BOISE, Idaho — Day 12 of the trial of Chad Daybell took place on Friday, April 26. Live updates from the courtroom are available below.
LIVE UPDATES:
11:51 am: Judge Boyce sends the court into recess for the weekend as the State has indicated that the next witness will have a lengthy testimony.
11:48 am: Wixom finishes a brief re-direct, clarifying details of the 5k Tammy ran.
11:45 am: Gardner explains that he was interviewed by police in May 2020, he told officers that Tammy and Emma were very close. Prior suggests that Gardner told police he was not aware of Tammy's home life but Gardner says he doesn't recall that. Prior has no further questions.
11:40 am: Gardner says he helped with the memorial service organization, but recalls that Chad did not help with the logistics of the memorial service. Wixom has no further questions, Prior begins his cross-examination.
11:34 am: Gardner says Chad was just standing there as Emma wept.
11:30 am: Gardner recalls the shock he felt when he learned of Tammy's death. He went to the Daybell residence shortly after and remembers Emma Daybell answering the door and collapsing onto him, weeping.
11:28 am: Gardner heard the news of Tammy's death and initially assumed that she had taken a job somewhere else, the idea that she could be dead was not in the scope of Gardner's thought.
11:27 am: Gardner recalls Tammy running a race and says there was nothing to indicate that Tammy was unhealthy.
11:20 am: Wixom asks Gardner about how active Tammy was when she worked at the school. Gardner says she would walk "all day long," across the school to assist with different classes. Garnder says she only saw her sitting during lunch count.
11:17 am: The State calls Principal Rich Gardner to the stand. Gardner works at Central Elementary School in Sugar City, Idaho.
11:11 am: Batey asks Hough about Chad's sudden marriage following Tammy's death, Hough says he began to question the sincerity of Chad's emotions after the marriage. Batey has no further questions and Hough is released.
11:10 am: Hough tells Prior he believed Chad's grief at Tammy's funeral was genuine. Prior has no further questions.
11:07 am: Hough discusses the content of Chad's books, describing them as non-fiction as that is how Chad described them to him.
11:05 am: Chad told Hough that a week before Tammy's death, he got access to the passwords and accounts he didn't have before. Chad told Hough he hadn't been a part of having those passwords before that. Prior now initiates his cross-examination.
10:58 am: Prior has no questions for Whitney, she is released from the stand. The State calls Craig Hough, a friend of Chad's, to the witness stand.
10:53 am: Whitney felt frustrated with Chad's new marriage, saying it felt unfair to the kids who were still grieving.
10:52 am: Whitney explains she learned that Chad remarried just days after the wedding. She met Lori at a dinner, the Arnolds would host the Daybells for dinner regularly to give them support through their grieving.
10:50 am: Whitney says she and her husband went to the Daybell residence to offer their condolences to Chad upon hearing the news of Tammy's death.
10:48 am: Whitney says she was friends with Tammy Daybell. The two met as community members and also attended the same church.
10:48 am: The State calls Whitney Arnold to the stand. She is Ron Arnold's wife.
10:47 am: Ron Arnold is released with no further questions. He will not be recalled.
10:45 am: Arnold says he is aware that the bodies were found buried on Chad's property. Arnold says that based on this information, he has a feeling that there was a different reason that Chad wanted to put a house on that property, implying that Chad may have been trying to conceal the bodies.
10:42 am: Batey asks Arnold about the day he showed the property next to the Daybell property to David Warwick.
10:40 am: Judge Boyce reopens the courtroom stream and reminds the attorneys to not ask questions that relate to Prior's ownership of the Daybell property.
10:28 am: During the break, our partners at East Idaho News shared a clip of the tension between Prior and Ron Arnold in the courtroom this morning (credit to Janeese Summers):
While we're on break, here's a clip of the tension between Prior and the current witness, Ron Arnold. pic.twitter.com/n2MpCfHGkU
— Kaitlyn Hart - Reporter (@NewswithKait) April 26, 2024
10:09 am: The State asks for a sidebar, Judge Boyce thinks this will be a good time for the mid-morning break and releases the jury to hear the State's motion. Batey says that the door has been opened for discussion of Chad's intent with the home being built on his property. Boyce permits limited questioning on it and asks that the questions remain in the scope of the witness's knowledge.
10:07 am: Prior asks if Arnold believed the children were alive when Chad told him they were fine. Arnold says he did, and that Chad seemed sincere. Arnold discusses plans Chad had for development on his property, he was looking to build a house for Lori to live in with him.
10:03 am: Prior asks Arnold about the Daybell house, Arnold says the first time he went into the house was after Tammy's death. Arnold says he had rough knowledge of the acreage of the property, Prior asks what the acreage was and Arnold responds "you own it, you tell me," revealing to the jurors that Prior is the owner of the property now. After a sidebar, Judge Boyce asks jurors to excuse that information.
9:47 am: Prior now cross-examines, asking Arnold to describe the ward where he met Chad.
9:44 am: Arnold explains that he asked Chad about the whereabouts of the missing kids at the time of Lori Vallow's arrest. He asked why Chad wasn't telling anyone about the missing kids and other questions that "probably everyone else would ask."
9:38 am: Arnold recalls attending the service for Tammy in Idaho, just days after her death. He spoke with Chad at the service, the two talked about how Chad was going to be staying with someone else as he was uncomfortable in the house where Tammy died. Chad said he would be going to Hawaii with a friend to write. Chad did not tell Arnold he was going to Hawaii with Lori Vallow.
9:34 am: Ron Arnold is called by the State. Arnold met Chad and Tammy through their churchward. Chad was his home teacher for 3 1/2 years.
9:32 am: Shultz is released from the stand after describing a group Chad was a part of that believed the Deer Creek Dam in Provo, Utah was going to burst and flood Utah County, this was one of the red flags.
9:27 am: Wixom now re-directs, Shultz says there was obviously a "doomsday type thing" with Chad.
9:26 am: Shultz recalls Jason defending Chad when he asked if he thought Chad killed Tammy. Prior finishes his cross-examination.
9:15 am: Shultz tells Prior that he felt the funeral was moving faster than the usual process.
9:11 am: Prior being his cross-examination. He asks about Shultz's history with the family.
9:09 am: Shultz recalls talking with Chad's brother-in-law about how quickly the funeral process happened. The two felt that the process was being rushed.
9:07 am: Shultz says when he saw Tammy's body, he found nothing that would make him suspicious, but he also says there were other red flags in the situation that raised concern.
9:04 am: Shultz helped move Tammy's body into a cot for transportation to the funeral. He was told Tammy was sick before she died.
9:02 am: Shultz describes preparing funeral arrangements with Chad. Chad told him he didn't want to drag out the funeral process.
8:57 am: Shultz recalls learning of Tammy's death in 2019. Chad asked if Shultz could help bring Tammy's body to Springville, Utah, Shultz said he'd be honored to.
8:54 am: Steve Shultz is called to the stand by Wixom, Shultz was neighbors with Chad Daybell until the end of 2015. He testifies to the family's image in the community at that time.
