BOISE, Idaho — Live courtroom updates from day 16 of the trial of Chad Daybell can be found below.
LIVE UPDATES:
1:55 pm: Following the analysis of the photos, Judge Boyce sends the trial into recess for the weekend. The trial is expected to resume Monday morning at 8:30 am.
1:48 pm: Daniels explains that the Rexburg Police Department was given the items taken from the property for further inspection.
1:47 pm: The next photo shows a pile of bricks on the property, Daniels explains these appeared to be the same kind of bricks as were found near the burial site of Tylee.
1:44 pm: Another photo shows two of the shovels taken as evidence. The shovels are dirty and appear to have been recently used. The next photo shows an array of tools including a saw, an axe, and multiple smaller saws. Daniels explains that not all of the tools shown were taken in as evidence, but the photos were taken to document them.
1:42 pm: A photo showing 4 shovels and a pick is presented, Daniels explains that these were tools that could have been used in a burial. The pick is shown in another photo, Daniels describes debris on the blade of the pick.
1:40 pm: Judge Boyce explains that they expect to conclude the trial proceedings for the day in around 30 minutes. Knowing the timeline now, Wood explains that there will not be graphic material shown to the jurors for the rest of the day.
1:37 pm: Daniels describes the process of examining the barn on Daybell's property for tools that could be used to bury someone. Judge Boyce asks if the graphic imagery is finished being shown, but Wood says there is more graphic material ahead.
1:35 pm: Once the remains were excavated, the animal remains were reburied in the area and the pit was filled with dirt.
1:32 pm: An anthropologist on scene observed the remains and confirmed to officers that they had fully excavated the remains.
1:30 pm: Another photo shows a mass of melted human remains that fell apart during the excavation. Daniels explains that as the remains were being lifted out of the pit, they fell to pieces which were then collected and placed in a body bag for the coroner.
1:27 pm: Another image shows Tylee's skull in a melted green bucket which Daniels says was partially covered in some kind of harder material that made it hard to excavate, he is not aware if it was concrete or something else. Eventually, they were able to break through the harder layer and continue excavating.
1:26 pm: Daniels describes the excavation process and explains the process of sifting through the dirt for remains.
1:22 pm: Daniels says it was difficult for them to continue excavating, but they determined the remains were human upon fully excavating them. Daniels says that they finished for the day, notified the coroner, and made plans to continue excavating the remains after marking the burial site.
1:20 pm: Another photo reveals that the remains they uncovered were large and showed signs of being burned. Officers began to excavate with more delicate tools upon finding the charred flesh.
1:19 pm: Investigators began to excavate at the site of the stench, they quickly discovered a large white portion of bone. Daniels explains that at this time, they were still determining whether the remains were human or not.
1:13 pm: The first photo displayed 2 vertebrae that were excavated. Daniels explains that they were unsure if the vertebrae were human, but as they were analyzing it he noticed the stench of rotting human remains.
1:11 pm: Graphic images are now being displayed in the courtroom, these will not be shown on the livestream. Daniels explains that a backhoe was brought in to fully excavate the pet cemetery, which revealed the remains of many dogs and cats. Tylee's remains were discovered just north of this site.
1:10 pm: The charm found at the site where Tylee's remains were discovered is brought into the courtroom and shown to the jurors. A photo of Tylee wearing the charm is shown as well.
12:56 pm: Another photo shows the fire pit area after investigators began to clear the scene. Daniels explains the process of clearing the area to be excavated.
12:50 pm: The area where Tylee's body was found is highlighted, it is by the fire pit. A silver charm was found nearby before officers located the remains.
12:46 pm: Another photo shows the areas of interest highlighted on the property, including the location where Tylee's remains would be found. The agent clarifies that there were detectable cellphone pings in the area near the fire pit and the large tree.
12:45 pm: Agent Daniels shows that you would be able to see the area where the bodies were discovered from the house. Another vantage point photo shows the view out of the kitchen window in the Daybell house, which faces the garage.
12:43 pm: A slide displaying the front door of the residence is shown to the courtroom. The slide is followed by a vantage point photo showing the view out of one of the house's windows facing towards the tree where the bodies were discovered. Another photo shows more of the view from the window in the Daybell house.
12:42 pm: The aerial view of the areas of interest, including the Daybell property, is shown again in the courtroom.
12:41 pm: The courtroom livestream returns following the lunch recess.
11:46 am: A lunch recess is called to allow the prosecution to resolve their technical issues with the exhibit. The courtroom livestream is expected to resume at 12:30 pm.
11:40 am: The first slide of the exhibit is an aerial view of the area including the Chad Daybell property, Lori's apartment, and the church in Salem. The exhibit is having some technical difficulties.
11:38 am: The exhibit is admitted and published to the courtroom.
11:32 am: The images are admitted. Agent Daniels explains the photos were taken by ERT photographers on the Daybell property. An interactive exhibit of the investigation was produced by Daniels, Wood moves to admit this exhibit as well.
11:31 am: Wood moves to admit several photos from the investigation of the Daybell property. Prior asks for more time to review the images.
11:18 am: Daniels explains that he began his investigation with a walk-thru of the property to identify areas of interest, such as the fire pit and the pet cemetery, which were identified previously via satellite.
11:15 am: Daniels was present for the investigation of Chad Daybell's property, he was notified that one of the things the investigators would be looking for was human remains.
11:13 am: Agent Daniels explains that he has participated in the recovery of many human remains outside of this case during his career.
11:10 am: Agent Daniels explains his training and qualifications. He specifically highlights training he received regarding the discovery and analysis of human remains.
11:07 am: The State plans to call FBI special agent Steve Daniels, but first the attorneys hold a brief meeting.
11:05 am: Wood asks where the bodies of JJ and Tylee were found, Stubbs confirms that it was on Chad's property. Wood asks if any children of Melanie Gibb or David Warwick were found on the property, Stubbs says no. Stubbs's testimony is finished for now but he may be recalled at a later time.
11:02 am: Stubbs explains that the malachite rings were purchased due to some spiritual significance in the material, Prior asks if Stubbs has any indication that Chad and Lori were planning to be married ahead of their searches for the rings. Stubbs says he does not. Prior has no further questions and Wood begins a re-direct.
11:00 am: Prior is warned again by Judge Boyce for asking questions as he is ruling on objections.
10:57 am: Stubbs also confirms that Rob Wood, prosecuting attorney, was present during the investigation of Lori's apartment.
10:54 am: Stubbs confirms that he turned off his bodycam when he and officers began to discuss their personal opinions regarding the case.
10:51 am: Prior asks the officer why police never looked into Gibb's phone records or David Warwick's phone records. Prior asks who was with JJ and Lori on the date of the last proof of life for JJ. Stubbs confirms that Warwick and Gibb were present. Prior reiterates that he did not investigate the phone records for either of them.
10:50 am: Stubbs confirms that officers were looking into the possibility that Lori was to move in with Melanie Gibb.
10:48 am: Prior asks if Stubbs is aware that Gibb lied to officers when she was contacted regarding JJ whereabouts, Stubbs says he was not involved in that part of the investigation. He learned through a warrant that Gibb has told officers she did not have JJ.
10:45 am: Stubbs clarifies that they didn't search Chad's house, only Lori's apartment, after the apartments were vacated. Chad's house was not vacated.
10:41 am: Stubbs reviews 15 photos from the investigation and says he doesn't personally recall any of the photographed items being uncovered during the search, he says he was involved in searching one of the other apartments at that time.
10:39 am: Prior asks if Stubbs went through the garages of the apartments during his search for JJ, Stubbs confirms that he did.
10:33 am: Stubbs describes photos that are being shown in the courtroom. The pictures are from the flash drive and show Chad and Lori being affectionate and wearing their malachite wedding rings. Wood has no further questions, Prior now questions former officer Stubbs.
10:27 am: The courtroom livestream has returned following the brief morning break.
9:53 am: Stubbs explains that he discovered a flash drive on the property with photos from Chad and Lori's wedding. During a forensic investigation of the drive, it was discovered that photos of Tammy and Chad, their wedding, and their children, "basically a family album," had all been deleted. The photos are to be shown in the courtroom following a 20 minute mid-morning recess.
9:52 am: Stubbs found that an email of Chad's made a search for the wind direction on Sept. 9, which is the day authorities believe Tylee's body was burned.
9:34 am: Police brought specialized equipment to Chad's property following the discovery to track information on phone signal strength on the property. The officers also looked into who else was on the property and at Lori's apartment on critical dates to ensure they were investigating all of the involved parties.
9:33 am: Police also recovered a notebook in Hawaii with pages of email accounts and passwords, they received a warrant to search those accounts shortly after. This was just before the children's bodies were found on Chad's property.
9:26 am: Stubbs explains that, during the investigation, officers seized a phone from Melani Boudreaux.
9:20 am: Stubbs explains that the information was reviewed by the FBI and other agencies. He also outlines electronic devices seized at Melani Boudreaux's apartment.
9:18 am: Investigators found Lori and Chad in Kauai, and when they reached the pair they seized 10 electronic devices.
9:15 am: Stubbs is asked why he searched Chad's property while officers looked for JJ and Tylee, he explains that it was because Lori and Chad were married at the time and that the two were unable to be reached on the phone after the children were reported as missing.
9:10 am: Stubbs explains that after the apartments were vacated, nobody returned to them. When the landlords went to clean the properties, they found two electronic devices which were turned over to police.
9:08 am: Stubbs explains that he found a phone number that was associated with Alex Cox's email account as well as two of Lori's email accounts and one of Chad's email accounts. Using this information, the officers were able to track location data from Alex's account.
9:04 am: Stubbs discusses warrants for the digital portion of his investigation, the former officer used Google history and records to continue the search for the children.
8:59 am: Stubbs explains that the search for JJ later expanded to a search for Tylee as well. Wood asks the former officer to explain the warrants he executed in the searches for both children.
8:50 am: The bodycam footage finishes playing. Stubbs now describes the property and explains that while the police
were searching Melani Bougreaux's apartment in the video, there were credit cards in the clear organizer drawers belonging to her ex-husband which the officer found odd.
8:49 am: Stubbs says to the courtroom that the state of the apartment led him to believe the occupants left in a hurry.
8:48 am: Damage is visible on the door from the forcible no-knock warrant execution, Stubbs then shows the upstairs portion of the property.
8:45 am: The audio from the footage shows that Stubbs is noting the layout of the house as he walks through the property.
8:43 am: Former Officer David Stubbs continues his testimony. Bodycam footage from his visit to Melani's Rexburg apartment to search for JJ is played for the courtroom.
8:42 am: Judge Boyce informs the courtroom that the trial proceedings will end early today, around 2 pm.
