Daybell’s children take the stand as defense begins case in murder trial
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The defense for Chad Daybell began its case on Monday, May 20 after the prosecution rested last Thursday.
Defense Attorney John Prior began by calling Emma Murray, one of Chad and Tammy Daybell’s children. He later called Garth Daybell, Emma’s older brother, and Joseph Murray, Emma Murray’s husband.
Tammy’s health and fitness
Prior began by asking Emma about her mother’s health. She testified Tammy’s health began declining and needing to sleep a lot, often going to bed before dinner and sleeping in late the next morning. Emma also said Tammy would bruise very easily and often took medication to help.
When state prosecutor Lindsey Blake asked if it would be surprising to know that Tammy’s phone showed activity past 10 p.m., Emma said she heard Tammy was sick that night. Emma testified she wasn’t there but was told Tammy was sick and throwing up.
A complete timeline for the Daybell, Vallow murders
During a cross-examination, Blake asked if it would surprise Emma to know that anemia and sleep apnea were not on Tammy’s medical records. Emma said it wouldn’t surprise her if neither was mentioned.
Emma also testified she and her mother both felt overweight and joined clogging and high-intensity Zumba fitness classes to get healthier. In addition, Tammy reportedly was in a FitBit step competition with Emma’s in-laws.
Tammy would repeatedly shake her arm while on the bed or sitting on the couch to count “steps” to win the step competition. Both Tammy and Emma also took fitness classes for about six weeks before Tammy died.
Garth Daybell testified to his mother’s health as well, saying she had been getting tired extremely easily and was increasingly winded near the end of her life. He said she also was having fainting spells after kneeling for a long time.
On the day before she died, Garth said she had asked him to pick up dinner as she was not feeling good. Joseph Murray also testified that on that day she appeared “worn-out” and was sitting on the couch and coughing.
Prior changed the topic of conversation to life insurance policies, which Emma said both she and her mother took out higher policies. Emma said the insurance was cheap and they were encouraged to take a life insurance policy.
“We both signed to take out more life insurance on ourselves and did not consult with our husbands,” Emma said.
When Blake asked Emma about Chad Daybell’s signature on a life insurance policy, Emma said she believed Tammy had also taken out a policy on him. Blake then showed Emma an $80,000 life insurance policy only for Tammy with both Tammy’s and Chad’s signatures.
Tylee’s death and wind search
Prior asked Emma about a search for wind direction on Chad Daybell’s desktop computer. Emma said she had done a search for south, southwest winds the day before Tylee died on that computer because they were planning an outdoor event.
Emma said she had noticed a storm on the horizon and was trying to be an “amateur meteorologist” to see if the storm was heading in their direction. She said she hopped onto a computer in the home in a shared location with no log-in or anything.
Chad and Tammy’s Daybell religious beliefs
Emma would go on to say both Chad and Tammy were religious. She described Chad Daybell as wanting to stick to “as close to the original form as he could.” He was really interested in teachings from Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and other early leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Garth also testified to this saying his father’s religious practices were traditional in the sense that they were closer to how the religion was practiced 100 years ago.
Emma said the assigning of numbers to people on whether they were light or dark, which the prosecution said was a common thing for Chad Daybell to do, was something Tammy would frequently do. Garth said his parents had similar religious perspectives and would both occasionally place numbers on the light and dark in people. Emma said Tammy was more fundamental in her religious beliefs than Chad was.
At one point, Emma said she was given a blessing when she was struggling. After the blessing, Emma said she instantly felt better and that the “individual affecting her body” was gone. She said death was never a possibility when it came to casting out an evil spirit.
“The goal is so you have your own body back and can be in control of yourself,” Emma said, saying she never heard the word zombies outside of TV and movies. Emma testified Chad would teach her about “multi-creations” but not about zombies.
Tammy’s death
Garth said he was living at home at the time of Tammy’s death. He said he returned home from work at 1 a.m. that day and was watching YouTube until around 3 a.m. He said he did not hear any sounds of struggle in the other room where Chad and Tammy slept, testifying that if there had been a fight he would have heard it.
He said later he heard a thump and his dad calling for help. He testified to helping lift his mom onto the bed and realizing in the process that she was stiff, cold and had not been breathing.
Emma told Prior she didn’t feel there should be an autopsy done on anyone after they died. When the coroner asked if they wanted an autopsy done on Tammy Daybell, Emma said she didn’t want it done. Meanwhile, Chad Daybell never gave an opinion as he was “more distressed than I’ve ever seen him in my entire life,” said Emma.
Emma said her father was “emotionally out of control.” She told Prior that she knew the grief he felt for Tammy’s death was real, even if he didn’t have the same romantic relationship with her as he was having an affair with Lori Vallow at the time.
Joseph also testified that he had never seen Chad look the way he had the morning after Tammy’s death, saying he looked distressed and “very shaken up.”
Blake asked Emma if she had shared her concerns about her mom’s health when Tammy died, but Emma said she did not remember. Emma told Blake she also never reached out to law enforcement about Tammy’s medical conditions because “it wasn’t a crime.”
Emma testified she later learned through a detective that Tammy had been exhumed. Emma told prosecutor Lindsey Blake she reached out to family members with concerns about Tammy’s body being exhumed but not law enforcement. Emma said she felt law enforcement would not be willing to help with her concerns.
Emma also said she refused to sit down with law enforcement about the autopsy results. According to Emma, police would only give her the results if she agreed to an interview, which she declined.
Relationship with law enforcement
Defense attorney John Prior asked Emma if she ever felt like she was under scrutiny as part of the investigation into Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. Emma said she did with “any interaction with law enforcement.”
Emma testified there were multiple cases where law enforcement made her feel uncomfortable. In one incident a detective exercised in a “closer than comfortable” distance at them. Emma said it felt like he was trying to listen in on her conversation with her sister-in-law. In another incident, a detective from Madison County confronted Emma while she was at church. She said the confrontation made her feel uncomfortable and she never went back to that congregation.
In Garth’s testimony, he said he felt like law enforcement and county prosecutors were pressuring him to change his story.
“They were telling me that my story was untrue and I needed to change it,” he said.
He said he was later summoned in front of a grand jury and was under the impression he could be indicted if he did not change his testimony. In the cross-examination, Blake questioned whether he did end up changing his testimony. He said he did not change it and was not indicted.
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