IDAHO, USA — The state rested its case in Chad Daybell’s triple murder trial after six weeks of testimony.
The so-called doomsday author is accused of killing his wife Lori Vallow’s two kids, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, who used to live in the Valley. Daybell is also accused of killing his first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Prosecutors in Idaho called their last witness Thursday morning before resting the case.
RELATED: 'Denied': Judge denies Chad Daybell's motions to strike the death penalty as possible punishment
So far, prosecutors have called investigators, relatives, and people in Chad and Lori’s dark religious circle to the stand, claiming the couple plotted to kill those who were obstacles in their relationship.
After the state rested its case, Daybell's defense attorney, John Prior, filed a motion for the judge to acquit Chad Daybell on the charges in the case. He claimed the state didn’t meet its burden of proof.
The judge denied the motion for seven of the eight felony charges against Daybell after Prior presented the motion, but the charge for murder in the death of JJ Vallow was up for debate after the judge noticed a clerical error.
The original indictment, filed in 2021, had what the state said were the correct dates associated with JJ Vallow’s death: September 22 – 23, 2019.
But the amended indictment, dated February 2024, listed the dates as "on or between September 8th or 9th," the dates associated with JJ Vallow's sister Tylee Ryan’s death.
Prosecutors argued the judge should allow them to fix the mistake.
"We’re all kind of falling on our sword here," said one of the prosecutors. "This was clearly an oversight. We’re talking about a clerical error and in a subsequent document that is not the initial document. This is exactly the type of mistake or inadvertence that the court could reopen this case for."
Chad Daybell’s defense attorney argued against this, noting the state rested its case and said they had four attorneys who could have caught the mistake before now.
"They’ve lost their chance, they don’t get to go back," Prior said. "Judge, I’m asking the court to dismiss the charge."
Ultimately, the judge denied the motion to acquit this murder charge, too. The judge stated he felt this was an inadvertent error and found the state did show enough evidence to move forward with the charge. He added that the jury could be instructed to use the correct dates while deliberating.
Prior is expected to start presenting his defense case on Monday. We're expecting some of the witnesses to include Chad Daybell's own children.
Lori Vallow was convicted in the case last year and sentenced to life in prison in Idaho.
She’s currently being held in Maricopa County to face additional conspiracy charges out of Gilbert and Chandler.
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