The Lori Vallow Daybell trial is now on day 16 of what is expected to be a long trial. For those of you just tuning in, Vallow Daybell stands accused of murdering two of her children and conspiring to murder the wife of the man who would soon become her husband. The official charges are two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in addition to grand theft for receiving the government benefits of her dead children.
On Monday, April 26, 2023, new evidence was presented by the prosecution revealing Vallow Daybell’s internet search history. It paints a shocking picture of her state of mind at the time of the alleged murders. She searched how to get the backseat out of her Jeep, for wedding rings, and more.
Rexburg Police Detective David Stubbs took the stand to discuss Vallow Daybell’s search history. On the day of the funeral for Chad Daybell's wife Tammy Daybell, Lori Vallow Daybell was searching for wedding dresses. Authorities believe that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell murdered Tammy Daybell for money and to get her out of the way. Chad Daybell is being tried separately from Lori Vallow Daybell.
“What also caught my attention was this was being looked at on the same day as Tammy’s funeral,” Stubbs said.
This was not the only thing that Vallow Daybell looked up that made police suspicious. She also searched for life insurance policies and wedding rings that were made of “malachite.” She wanted to know the definition of “possess.” She was also curious about the best way to “get the back seat out of my jeep wrangler.”
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Vallow Daybell had several Google accounts, so it appears as if she was trying to hide her tracks. Stubbs had a search warrant because of the investigation into the disappearance of her two children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Tammy Daybell died on October 19, 2019. It was originally believed that she died of natural causes.
After further investigation, authorities found a much darker story. The prosecution believes that Daybell and Vallow Daybell conspired to fatally strangle Tammy Daybell. Just one month before this, the two allegedly murdered the kids. Daybell and Vallow Daybell fled to Hawaii and were married just days after Tammy’s funeral.
Vallow Daybell and Daybell’s motive is largely attributed to their extreme religious beliefs. The couple are part of a fanatic branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They strongly believe in the end times and that they have an important role to play.
Stubbs went on to detail how several of Vallow Daybell’s Google user names were connected to burner phones. These phones are typically used by people who want to cover their tracks. Stubbs said they are often “used by people distributing illegal drugs so they can’t have their number tracked.”
The FBI’s Nicole Heideman also testified. She was in charge of deciphering which telephone numbers belonged to Vallow Daybell and Daybell. It was not an easy task.
Heideman was able to discover multiple phone numbers belonging to the couple between October 2018 and January 2020. She sussed out which ones belonged to each individual. Daybell had nine. Vallow Daybell had six.
