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Mega Edition: Chad Daybell Trial (Part 31) (10/25/26)
Published 3 hours ago
Description
Day thirty-one of Chad Daybell’s trial was devoted to closing arguments, with prosecutors pulling together weeks of testimony into a single theory built around what Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake called “money, power and sex.” Blake argued that Chad did not have to personally kill JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan or Tammy Daybell to be guilty, because the evidence showed that he had entered into a conspiracy with Lori Vallow and Alex Cox and helped create the belief system that justified removing anyone who stood in the way. She walked jurors back through Chad’s “light” and “dark” classifications, death percentages, communications with Lori and Alex, the life-insurance money collected after Tammy’s death, the affair with Lori and the children being buried on Chad’s property. Blake emphasized that Alex’s cellphone had placed him at the burial locations, that Tylee’s DNA was found on tools recovered from Chad’s property and that Chad’s own September 9 raccoon text corresponded with the day prosecutors believed Tylee was buried. She also replayed portions of Chad’s calls and spiritual blessings, arguing that the religious language was not harmless eccentricity but part of the mechanism Chad used to influence Lori and Alex and move the conspiracy forward.
Defense attorney John Prior countered that prosecutors had built a circumstantial case around suspicion while failing to prove Chad actually participated in any of the killings. He emphasized that Chad’s DNA had not been found on JJ or Tylee, that cellphone evidence placed Alex Cox—not Chad—at critical locations around the burial sites, and that defense pathologist Dr. Kathy Raven had disputed the state’s conclusion that Tammy’s death was a homicide. Prior argued that Lori and Alex were responsible for the children’s deaths and suggested Alex could have buried them on Chad’s property to implicate him, while accusing investigators of developing tunnel vision once they decided Chad was involved. Prosecutor Rob Wood and Blake answered those arguments in rebuttal, reminding jurors that conspirators did not have to physically commit every act themselves and arguing that investigators simply followed evidence that repeatedly led back to Chad’s home, his communications and his financial interests. After closings ended, five of the 17 remaining jurors were randomly selected as alternates, leaving 12 to decide the case. Deliberations began at approximately 4:31 p.m. on May 29, 2024, continued for roughly two hours and then recessed for the night before resuming the following morning.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
Defense attorney John Prior countered that prosecutors had built a circumstantial case around suspicion while failing to prove Chad actually participated in any of the killings. He emphasized that Chad’s DNA had not been found on JJ or Tylee, that cellphone evidence placed Alex Cox—not Chad—at critical locations around the burial sites, and that defense pathologist Dr. Kathy Raven had disputed the state’s conclusion that Tammy’s death was a homicide. Prior argued that Lori and Alex were responsible for the children’s deaths and suggested Alex could have buried them on Chad’s property to implicate him, while accusing investigators of developing tunnel vision once they decided Chad was involved. Prosecutor Rob Wood and Blake answered those arguments in rebuttal, reminding jurors that conspirators did not have to physically commit every act themselves and arguing that investigators simply followed evidence that repeatedly led back to Chad’s home, his communications and his financial interests. After closings ended, five of the 17 remaining jurors were randomly selected as alternates, leaving 12 to decide the case. Deliberations began at approximately 4:31 p.m. on May 29, 2024, continued for roughly two hours and then recessed for the night before resuming the following morning.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com