An Idaho judge on Saturday sentenced a man to death after he was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges for killing his first wife and two children with his current wife in 2019. The case had come under scrutiny because of the couple's religious beliefs in an “end of days.”
The decision came after jurors deliberated for more than a day in a special sentencing proceeding for Chad Daybell, 55, in Ada County District Court in Boise, Idaho.
Earlier Saturday, the jury had recommended the death penalty, but the judge then called a short recess to decide the final sentence.
Daybell sat at the defense table with his hands in his lap and a blank look on his face as 7th Judicial District Judge Stephen W. Boyce read the verdict. The defense did not ask any questions to the judge.
“The court would ordinarily address the defendant in further detail,” Judge Boyce said, “but in this special sentencing proceeding, I believe the victim impact statements and evidence demonstrate the seriousness of the events already in the record.”
“I see no reason to look further into the court's rationale beyond what is stated in the statute,” he added.
Idaho law requires that a post-conviction review attorney be appointed after a death sentence is imposed, and an appeal can be filed once a death warrant is filed.
The state's last execution was in 2011, when Paul Rose was executed by lethal injection.
In February, a lethal injection execution in Idaho was halted after multiple attempts to inject the intravenous fluid into the blood of inmate Thomas Eugene Creech failed. His death warrant expired that day, and he was returned to his cell.
In 2023, Gov. Brad Little signed a bill allowing executions by firing squad amid a national shortage of drugs used in executions.
Prosecutors in Daybell's case cited aggravating factors and said the death penalty was warranted. They argued that the crimes were particularly “heinous, atrocious or cruel,” that Daybell was motivated by gratification and that he continues to be a danger to society.
Prosecutor Lindsay Blake said Daybell made extreme religious claims, claiming he had hallucinations that allowed him to determine if a person was in the “darkness” or “possessed”, in which case “the body had to be destroyed or die”.
All she claimed was that her husband wanted was to receive his life and other insurance proceeds and then live a new life with his current spouse, alone on a beach “unencumbered by earthly obstacles.”
Daybell's lawyer, John Pryor, urged jurors to consider the basis of the original charges and understand that Daybell was accused of exercising his religious beliefs, not for financial gain, and that he was not the only suspect in the murders.
Even if jurors believed the defendant killed his first wife, that “does not amount to a heinous and cruel act” that merits the death penalty, Pryor said.
Relatives of the victims gave often choked-up statements Friday, several pausing to regain their composure as they described the immeasurable loss.
“Our sister was ripped out of our lives,” said Samantha Gwilliam, sister of Mr. Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell.
She should not have died a violent death, but should have been spending her time loving her grandchildren, looking after her animals and smiling, he added.
“I will mourn her for the rest of my life,” she said. “I speak up for her now because she needs a voice.”
Judge Daybell listened expressionlessly Thursday to the verdicts of guilty on three counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of insurance fraud.
Prosecutors charged Daybell and his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, in 2021 with their roles in the murders of 7-year-old Joshua Vallow, known as JJ, and Tylee Ryan, 16. Daybell also faces murder charges in the death of his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell.
Daybell and Vallow Daybell, now 50, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Vallow Daybell was convicted in May of murdering her two children and conspiring to murder her husband's ex-wife. In July, she was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole.
The couple's religious beliefs drew prosecutors' and public attention because of their potential role in the case: According to the indictment, the couple “espoused and taught religious beliefs with the intent to justify the deaths of their children.”
One of the prosecutors, Robert H. Wood, said the murders showed “a total disregard for human life.”
Vallow Daybell was dubbed “Doomsday Mom” ​​in headlines and a Lifetime documentary. Daybell has written end-time-themed novels, and both she and Vallow Daybell were associated with a group called “Preparing a People,” which aims to prepare believers for the second coming of Jesus Christ, according to their websites.
The couple married in 2019, shortly after his wife, Tammy Daybell, was found dead in their Idaho home. Her death was initially ruled a natural cause, but after Vallow's children went missing, authorities began an investigation that even led to a second look at the cause of death. An autopsy later determined the cause of death was asphyxiation.
Tammy Daybell's death occurred about a month after Daybell increased the amount of coverage on her life insurance policy.
Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 after authorities said she had failed to cooperate with the search for her missing children, whose bodies were found on Daybell's property in Idaho later that year. Daybell was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence.
Emmett Lindner Contributed report.