More financial history discussed in Lori-Vallow Daybell trial
ADA COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – Wednesday's court proceedings started finishing up direct examination with Detective Kunsaitis with the Rexburg Police Department. Emails and flight history were shown.
According to the document, Chad Daybell had sent an email to a hotel in Hawaii looking for a place to stay in early November 2019, after they were married. The email said they had no pets or children.
Another piece of evidence shown was JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan and Lori Vallow's flight history. Det. Kunsaitis says that on Oct. 23, 2019, around the time of Tammy Daybell's funeral, Lori flew from Hawaii to Arizona and then to Idaho Falls.
The last thing Det. Kunsaitis reviewed in court was a document showing a purchase for two rings from Etsy, an online shop to purchase homemade items. The document shows rings were bought by Lori on August 15, 2019.
Forensic Accountant Mike Douglass then took the stand. Douglass prepared financial timelines of Tylee and JJ after the death of Tylee's father, Joseph Ryan. His testimony lined up with those of Lori's oldest son Colby Ryan, Criminal Investigator Mark Saari, and Det. Kunsaitis. Douglass's reports show money was transferred to Lori's account in August, before the children's death.
When law enforcement and the FBI looked back in the activity, suspicions in the accounts started to rise in August 2019.
Douglass says, "Tylee was responsible with her money. I never saw her have one negative balance." He says Tylee was religiously making payments to her car and phone bill. In August 2019, that account was closed. By August 16, 2019 all the Social Security money that Tylee was receiving got transferred to Lori's account.
Documents showed on August 15, 2019 Lori purchased two rings.
In October 2019 Tylee's Venmo account was used in Missouri, but by this time Tylee was already dead, but nobody knew. Lori was in Missouri with her niece Melani Broudeaux at the time of the transaction.
Focus then turned to Chad Daybell's accounts.
His former wife, Tammy Daybell, died October 19, 2019, but a month before her death and around the time the kids died, Douglass says the was a request to increase her life insurance.
By November 5, 2019, Douglass points out, Chad and Lori were married.
Lori had been receiving social security money until January 2020, when the kids were determined missing. Chad received two life insurance payments after Tammy died.
Douglass's timeline then jumped to June 9, 2020 the day Chad's property was being searched. Records show three transfers of $8,000 were made from Chad to his older children. Only $4,100 was left in the account after the transfers.
Court then took a lunch break. Douglass was dismissed, but may be called back at a later date.
Two law enforcement officers from Chandler Arizona Police Department and a paramedic with Chandler Fire Department were called to testify about what happened the day of Charles Vallow's death. The defense tried to object to these witnesses because Lori is not being tried in this trial for the events that happened in Arizona. Judge Steven Boyce allowed their testimony.
Paramedic Scott Cowden testified that he never saw any implication CPR was performed on Charles before he arrived. Cowden said he was notified that the caller, Alex Cox, performed CPR. Detective Ariel Werther went over the timestamps of Lori's whereabouts the morning of Charles's death. Werther says Charles's phone seemed to be with Lori because it was pinged in the same areas she was.
Detective Sandra Ynclan interviewed Lori and Tylee on the day Charles died. Yclan says, "she didn't have much of a reaction," when she found out Charles died. She said, "It left an impression on me how unemotional she was." Before she made contact with Lori, Yclan says Lori was on the scene talking to officers and, "at one point she was laughing."
To finish up Wednesday's proceedings, the jury also heard from Lori's friend from Hawaii, April Raymond. At first, there was issue with Raymond being called to testify. It was thought Raymond may have had exposure to previous trial proceedings and testimony, but she said that was not true. Judge Boyce allowed her testimony.
Raymond testifies that Lori and herself met when they served on the Primary Presidency for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Later in their friendship, she says Lori tried to convert Raymond to her extreme beliefs. She says Lori tried to talk her into leaving her children because she, "had a greater calling," to join Lori. Raymond referred to one of the instances of trying to get her to convert, "a subtle grooming."
Upon cross-examination, Lori's Attorney Jim Archibald asked if she had these extreme beliefs when they were serving in the primary in 2016 and 2017. Raymond said Lori started to develop the beliefs in 2018. That was the year Lori and Chad met.
Court is scheduled to proceed Thursday morning.
