Jury Selection Set to Begin in Chad Daybell's Capital Murder Trial This Monday

Mar. 15, 2025

Chad Daybell.Photo: Rexburg Police Department

The capital murder trial ofChad Daybell, husband of convicted killerLori Vallow Daybell, is set to begin on Monday with jury selection in Ada County, Idaho.

Chad, 55, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Lori’s two children, 7-year-oldJoshua “J.J.” Vallowand 16-year-oldTylee Ryan, as well as his first wifeTammy Daybell, 49, in a 2019plotthat allegedly stemmed from bizarre doomsday prophecies the couple believed.

Chad, who was married to Tammy for nearly 30 years before her death, also faces insurance fraud and grand theft charges related to life insurance policies he had on her. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.

Lori wassentenced to life in prisonwithout the possibility of parole in July 2023 after a jury found her guilty ofmurderingJ.J. and Tylee and conspiring to murder Tammy. Loridid not face the death penalty, thoughprosecutors recommended it for Chad.

Prior to sentencing her, Judge Steven Boyce called Lori’s crimes “heinous and egregious,” saying that she hadn’t shown any remorse for her actions.

Lori Vallow Daybell.Dennis Fujimoto/AP/Shutterstock

On June 9, 2020, the remains of the siblings were found on a Rexburg, Idaho, property belonging to Chad, who married Lori in Hawaii in November 2019 — just weeks after his first wife Tammy died. J.J. and Tylee were last seen in September 2019, and Lori never reported her children missing.

Prosecutors suggested during Lori’s trial that Chad and Lori’s life together revolved around a small doomsday cult that believed in preparing for the imminent end of the world and eliminating people whose spirits had turned “dark.” Chad is a self-published author of doomsday-themed books.

Additionally, prosecutors revealed that Tammy’s cause of death was asphyxiation,PEOPLE previously reported. On Oct. 19, 2019, Chad Daybell reported the death of his wife Tammy, saying she had gone to bed with a cough and didn’t wake up. The manner of death was initially ruled as “natural causes,” and no autopsy was done. However, Tammy’s death was later deemed “suspicious” and her body was exhumed for an autopsy.

From left: Lori Vallow Daybell, J.J. Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Tammy Daybell and Chad Daybell.

In May 2021, Lori and Chad were charged in connection with the murders of Tylee, J.J., and Tammy. While Lori was sentenced last July, she also faces separate charges in Arizona related to the 2019 death of her ex-husbandCharles Vallowand the shooting of her niece’s then-husbandBrandon Boudreaux.She has reportedly pleaded not guilty in those cases.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Unlike Lori’s trial, Chad’s will be live-streamed with court-operated cameras,East Idaho Newsreports. According to the outlet, the trial is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

source: people.com