BOISE, Idaho — In court yesterday, Tuesday, May 7, the testimony of Zulema Pastenes took most of the day. In the afternoon, the Idaho state medical examiner took the stand to testify about the autopsies of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. His testimony will continue on Wednesday.
Pastenes talked a great deal about the religious views that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow held. It differed greatly from traditional teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Pastenes was in a relationship with Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's brother. Pastenes did marry Alex Cox, shortly before his untimely death in Dec. of 2019.
After Pastenes' testimony, prosecution brought the state medical examiner to the stand. Garth Warren, a pathologist, testified about the autopsies performed on JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. He will continue to testify, with graphic images of the autopsies being shown to just the jury and witness. Judge Boyce has been very cautious about showing certain images and evidence to the public, as the court proceedings have been livestreamed.
On the 17th day of Chad Daybell's trial, the court heard testimony from several of Lori Vallow's family members. Her niece, Melani Pawlowski, testified about the beliefs held by Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. Ian Pawlowski, Melani's current husband, also testified.
Their testimony came after testimony from FBI agent Steve Daniels, who testified a great deal about the evidence recovery plans that took place on June 9, 2020 - the day the children's bodies were found on Chad Daybell's property.
The trial is expected to last another two to four weeks.
Live Updates:
3:08 p.m.: Det. Werther is finished with testimony and will not be recalled again. Based on the nature of the testimony of the day, Judge Boyce reads something to the jury about conspiracy charges. The jury will be considering conspiracy charges in the Chad Daybell trial, so the limiting instruction read in court applies to the jury. Another sidebar takes place to talk about scheduling. With the time of day, they conclude court for the day but will take up a matter outside of the presence of the jury.
3:00 p.m.: Direct examination concludes and John Prior takes up the podium. Prior asks a great deal about the phone calls, specifically about one call Lori Vallow made to the same mortuary that Chad Daybell called as well. Werther testifies that there was a long time between when Charles was shot and when 911 was called. There is suggestions that Lori Vallow may have been present at the time of Charles' death. Prior asks about the drive-thru video. Earlier in testimony, the state said there were two people in the car, but Prior asks if there's possibly three. "Most likely," said Werther. Redirect takes place shortly after.
2:53 p.m.: More phone data is shared on the screen, outlining the phone calls and texts between Daybell, Lori Vallow, and Alex Cox. One of the data points Det. Werther was able to identify was an outgoing call from Chad Daybell's phone to a mortuary in Arizona. This was the day that Charles Vallow died, so it begs the question - why did Chad make that call?
2:38 p.m.: Court is back in session, jurors are brought back in. The state recalls Det. Werther. The slideshow that was shown in court earlier is displayed again, as the technology issues have been resolved, or so it appears. Det. Werther messes with a slideshow, as it was back at the beginning of the slideshow. Now a map is shown, showing a phone call and where the phones pinged, or hit a tower. There are several text data points shown, indicating that Lori Vallow was texting Chad Daybell.
2:13 p.m.: Out of these prints found, there was exploration of a lot of evidence. Martinez discusses the processes of her job at length. Cross examination wraps up, and the state does not redirect examine. The witness is released, and will not testify again in this trial. Judge Boyce asks for a sidebar with counsel. After the sidebar, the mid-afternoon break takes place. Court will be back in 20 minutes.
2:06 p.m.: Fingerprints are shown in court, with Martinez's analysis done on the fingerprint. She also collected some hair samples from the duct tape, but did not work with the hair as that isn't her expertise area. Direct examination concludes, and cross begins. Prior, before asking questions, admits something to evidence. He asks about the hairs she took. The witness has a binder of notes that she uses to refresh her memory.
1:54 p.m.: Martinez testifies about taking fingerprints of JJ Vallow, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell. She also took hair samples from Lori and Chad. Martinez is talking about the duct tape on JJ's mouth. From the tape on JJ's ankles, some fingerprints were taken. Martinez was able to collect some hair from certain items. From the item she was able to identify prints from, she was able to develop two prints, however the first one was not sufficient enough. On the second print, it wasn't related to anyone in the system, so it was considered an inconclusive print.
1:41 p.m.: The state calls another witness, Tara Martinez, who works as forensic scientist for the State of Idaho. She processes evidence in regards to fingerprints, and identification of fingerprints. Martinez testifies about the various processes she uses to obtain a fingerprint off of evidence. She also testifies about preserving the prints.
1:34 p.m.: The technical issues continue, as Blake and Werther work it out. It appears that the software that is being used is not working with the prosecutor's computer. Judge Boyce lets the gallery and counsel know that there is some re-carpeting being done in the courthouse, so there may be some odd sounds. After dealing with her computer for a while, Blake asks for a sidebar. After coming back from sidebar, Judge Boyce announces they will call another witness at this time, to keep court moving forward. Werther will be recalled at a later date, when the technology allows it.
1:19 p.m.: More location data is shown in court, tracking Lori Vallow's whereabouts in the hours after Charles' death. Texts were sent between Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow about this time, the time that Charles Vallow died. At this point, there had not been a 911 call to declare Charles' state. The software displaying the slides has crashed the computer of prosecutor Lindsey Blake, so there's a stretch break that takes place so she can work on the computer.
1:04 p.m.: Direct examination of Det. Werther continues for the afternoon portion of the day. On the projector, a map is shown, which comes from cell phone data. In another slide, the court sees Charles Vallow's device data. At a certain point, Lori had gotten Charles' phone. She was in possession of the phone while she went through a Burger King drive-thru. Video is shown of Lori going through the drive-thru. According to Lori, Charles had already been shot and she chose to go get food. Another map is shown, that helps visualize some phone calls. The map shows where the phones pinged the towers, showing the device location.
11:56 a.m.: A diagram is shown in court that displays the area in Arizona in which Charles Vallow was shot. Then, text records indicate Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow texting back and forth the day Charles Vallow died. Lori Vallow had somehow got into Lori's possession, which made it challenging to do data recovery. Lunch break kicks off right at 12 p.m. and court will be back in an hour.
11:40 a.m.: Det. Werther testifies more about Charles Vallow's phone data in the weeks before and after his death. They narrowed down to the day he was shot and killed. They talk about cell data, cell location, and cell towers reached. Det. Werther talks about the 911 call received from Alex Cox, stating Charles Vallow was shot. He then talks about the order of events after the shooting.
11:14 a.m.: Court is back in session after defense reviewed some evidence with prosecution. The jurors are brought back in. The state calls their next witness, which is Detective Ariel Werther with the Chandler Police Department. Chandler is in Arizona, and Werther is assigned to the robbery/homicide unit. He will be testifying about cell phone records. Det. Werther talks about the shooting of Charles Vallow, but had a limited roll in the case. Det. Werther went through the phone data of Charles Vallow, looking at call detail records.
10:54 a.m.: There is an evidentiary issue that has arisen. Defense needs a chance to review a piece of evidence that is coming up for the next witness. They clear the courtroom and turn off the stream for a few moments, to give Prior the opportunity to review the evidence.
10:44 a.m.: Cross examination is complete and Prior walks back to the defense table. A brief redirect will take place. Rob Wood asks the witness about bruises as well, and if it's a form of trauma. Warren says bruises are in fact a form of trauma. After two or three questions, redirect completes. Dr. Warren will unlikely be recalled again, but they are keeping him under subpoena just in case. Both parties ask for a sidebar, as prosecution needs a few moments to gather the next witness.
10:30 a.m.: After a graphic direct examination from Dr. Garth Warren, prosecution concludes their questioning. Before cross examination begins, the court reviews the exhibits from the testimony to ensure they have the proper titles for each one. After a few moments, they wrap that up and cross examination begins. John Prior asks about canine bites on Tylee, which Warren states would be determined by the anthropologist. Prior asks about bruising next, which Warren elaborates upon. Warren testifies that bruises are harder to identify the age of a bruise, especially in the condition that Tylee Ryan was found in. However for JJ, there were some bruising present.
10:17 a.m.: They tried to identify the body and associate it with Tylee, so they had an expert in the field come in to do dental evidence work. They were able to identify the body as Tylee Ryan through dental records. Warren talks about the shrunken nature of the organs they found. An image of the lungs and heart are shown to the jury. The organs were about a quarter of the normal size, testifies Warren. They found a kidney as well, blackened and charred, with parts burned away.
10:03 a.m.: Court is back in session with the jurors being brought back in. The gallery appears pretty full today. Direct examination of the witness will continue. Before the break, a series of photographs of Tylee Ryan's autopsy is admitted into evidence. Dr. Warren will now testify about Tylee Ryan's body's conditions. Tylee's body came to the medical examiner in multiple bags. In one of the photographs shown to the jury, some of Tylee's vertebrae were found, as well as parts of the bowel. Daybell looks at the monitor at his table which is displaying the images of Tylee. He appears to be uncomfortable.
9:31 a.m.: After reviewing some images of Tylee Ryan, Warren is ready to testify. However, Judge Boyce asks for a break at this time. Court will be back in 15-20 minutes.
9:12 a.m.: JJ had a disposable diaper on, with decomposition fluid present on it. When a photograph of JJ's face is shown to jurors, Chad appears to sink in his chair a bit. He's gone from being helpful and taking notes, to looking somber and sitting still. Chad can see the images on the monitor at his table. It appears he is trying to avoid looking at the monitor when JJ's face is shown. More images are shown, documenting JJ's entire body, trying to identify whatever data they can. Warren states that the cause of death was asphyxiation, caused by the plastic bag over his head and/or the duct tape over his mouth.
8:57 a.m.: Shown to the jury, but not the public, are images of JJ Vallow in the body bag. The images are graphic. Warren testifies further about the images and autopsy. In the images, it is shown that JJ was wearing red pajamas. There was evidence of decomposition on the body. There was a lot of dirt and debris need JJ's face. His shirt was soaked in decomposition fluids and there was also mold present. More images are shown, and Warren's testimony continues as he discusses more decomposition and fluids found in and around JJ. JJ had duct tape around his mouth, wrists, and ankles.
8:42 a.m.: The jury is brought in for the 19th day of Chad Daybell's trial. There is no one on the stand currently, but the state will recall the medical examiner, Dr. Garth Warren. Direct examination continues with Dr. Warren. Rob Wood, prosecutor with Madison County, asks Warren about the condition of Tylee Ryan when the state medical examiner received the remains. Tylee's body arrived in multiple bags, which were later x-rayed to look for any evidence of the bone matter, such as bullet holes or other weapon damage. There was a great deal of debris on the body as well. There were a few "intact" organs - the heart, lungs, one of the kidneys, part of the liver, part of the bowel and some brain tissue. All were charred and shrunken. Later in his testimony, Warren explains that while the organs were intact, they had a lot of evidence of being burned. Chad Daybell takes notes during Warren's testimony.
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