BOISE, Idaho — Emotional statements were read in court at the trial of Chad Daybell ahead of the jury's deliberation on the death penalty. Family members of the three victims read statements as Chad watched.
- Kay Woodcock remembers JJ Vallow's goofy and loving personality.
- Tammy Daybell's brother Mathew Douglas sobs as he remembers his sister and describes the toll the loss has taken on his family.
- Tylee Ryan's aunt gets very emotional talking about her niece and the vacations they could never share.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Kay Woodcock is JJ Vallow’s grandmother. Kay and her husband Larry Woodcock have been a fixture at both Lori Vallow’s trial and Chad Daybell’s trial. Kay wondered what JJ could have been. “I can’t express how many more memories I could have had with him and Charles. There’s a hole in the heart and the heart is every member of my family that can never be filled and will remain empty for the rest of my life.”
Then Tammy Daybell’s brother Mathew Douglas said Tammy was the emotional heart and glue of their sibling’s group. Soon after dealing with the loss of his sister, this happened. “Something new came along and ripped it open and from your siblings that your brother-in-law has re-married and kept it from your family weeks after the fact, that’s painful. Missing kids, wait there were kids? Now my brother-in-law and his new bride fled to Hawaii from Idaho, for what?
Annie Cushing is Tylee Ryan’s aunt and spoke of Tylee’s love of life. She was crushed when she heard they discovered the bodies on Chad’s property. “If someone had told me in 2002 that in 20 years Joe and Tylee would both be dead, and I’d be swept up in a criminal case around Tylee’s murder I wouldn’t have believed it. Tylee had her whole life ahead of her, she had dignity, dreams, and goals. This defendant stole all that.”
Tammy’s sister Samantha Gwilliam says she knew something was wrong when she found out about Chad’s marriage to Lori. “I’m asked about a pet cemetery and a few days later I watched with the world as the bodies of two missing precious children are found on the same property where my sister died. I sobbed over hearing about JJ and Tylee. Two more victims and no peace to be found for anyone.”
Chad Daybell had the opportunity to speak, but he declined.
