BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A jury in Idaho on Saturday unanimously agreed that convicted killer Chad Daybell deserves the death penalty for the gruesome murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children — ending a grim case that began in 2019 with a search for two missing children.

The 55-year-old Daybell, wearing a dress shirt and tie, sat with his hands in his lap at the defense table. He showed no emotion when learning he would face the death penalty for the murders of Tammy Daybell; 16-year-old Tylee Ryan; and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow.

The mother of the children is Lori Vallow Daybell, whom Chad Daybell married shortly after his wife’s death. Vallow Daybell was convicted last year in the three murders and is now awaiting trial in Arizona, charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. Charles Vallow was JJ’s father.

The case began in 2019, when a family member called police. Investigators soon realized both children were missing, and a multistate search ensued. Nearly a year later, their remains were found buried on Chad Daybell’s property. Tylee’s DNA was later found on a pickaxe and shovel in a shed on the property, and JJ’s body was wrapped in trash bags and duct tape, prosecutors have said.

During a nearly two-month-long trial, prosecutors said Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-laced fiction, promoted unusual spiritual beliefs including apocalyptic prophecies and tales of possession by evil spirits in order to justify the killings.

Daybell’s defense attorney, John Prior, argued during the trial that there wasn’t enough evidence to tie Daybell to the killings, and suggested Vallow Daybell’s older brother, Alex Cox, was the culprit. Cox died in late 2019 and was never charged, and Vallow Daybell was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

During the sentencing hearing, Prior asked the jurors to judge Daybell on his life before he met Vallow Daybell, describing her as a bomb that blew him off the trajectory of an otherwise wholesome life. But Daybell also declined to offer any mitigating evidence during the sentencing hearing. Mitigating evidence is often used to encourage jurors to have sympathy for a defendant in an effort to show that a life sentence would be more appropriate than capital punishment.

Family members of the victims gave emotional statements to the jurors. JJ Vallow’s grandmother, Kay Woodcock, tearfully described how the 7-year-old would show empathy and compassion to others through soft touches and by frequently asking if those around him were OK. She also said Tylee was a doting big sister, and that it warmed her heart to see them together.

“I can’t express just how much I wish for more time to create memories,” Woodcock said, beginning to weep.

Vallow Daybell’s oldest child, Colby Ryan, described what it was like to lose his entire family. His father died years earlier.

“My three kids will never know the kindness of Tylee’s heart or JJ’s silly and goofy personality … The only way I could describe the impact of their lives being lost is like a nuclear bomb dropping,” he said. “It’s not an overstatement to say that I lost everything.”

To impose the death penalty, the jurors had to unanimously find that Daybell met at least one of the “aggravating circumstances” that state law says qualifies someone for capital punishment. They also had to agree that those aggravating factors weren’t outweighed by any mitigating factors that might have lessened his culpability or justified a lesser sentence.

Idaho law allows for execution by lethal injection or firing squad, though firing squad executions have never been used in the state.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will host two public workshops Tuesday to share information on an application from a northern Idaho water utility to increase the rates and charges for water service.

CDS Stoneridge Utilities, based in Blanchard, is seeking approval from the commission to increase rates. 

The North Idaho utility serves approximately 384 residential and commercial customers in the area. The utility said it has invested more than $900,000 in its system since 2018. To recover the investment, the utility is asking the commission for approval to increase rates for customers by an average of 261%.

Date: June 4
Times: 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m, and 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Blanchard Community Center, 684 Rusho Lane

Commission staff will be present to give an overview of the water utility’s application and to answer any questions from the public. 

For those unable to attend either workshop, a video presentation of it will be posted to the commission’s homepage in the “News Updates” section.

The commission is accepting written comments on the utility’s application until Aug. 7. Comments are required to be filed through the commission’s website or by e-mail using case number SWS-W-24-01. If computer access is not available, users can mail their comments to: 

Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0074

Additional information on CDS Stoneridge’s application is available on the Idaho Public Utilities Commission website here.

POCATELLO — Hundreds sang and prayed along the half-mile walk from St. John’s Catholic Student Center to Caldwell Park on Thursday. Residents stopped what they were doing — walking dogs, mowing grass, watering lawns — to look on as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage passed through Pocatello en route to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

The Pilgrimage’s stop in Pocatello began with a visit to the St. John’s Catholic Student Center on the Idaho State University campus. More than 100 worshippers representing parishes from eastern Idaho and beyond filled the church and an overflow room.

But, as Bishop Peter Christensen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise said, Idaho was not on the original pilgrimage path. And, despite its late addition, the Gem State has seen the greatest number of people register to be involved of any state along the four routes, he said.

According to the pilgrimage’s website, four groups of pilgrims took to four separate preplanned routes, working their way through much of the Continental United States toward Indiana.

Christensen said the St. Junipero Serra Route, which began in San Francisco, was altered to add several stops in Idaho, including Fruitland, Emmett, Glenns Ferry and Pocatello, before continuing on to Salt Lake City.

Nancy Bevins, a resident of Hamilton, Montana, drove into town to be part of the pilgrimage.

“This is the closest it’s going to be to Hamilton,” she said. “I mean, I’m getting goosebumps just being here. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Following a brief stop inside St. John’s, the pilgrims, members of the St. John’s clergy and some 200 participants walked behind a cross-bearer and Christensen, who carried the Monstrance, a vessel used to carry the sacramental body of Christ during devotional ceremonies. They went about half a mile to Caldwell Park, where even more participants waited.

Lydia Noble, a Pocatello resident and former City Council candidate, was present at Caldwell Park. A member of the Catholic faith, Noble told EastIdahoNews.com how rare it is to see the Monstrance.

Noble also spoke about how important it is for people of the Catholic faith to take part in things like the Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

“It’s very important, that’s why I’m here,” she said. “It is a symbol of our faith, it is a special event, and the Monstrance is not usually displayed except for these events — that’s a big part of our faith.”

The Eucharistic Pilgrimage, according to its website, is “a beautiful fusion of the journey TO Jesus and the journey WITH Jesus.” Pilgrims began their separate journeys from California, Texas, Massachusetts and Minnesota and, as Bevins said, created a symbolic cross over the center of the nation with their routes.

Noble said she was momentarily surprised by the turnout, as she waited with what was around 50 people for the arrival of the procession.

“I’m very pleased (with the turnout),” she said. “When I first came — I was in Idaho Falls, so I didn’t make it at 4:30 — I cam straight here (to Caldwell Park), and there was hardly anybody here. But when the procession came around the corner there, it was a big relief.”

Bevins said she was not surprised by the turnout either, though she was surprised by how many people fit inside the St. John’s church.

“I didn’t know there were this many people inside,” she said. “I got here, and I was outside, I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t many people.’”

The pilgrims prayed at Caldwell Park for blessings of love, grace and mercy, and both mental and spiritual direction on their journey.

Then, accompanied by their hosts from the Diocese of Boise and local churches, they continued to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church for a Holy Adoration, then to St. Joseph’s Chapel, where they worshipped until mass at 7 a.m. Friday.

Following Friday mass, the pilgrims were escorted to Preston, where they were joined by their hosts from the Salt Lake City Diocese.

According to the website, the Eucharistic Pilgrims will travel more than 6,500 miles — between the four routes — and be joined by more than 1,000 hosts and over 100,000 participants.