Day 1: Potential jurors face personal questions as Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial begins
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The Lori Vallow Daybell Trial
Vallow Daybell is on trial in a Boise courtroom and faces first-degree murder charges of her two children, and a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the death of her husband Chad Daybell’s former wife. Follow all our coverage here.
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Find all our coverage of the trial here.
It’s the first day of the highly anticipated jury trial of Lori Vallow Daybell.
Dozens of possible jurors, reporters, court staff and members of the public made their way through security at the Ada County Courthouse early Monday morning.
Roughly 1,800 potential jurors were summoned by 7th District Judge Steven Boyce and were asked to fill out a jury questionnaire, KTVB reported. Those questionnaires were then looked over by both Vallow Daybell’s defense team and the prosecution to narrow down the enormous jury pool. The questions asked to the potential jurors were not available to the public.
The remaining jurors, in small groups, will be asked questions by the defense, prosecution and the judge this week until the respective legal teams have settled on a 12-person jury and six alternates. The public is not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection, also known as voir dire, and instead, reporters and family members are watching the process through a live stream in a separate room inside the Ada County Courthouse.
Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell — whose trial date has not been set — have been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of her two children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, and three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Chad Daybell was accused of first-degree murder in the death of his former wife, Tammy Daybell.
Vallow Daybell was also charged with conspiring to kill her former husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona.
READ MORE: Lori Vallow Daybell’s murder trial begins Monday in Boise. Here’s what you should know
10 A.M. — 2 jurors excused because of work concerns
Roughly an hour into jury selection, two male jurors were excused because of concerns about their jobs and the extensive length of the jury trial. The trial could take up to 10 weeks.
The first juror said that his employer wouldn’t pay him more than two weeks of paid vacation. The other juror, identified as 314, also cited work concerns and added that he had a planned vacation in May and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get a refund.
Boyce excused both jurors.
Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood began questioning a small group of jurors and asked that the jurors answer the prosecution’s questions with brutal honesty.
He also pointed to the fact that some of the evidence in the case, such as autopsy photos, will be “emotionally charged” because the trial involves the killing of two underage children — 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow. Wood asked whether the potential jurors could remain “fair and impartial,” given the children’s deaths.
A female juror raised concerns about whether she could remain neutral because she wasn’t aware children were involved in the case. Another male juror said that while he didn’t want to see autopsy photos, he could remain fair and impartial.
10:45 A.M. — Prosecution: We might not know exactly how one victim died
Attorney Rachel Smith, a Missouri-based attorney who is working with the prosecution, asked the jurors whether they could convict someone of a crime even if they didn’t commit “every single part.”
“The driver of the getaway car is as guilty as the bank robber,” Smith said.
Smith, while questioning the potential jurors about their expectations of evidence, said that while they know the victims — Tylee, JJ and Tammy Daybell — were killed, they might not know exactly how one of the victims died. It’s unclear which victim she was referring to.
She also asked jurors if they watched CSI. Smith specifically asked whether they could find someone guilty of a crime if there wasn’t certain evidence presented — and whether they expect clear-cut evidence often shown on TV shows. None of the jurors raised major concerns.
11:15 A.M. — Another juror excused; live stream shut off
A third juror has been excused. The female juror said she had upcoming military training during the trial, and that her supervisors said the Navy training took precedence.
The live stream — which is how reporters and the public are watching the jury selection process — has been shut off as jurors are being asked questions by the attorneys and judge individually.
Noon — First jury pool group temporarily excused
Two additional jurors were excused, though the reasons weren’t clear since they were questioned while the cameras were turned off. Boyce excused the first small group of jurors, which will be called later in the week after the attorneys get through enough of the small jury groups.
The court has recessed for lunch and will be back at 12:30 p.m.
1:15 P.M. — 2nd group of jurors brought in; 5 were excused
A second group of roughly 15 to 10 jurors were brought into the Ada County Courthouse to undergo the jury selection process — again. Out of those potential jurors, five raised concerns about their ability to be a juror on the case because of the length of time and personal issues, including housing and health problems.
Two of the jurors had loved ones who were recently diagnosed with cancer. Another juror only has 10 days of paid vacation. The fourth had a history of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and was concerned about the case complicating his mental health issues. The last juror was living in her car.
Boyce excused all five of them from the case.
3:15 P.M. — 2 more jurors excused
After roughly an hour of sealed jury selection, two more potential jurors were removed. It’s unclear why they were dismissed, but any questions asked to the jurors individually have been behind closed doors, or in this case, closed screens.
The live stream footage in the first-floor courtroom, which is where media is watching jury selection, was turned off as jurors were asked private questions along with any questions about their knowledge of the case. Questions about jurors’ prior knowledge of the highly publicized case was done individually so that their answers don’t taint the other jurors. It’s unclear why the media was unable to watch this portion.
3:30 P.M. — Court staff addresses media concerns
Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler addressed media concerns about why portions of the jury selection process were hidden from the public. As the two groups made their way through the jury selection process, the jurors were asked a variety of questions. Some of those questions needed to be asked privately because of their sensitive nature. But jurors were also asked about media coverage or prior knowledge of the case behind closed doors.
Hippler explained the reason they had originally handled those questions together was because the jurors needed to answer those types of questions individually. By answering questions publicly about media coverage or prior knowledge of the case, the responding juror could impair the other jurors.
But Hippler acknowledged that the public and the media didn’t need to be shielded from that and said they would open those questions up to the public. The court will also be providing transcripts to reporters sometime Tuesday with any information that was missed Monday.
4 P.M. — 42 potential jurors are needed
The prosecution, defense and judge will need to whittle down the jury pool to 42 potential jurors. From there, 18 total jurors — 12 jurors and six alternates — will need to be selected at the end of the jury selection process.
A prosecution spokesperson said that once 42 potential jurors are selected, the other undisclosed number of jurors will be dismissed.
5 P.M. — Circumstantial evidence and cookies
Smith, an attorney with the prosecution, asked two female jurors if they could be fair jurors since they were both mothers. Throughout the roughly seven-and-a-half hours of the jury selection process, potential jurors with children were asked about their ability to deal with the case, seeing as two of the victims were underage.
The two female jurors in the third jury pool group said they’d be able to remain impartial.
Smith also raised concerns about circumstantial evidence and used cookies to explain it. She said that if a child steals a cookie from the cookie jar — but their parents didn’t see them steal the cookies — did they still steal the cookies?
One female juror, after some back and forth with Smith, said that while she understood the concept, she wasn’t sure she could certainly say that the child had stolen the cookie. The juror was dismissed.
Check this story for live updates on Vallow Daybell’s trial.
This story was originally published April 3, 2023 at 9:57 AM.
