says he believes attorney Rob Wood was there as the prosecutor's office's representative.
9:10 am: Prior asks if Daniels finds it unusual that he needs to review his notes relating to the searches of the two apartments and the cadaver dog results from those searches, Daniels says he was prepared to testify to the search of the Daybell property.
9:09 am: Prior asks if Daniels recalls the cadaver dogs indicating any bodies, but Daniels does not remember.
9:08 am: Prior asks if Daniels was involved in the search of Alex Cox's apartment. Daniels can't recall which apartments he investigated specifically. Prior asks if that search entailed a cadaver dog search. Daniels says yes.
9:06 am: With no further questions from Wood, Prior begins his cross-examination of the witness.
9:04 am: Daniels explains that the area surrounding JJ's remains was excavated in case Tylee's body was buried nearby, but nothing else was found in the immediate area.
9:01 am: Daniels explains that JJ's remains were the first discovered and exhumed on the property. He describes the decomposition present at the burial site.
8:58 am: Daniels explains that human hair was present once he cut the plastic open. The team then continued to excavate in the area. He describes the process of uncovering the rest of the remains that would be found to belong to JJ.
8:56 am: Daniels describes plastic that was discovered in the burial area. Graphic photos are shown of what was found in the plastic covering and Daniels explains that a skull was found inside.
8:55 am: Daniels explains that the piece of the property shown has a row of rocks placed near the burial sites.
8:53 am: Judge Boyce has instructed the public in the courtroom to be seated on the left of the courtroom as graphic photos will be displayed to only the jurors and witnesses during today's trial.
8:46 am: Daniels shows a portion of the property visible from the second story of the house, the vantage point can see the location of JJ Vallow's burial.
8:44 am: Wood moves to project the exhibit documenting the scene at the Daybell property as the bodies were uncovered. Wood notes that the last subject discussed on Friday was confiscated tools from the barn on the property.
8:31 am: Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood is expected to continue questioning FBI Special Agent Steve Daniels shortly.
