BOISE, Idaho — The start of testimony in the Daybell murder trial was incredibly difficult to watch.
Pictures were shown of Daybell's mutilated children, prompting Daybell to ask to be excused from court.
The judge said no.
The question is... Why?
Idaho has what's known as rule 43, which spells out the defendant's responsibility. "The defendant in a felony case has to be present at all significant proceedings," explains attorney David Leroy. "That's a constitutional right and constitutional obligation."
Leroy says communication between the defendant and their legal team is critical to ensuring a fair trial. "It helps to prevent a successful appeal if some error is alleged to have been made," he says.
But Vallow Daybell has already exhibited a fragile state of mind. Her trial was delayed while she was deemed mentally unfit. So what if she lost her composure in the middle of trial?
Tuesday…that seemed to happen as the lead detective in the case testified about graphic evidence concerning the state of JJ's and Tylee’s remains.
Testimony was delayed as Daybell conferred with her attorneys in the hallway…eventually leading them to make this request. "My client wishes to waive her presence at the testimony for the remainder of the day," requested Daybell's attorney, Jim Archibald. "It was emotional this morning and she indicated to us she did not want to attend this afternoon."
After consultation with all attorneys, Judge Steven Boyce eventually denied her request to leave.
"Her presence can and should be required in order to ensure her due process rights, and also to ensure a fair trial on behalf of the state," said Boyce.
Leroy admits rule 43 does allow for a defendant to be removed…but emotional distress…isn’t a qualified reason.
"Sometimes a defendant could be either muffled or a defendant is removed from the courtroom." he said, "To be muffled is probably some kind of gag although I can tell you in a mere 51 years of practice I've never seen that in a courtroom. But I have seen some defendants kicked out." Leroy says emotional moments in a trial happen all the time, and are generally handled by taking a short recess to recompose.
That’s what we saw…as Tuesday’s graphic testimony resumed…with accounts from inside court saying Vallow Daybell was visibly emotional.
