BOISE — Family members have issued statements following a jury’s decision that Chad Daybell will be sentenced to death for the murder of Tammy Daybell, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

RELATED | Statements of Fremont and Madison County prosecutors following Chad Daybell sentencing

Here are the statements:

Tammy Daybell’s extended family

We want to thank everyone who put in countless hours of work to get where we are today; law enforcement, the prosecution, the media, and all of you who watched and listened to the trial and prayed for us. We are grateful for the relationships we have created through this horrible time and the support and love we were able to give each other. We also want to thank my Aunt Vicki who was sitting in court almost every day of this trial for those of us who weren’t able to do so. That took great strength to do.

We can all start to heal from the terrible losses we have suffered. We will miss Tammy every single day of our lives but we have some comfort knowing we will see her again.

If you have been touched by Tammy and would like to support her foundation, The Tammy Douglas Daybell foundation, to put books into the hands of children and increase literacy, please consider donating to The Tammy Douglas Daybell foundation. Thank you.

Brandon Boudreaux’s family

One year ago we sat as the first person was held accountable for what will be a never ending void in the lives of so many families. We once again have someone being held responsible. For the many people who have spent so many years working on or in this case in Idaho, we thank you. To the jurors who will carry the weight of these events with them for the rest of life, we thank you for taking on this burden.

So many families can be hurt from a tragedy. Often times, many suffer unseen to the public view. We mourn with you. Words seem feebile at times like this to express ourselves. A hole will exist in our lives that will never be filled, no result from any trial will fill it, but justice has a right to be served and we are grateful for those who uphold it. We encourage any and all who participated in crimes to be held accountable.

No one can replace JJ, Tylee, Tammy, or Charles. This world suffers with out them. They will be forever missed and mourned by those who wish for more time with them. As we heard from some who loved them, we felt of this pain because of who they were.
To those suffering, we offer our empathy and love. As we have suffered these years and dealt with our anger, grief, and pain, we have found strength and relief in our faith.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

We offer the invitation given thousand of years ago to turn your hearts to him who saves. Study his words and forgive. It has not filled the hole left – no verdict or process can. But it has brought peace in the quiet of life’s storm, and healing to the scars of life’s most unfair moments.

Matt and Heather Daybell

The last few days and months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for so many, including for Heather and I.

The justice we’ve sought for has finally been attained, but for us in this moment, our feelings go back and forth from happiness and relief to sadness and sorrow. The jury’s unanimous verdict and sentence brings to a close nearly 10 years since this all began for our little family.

We would sincerely like to thank SO MANY who have reached out and offered words of support and love these last 2 months, and throughout the past 4 ½ years. Your kindness, especially towards Heather, has been needed and truly appreciated.

Like so many of you, we hope to continue to heal our family, move forward together, and look toward better days ahead.

We are so grateful to the jury, to Judge Boyce, to all law enforcement involved, and to the Fremont and Madison prosecution teams. A sincere thank you for your tireless efforts, expertise, and preparation for such a complex and emotional case – we know it has affected each of you and your families. Thank you.

We continue to express our love and support to Kay and Larry Woodcock and their extended families, to Tammy’s father Ron and the entire Douglas family, and to Colby and the extended Cox families. Kay and Larry reached out from the very beginning and have been such great examples to us.

We also express our love to the many other countless victims that have been affected, including those within our own family.
We realize that nothing will bring Tammy, JJ, and Tylee back, but we sincerely hope and pray that, with justice now served, we are all able to move forward together, hoping for brighter days ahead, and showing greater love and compassion to all.

Matt and Heather Daybell

Cox and Shiflet families

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for all who worked so hard to achieve this true and just verdict and sentence.

First, law enforcement who, together with the prosecution office, were vigilant and unstoppable in the pursuit of justice for Tylee, Tammy and JJ.

The witnesses who had to give testimony, sometimes at great emotional expense.

The courageous jurors, who had to face the most horrific evidence that will surely have a lifelong impact on them.

The court, especially Judge Boyce, for the serious, measured decisions that protected the defendant’s rights and the victim’s silent cries for justice. It was so gratifying to see our justice system work!

We are grateful for all, seen and unseen, who contributed to this huge endeavor. We believe this is a fair sentence in light of the cruel, and callous manner in which our loved ones were lost. We are also grateful for all of the prayers and support offered on our behalf.

We trust in God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, for true healing and ask His blessing for all of the families who are suffering from this great loss.

Tammy, Tylee and JJ will always be remembered as bright lights in this world!

The Cox and Shiflet Families

BOISE, Idaho — Surfers and kayakers have been able to shred the expert whitewater wave for about two weeks now. Idaho is a landlocked state, but that doesn’t stop people from surfing on the Boise River.

“I lived in Hawaii for a while so I got to surf waves there, it’s not like going and surfing in the ocean,” said Garrett Kerr, one of around a dozen surfers at the wave. “This is very fast, you can definitely get some good carves and bottom turns.”

The wave has been open for two weeks now, but wave technicians from the Boise Parks and Recreation Department need to monitor the conditions during a session. The Boise river is flowing around 1,500 cubic feet per second.

“This is hands down our favorite flow, it is about double what we can run it at at the low end later in the summer,” said Paul Primus, a wave tech with parks and rec. “The performance is unbelievable and we have seen some seriously good surfing out here, it has been really exciting and a lot more people are coming out so we have added evening sessions.”

Sessions run from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday and on Tuesday and Saturday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. People can stay up to date using the Rainout Line App.

Boise Parks and Recreation has a wave tech for every session because if conditions change it can make the hydraulic behind the large green wave dangerous.

“If we get a big flow change in the river like 100 or 200 cfs, that can actually crash the green wave itself and become extremely retentive to a high hazard point we wouldn’t like to see,” said Primus. “However, if we have it as this setting currently with stable flows and we can monitor the pools, it’s an unbelievably good wave with a low hazard situation with all of us here to help each other at this very high intensity wave.”

Phase two of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation Whitewater Park opened in 2019. It includes three features and it is a park within a park at Esther Simplot Park. However, the expert wave has never been dialed in, leading to a lawsuit between the designer and the city.

The City of Boise hired the firm that built phase one to come in and try to open the expert wave all the time. However, they weren’t able to do the work last winter because of all the snow in January and water releasing earlier then normal because all the reservoirs were full. The plans include continuing work next winter.

Phase two also acts as a diversion dam for the Farmer’s Union Canal to make sure they get their allotment of water. That is actually the number one priority for the feature, it is also used for flood mitigation and for recreation.

Surfers and kayakers can expect long lines at both phase one and phase two this summer. Garrett Kerr told us there is an unwritten rule of etiquette to keep the lines moving as river surfing has become very popular in Boise.

“You get up and you are cruising for a little bit and then you got to try to do some moves, some turns and maybe some tricks,” said Kerr. “That way your turn ends and the next guy can go.”

Surfers should not use leashes at the expert whitewater wave, everyone there had wetsuits as the Boise River is still really cold and for surfers wanting to work up to the expert wave, phase one is an excellent spot to practice.

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – On Saturday, Zoo Idaho hosted their annual Free Day.

The free price of admission definitely brought out the people, with thousands of people flocking to the zoo to see what they have to offer.

With the help of the City and Connections Credit Union, Zoo Idaho has been able to offer the free day since 2017.

“I look at it as a way for us to give back to the community,” said Zoo Superintendent Peter Pruett. “For a zoo, of course we want all kinds of support, but we can’t always just keep asking, give, give, give. We need to give back, and this is just a wonderful event for all of these people that have been here.”

Walking through all of the exhibits, you could see this was a big day for families to enjoy some quality time together.

“We’re always looking for something fun to do with the kids.” said Drew Amos.” Free zoo day is just kind of a natural fit when you got a bunch of kids. It keeps our cost low and it gives them something to do.”

The annual free day has been Zoo Idaho’s most attended day of the year since it started, giving the zoo the type of exposure they wouldn’t receive otherwise.

“I’ve been to a lot of zoos and I’ve never seen this many people at the zoo before,” Amos said. “Getting people to come out and experience the animals, experience the growth of the Pocatello zoo, I think this is a fantastic idea.”

Unlike other zoos, all of the animals at Zoo Idaho are indigenous to the area. These animals can no longer thrive in the wild and the zoo has given them a forever home.

“There’s a reason why we don’t have any babies every spring, because we want room for when there is a need,” Pruett said. “If we have to bring an animal in from the wild, whether they’re picked up as fawns, whether they’re orphaned, whether they’re nuisance animals, it’s great to really have that opportunity to do something more than just kind of breed within or trade within zoos.”