His wife was found guilty last year. Chad Daybell’s Idaho murder trial is next

Chad Daybell’s attorney plans to call around seven expert witnesses during his client’s murder trial beginning April 1 — a trial the prosecutors and defense expect to last a couple of months.

John Prior made the disclosure about the witnesses during a pretrial conference in the Fremont County Courthouse on Thursday. Prior declined to say who would be testifying but told District Judge Steven Boyce that the experts would be flying in from other states in early May.

Daybell, who married Lori Vallow two weeks after his wife Tammy Daybell died in October 2019, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in the deaths of Tammy and two of Lori’s children: 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lori Daybell was found guilty of murder and conspiracy last year and sentenced to life in prison.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, April 1, at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise. Questionnaires will be mailed to potential jurors ahead of time, according to Boyce, and jury selection could take up to two weeks.

Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake told Boyce she believes the trial will take eight weeks, and Prior agreed. Daybell could be sentenced to death if the jury finds him guilty.

Blake said she intends to file some motions in the case within the next week, so an additional hearing could be held before the trial begins.

Boyce is permitting livestreaming of the trial with courtroom cameras. He said all witnesses will be instructed not to view any portion of the trial before they testify.