Chad Daybell trial day 26: 2 of Chad’s children take the stand
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Two of Chad Daybell's children were called to testify in his murder trial on Monday.
Emma Murray and Garth Daybell were called to the witness stand on the first day the defense presented its case. The two were asked several questions about their mother, Tammy Daybell.
Emma said her mother's health had been declining and that she was tried all day long. She also talked about several other issues that the prosecution brought in as evidence, including the Google search on Chad's computer about wind directions the day before Tylee's body was burned and buried.
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John Prior, Daybell's attorney: "And there was some testimony about a Google search for south southwest wind, and that would have been on 9-18 of 19. Do you recall that?"
Emma: "I do."
Prior: "And was that your father who did that search?"
Emma: "That was me."
Prior: "And what was the purpose of doing that search?"
Emma: "I saw a rain storm. We were planning an outdoor event, and I wanted to know if those clouds were coming our way. The weather forecast for where we live in Rexburg is sometimes inaccurate because we don't live in Rexburg, so I was trying to be an amateur meteorologist, and the wind on the weather app said it was coming from the south-southwest, and I didn't know if that meant it was coming or going from the southwest. And so I did a Google search on the the desktop computer that my parents kept in the living room."
During Emma's testimony, she said she and her family were not notified before her mother's body was exhumed and an autopsy was performed. She also felt she was being unfairly treated by law enforcement.
During cross-examination, prosecuting attorney Lindsay Blake asked her a series of questions about evidence that had been brought into the trial, which she mostly answered. I don't remember.
Blake: "You don't remember a phone call in which he relayed to you, 'Probably better if you just don't cooperate?"
Emma: "I don't remember that."
She admitted to talking with her dad almost daily, but said that her dad never told her to say anything.
Garth Daybell was on the stand Monday afternoon. He talked about the morning his mother was found dead.
Garth: "I observed my mother had rolled partially out of bed with her legs and tangled in the sheets. And, my instinct was, oh, she needs help. So I immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her up back into the bed."
Prior: "Okay. And at that point, you felt her arms were cold?"
Garth: "Yeah, I felt she was cold and stiff and okay. And I she was gray. And I realized she's not been breathing."
Testimony will continue on Tuesday.
