BOISE, Idaho — Day 19 of the trial of Chad Daybell saw testimony regarding the autopsies of JJ and Tylee followed by cellphone data from the day that Charles Vallow was shot and killed.
PREVIOUSLY IN COURT | Zulema Pastenes spends all day on witness stand
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3:12 pm: Judge Boyce sends the courtroom into recess for the day.
3:09 pm: Prior has no further questions. Detective Werther is released from the witness stand.
3:07 pm: Prior asks about the video from Lori's Burger King visit, Werther confirms that there were likely 3 people inside the car.
3:05 pm: Prior points out that Chad was in Utah on the day Charles died.
3:03 pm: Prior asks if Werther is aware that Lori and Chad were having an affair, Werther says he is. Werther confirms that cell tower data, which was used to determine the approximate locations of the devices on the day of Charles's death, is less accurate than GPS data.
3:02 pm: Werther reiterates that the content of the correspondence between Chad and Lori on the day Charles Vallow died is unavailable.
3:00 pm: Chad and Lori messaged one another throughout the rest of the day. Blake has no further questions, Prior now cross-examines.
2:45 pm: More texts between Chad and Lori on the day of Charles's death are timestamped by the detective. The two were also texting throughout the afternoon.
2:40 pm: The courtroom livestream returns following the brief recess. Det. Werther has returned to the stand, the technical issues seem to have been resolved.
2:17 pm: Judge Boyce calls for a mid-afternoon recess.
2:14 pm: Martinez says that around 50 adhesive notes were used to collect hairs from the materials surrounding the body of JJ Vallow. Prior has no further questions, Martinez is released from the stand and her subpoena.
2:10 pm: Martinez confirms that plastic is a great conduit for fingerprints, as it is nonporous. Prior asks about how many hairs Martinez collected in her analysis, she takes a look through her notes to refresh her memory.
2:07 pm: Another latent print from a palm is shown to match Alex Cox. Wood has no further questions, and Prior begins his cross-examination.
2:03 pm: The exhibit shows that there was a positive match between a latent fingerprint on the black plastic material wrapping JJ's body and the fingerprints of Alex Cox.
2:01 pm: An exhibit documenting the prints analyzed by Martinez is displayed.
1:54 pm: Martinez explains that her first contact with the case was through the coroner's office. She took fingerprints from JJ Vallow and also processed different items to get fingerprints for Chad, Lori, and Alex.
1:45 pm: Martinez studies latent prints, fingerprints left unintentionally that may need additional processing as they can be difficult to analyze.
1:43 pm: Tara Martinez is called to the witness stand. Martinez is an Idaho State Police forensic scientist.
1:40 pm: Due to technical difficulties with the exhibit, the State has moved to bring a different witness to the stand as the problems are resolved.
1:25 pm: More data from Chad's phone on the day of the shooting is shown. Chad was texting Lori again on that day, just after 12 pm.
1:22 pm: More communications between Alex, Lori, and Melani Boudreaux are outlined on the morning of the shooting.
1:09 pm: Surveillance video of Lori Vallow visiting Burger King while in possession of Charles's device is available from our partners at East Idaho News here:
1:08 pm: After the shooting that killed Charles Vallow, but before the 911 call, Alex and Lori had a phone call.
1:06 pm: The courtroom livestream returns following the lunch recess. Det. Werther is back on the witness stand.
12:01 pm: Judge Boyce calls for an afternoon lunch break. The courtroom livestream will return in around 1 hour.
12:00 pm: Lori had Charles's device following the shooting, police recovered it from her when they responded to the 911 call.
11:58 am: More data reveals that Lori and Chad were texting during the morning of the shooting. The content of these messages is not available.
11:52 am: Location data reveals Lori's whereabouts throughout the morning of the shooting, including the stop at Burger King and JJ's school.
11:50 am: Werther also analyzed location data that was rendered questionable. Blake displays a map animation of the general areas involved in the analysis.
11:47 am: A piece of cellphone data reveals that Chad had communication with Lori on July 11, the same day as the shooting.
11:37 am: The first section of the exhibit details the Chandler Police report from the shooting of Charles Vallow.
11:33 am: An exhibit compiling the officer's findings is being displayed to the courtroom.
11:28 am: Werther explains that he analyzed the phone records belonging to Charles Vallow ahead of his death.
11:17 am: The State calls Police Detective Ariel Werther with the Chandler Police Department.
11:15 am: Following the review of the digital exhibit, the jurors are let back into the courtroom.
10:53 am: Judge Boyce initiates another break for an exhibit to be reviewed following a brief sidebar.
10:46 am: Warren is released from the stand but remains under subpoena.
10:45 am: Prior finishes his questioning by asking about the shrunken state of Tylee's organs, Warren explains that this is common when organs are charred.
10:41 am: Prior asks if Warren can determine whether there were animal or human remains in the fire pit on Chad's property, Warren says he would leave that to a forensic anthropologist.
10:35 am: Prior begins his cross-examination of Warren, he asks for more details of the process used to determine that the bruises on JJ's body were inflicted on him and not from decomposition.
10:29 am: Tylee's cause of death was determined to be homicide by unspecified means due to the damage done to her remains.
10:19 am: Warren describes Tylee's lungs as charred and significantly shrunken. More organs from the remains are discussed.
10:12 am: Tylee's remains are described in further detail as a photograph of the collected charred tissue and bones is displayed to the jurors.
10:06 am: The courtroom livestream returns as Wood moves to publish more photos from the autopsy of Tylee Ryan. Warren explains that multiple body bags were necessary due to the state of Tylee's body. Two paper bags contain collections of tissue, bone, and debris.
9:38 am: Boyce calls for a mid-morning recess. More autopsy photos are expected to be shown in the courtroom in 15-20 minutes.
9:27 am: Warren says he determined JJ's cause of death to be asphyxiation by plastic bag over the head and duct tape over the mouth.
9:25 am: Warren goes on to describe testing he performed on the bruises on JJ's body which he used to distinguish the bruises from general decomposition, they were caused by something else.
9:16 am: Jurors in the courtroom are seen crying as the photos are shown to them and described by Warren. Nate Eaton with our partners at East Idaho News describes the feeling in the courtroom as the testimony continues.
The next photo shows JJ's face after all tape and everything has been removed. Another juror on the front row is crying and has her head down. She reaches for a tissue and is holding it over her face.
— Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) May 8, 2024
9:04 am: Warren continues describing the state of the clothes and duct tape covering JJ's remains as the autopsy photos are displayed.
8:57 am: One of the photos depicts JJ's remains as the coroner's office received them, in a black bag. Another shows the bag being cut and removed.
8:52 am: An exhibit is presented by the prosecution, Warren identifies it as a collection of photos from JJ's autopsy. These will be shown to the jurors but not the livestream or the public.
8:47 am: Warren continues to describe the state in which he received Tylee Ryan's body as his testimony from yesterday continues. The autopsy and analysis of Tylee's body was complicated due to the measures that had been taken to dispose of her remains.
