The Final Verdict: Man Sentenced to Death for Killing Wife and Girlfriend’s Family.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) – After a tragic trial that started in 2019 with a search for two missing children, an Idaho jury unanimously decided on Saturday that convicted killer Chad Daybell should be executed for the horrific murders of his wife and the two youngest children of his girlfriend.

Daybell, 55, sat at the defense table with his hands in his lap while sporting a formal shirt and tie. When he was informed that he would be executed for the killings of Tammy Daybell, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, he displayed no emotion.

Daybell said no when the judge asked if he would like to make a statement.

Following a little more than a day of deliberation, the jury declared him guilty on Thursday and chose to execute him.

Lori Vallow Daybell, whom Chad Daybell married soon after his wife passed away, is the mother of the children. After being found guilty of the three murders last year, Vallow Daybell is currently awaiting trial in Arizona on charges of murder in relation to the shooting death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. JJ’s father was Charles Vallow.

2019 saw the start of the case when a family member called the police. After realizing quickly that both kids were gone, investigators launched a multistate search. Their corpses were discovered buried on Chad Daybell’s land about a year later. Prosecutors claim that Tylee’s DNA was later discovered on a pickaxe and shovel in a shed on the property, and that JJ’s body was covered with duct tape and trash bags.

Prosecutors claimed that over the course of Chad Daybell’s nearly two-month trial, the self-published author of fiction tinged with doomsday, propagated strange spiritual beliefs such as tales of evil spirits possessing people and apocalyptic prophecies in order to excuse the crimes.

Following the sentence, Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake spoke outside the Boise courthouse, stating, “This has been a tough case because of its complexity, both in telling the story of an investigation that spanned years and trying to figure out the best way to present it in a way that would make sense to others.”

The victims’ families applauded the jury’s verdict.

“We can’t ask for better justice than this. Colby Ryan, the eldest child of Vallow Daybell, told reporters, “And again, it doesn’t change the outcome, but it is good news and it brings closure for everybody that’s been hurt.”

JJ’s grandfather, Larry Woodcock, expressed gratitude to the judge, the police, and everyone who has supported and followed the case over the years.

He declared, “You are family.” “I’m going to tell you all that I’m going to miss you after looking at your faces.”

“Justice was served,” he said. “Equal, truthful, and moral.”

During the trial, Daybell’s defense lawyer, John Prior, contended that there was insufficient evidence linking Daybell to the murders and proposed that Alex Cox, Vallow Daybell’s older brother, was the murderer. Vallow Daybell was found guilty last year and given a life sentence without the possibility of release, while Cox passed away in late 2019 without ever being charged.

Prior asked the jury to evaluate Daybell on his life prior to meeting Vallow Daybell during the sentencing hearing, characterizing her as a bomb that blasted him off the trajectory of an otherwise wholesome existence. However, Daybell neglected to present any mitigating circumstances at the sentencing hearing. Evidence aimed at mitigating the case is frequently used to persuade jurors that a life sentence would be a more fitting punishment than the death penalty.

The victims’ relatives addressed the jury in tearful words. Kay Woodcock, JJ Vallow’s grandmother, spoke movingly about how the 7-year-old would constantly inquire about the well-being of individuals in his immediate vicinity and would demonstrate understanding and compassion by gentle touches. She added that Tylee was a loving big sister and that watching them together made her heart smile.

Woodcock started to cry and stated, “I can’t express just how much I wish for more time to create memories.”

The eldest kid of Vallow Daybell, Ryan, explained what it was like to lose his whole family. Years have passed since his father’s death.

“JJ’s quirky and wacky personality and Tylee’s goodness of heart will never be known to my three kids… “I can only compare the effect of their deaths to the detonation of a nuclear bomb,” he remarked. “To say that I lost everything is not an exaggeration.”

The jury had to come to a unanimous decision that Daybell fit the definition of at least one of the “aggravating circumstances” under state law in order to carry out the death penalty. Additionally, they had to concur that no mitigating circumstance could have reduced his guilt or called for a less punishment in light of those aggravating circumstances.

The jury determined that there were aggravating circumstances, such as the killings’ extreme cruelty and abhorrence of human life.

Although firing squad executions have never been carried out in the state, Idaho law permits both lethal injection and firing squad methods of execution.