Latest / Beyond The Horizon / Mega Edition: Detective Hermosillo Gives Testimony During The Chad Daybell Trial (10/17/26)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
- 0:03Speaker 1: this episode, we're gonna take a look at what went
- 0:05Speaker 1: down at the Chad Daybell trial on day number two
- 0:09Speaker 1: of testimony. And to do that, once again, we're gonna
- 0:12Speaker 1: use an article published by East Idaho News and authored
- 0:17Speaker 1: by Nate Eaton. 8.31 a.m., back in the courtroom. Rexburg
- 0:23Speaker 1: detective Ray Armacillo will be back on the stand this morning.
- 0:27Speaker 1: Chad Daybell is sitting at the defense table in a
- 0:29Speaker 1: dress shirt and red tie. Attorneys are meeting with Boyce
- 0:33Speaker 1: in his chambers. 8.33 a.m. Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob
- 0:38Speaker 1: Wood is expected to continue questioning Hermosillo. 8.38 a.m. Not
- 0:44Speaker 1: as many people in the courtroom today. Three rows on
- 0:46Speaker 1: one side of the room are empty. 8.39 a.m. Attorneys
- 0:50Speaker 1: are back at their tables. Boyce is back on the
- 0:52Speaker 1: bench and asks for jurors to be brought in. 8.42 a.m.
- 0:57Speaker 1: Jurors are in their seats. Hermosillo takes the stand. 8.46am.
- 1:02Speaker 1: Wood picks up asking Hermosillo about where JJ's body was located.
- 1:07Speaker 1: He uses a laser pointer to show the area of
- 1:10Speaker 1: the pond. And it's almost like having deja vu, right?
- 1:13Speaker 1: For those of you who followed the Lori Vallow trial,
- 1:16Speaker 1: this is exactly what I expected. They're not going to
- 1:19Speaker 1: deviate from their game plan too much here. They know
- 1:22Speaker 1: that this is a winning strategy, and they know that
- 1:24Speaker 1: they've already used this basic blueprint. to get a conviction
- 1:29Speaker 1: of Lori Vallow. So why would they try and reinvent
- 1:32Speaker 1: the wheel and get all kinds of crazy? What they're
- 1:36Speaker 1: going to do is take the path that has been
- 1:39Speaker 1: well-traveled and the path that definitely is going to lead them,
- 1:42Speaker 1: in their mind anyway, to a conviction. 8.49 a.m. Wood
- 1:47Speaker 1: asked to admit several exhibits. Hermosillo reviews them. They are
- 1:50Speaker 1: photos showing Daybell's property and the west side of his house. 8.54 a.m.
- 1:55Speaker 1: The first photo is displayed on the screen. It shows
- 1:58Speaker 1: the front of Chad's house, and there is a vehicle
- 2:01Speaker 1: parked in the driveway. Hermosillo points where he was standing
- 2:04Speaker 1: and points where Chad was looking when he was on
- 2:07Speaker 1: the phone in the car. And when you have a
- 2:10Speaker 1: seasoned detective like Hermosillo, nothing's going to get by them, right?
- 2:14Speaker 1: They've already seen it all. So if you're over here
- 2:16Speaker 1: acting goofy, acting funky, chances are they're going to pick
- 2:19Speaker 1: up on it. So when Chad's looking at this specific spot,
- 2:23Speaker 1: It was a tell for Detective Hermosillo. 8.56 a.m. The
- 2:28Speaker 1: next photo shows the fire pit on Daybell's property. Hermosillo
- 2:32Speaker 1: says there was burned limbs and other debris in the area.
- 2:36Speaker 1: The next picture shows the tree on the property and
- 2:38Speaker 1: the pond area. 8.59 a.m. The next image is a
- 2:43Speaker 1: close-up showing a grassy area above where JJ was buried.
- 2:47Speaker 1: The next image shows a thin layer of dirt and
- 2:50Speaker 1: you can kind of see one of the white rocks.
- 2:53Speaker 1: would ask about the smell. Hermosillo says as soon as
- 2:57Speaker 1: they removed the topsoil, he smelled a decomposing body. And again,
- 3:01Speaker 1: if you're a seasoned detective, chances are you know what
- 3:04Speaker 1: that smells like. And somebody who has Detective Hermosillo's experience, obviously,
- 3:09Speaker 1: has dealt with plenty of decomposing bodies, and I'm sure
- 3:13Speaker 1: that's a distinct scent that is not soon forgotten. 9.01 a.m.
- 3:19Speaker 1: The next photo shows the white rocks at the burial site.
- 3:21Speaker 1: The next photo shows the wood paneling under the white rocks.
- 3:25Speaker 1: The next image shows wet soil found underneath the wood panels.
- 3:30Speaker 1: Hermosillo says once the paneling was removed, the odor became
- 3:33Speaker 1: a lot stronger. 9.06 a.m. Wood asked for a sidebar.
- 3:38Speaker 1: All the attorneys go with Boyce to his chambers. 9.07 a.m.
- 3:42Speaker 1: Attorneys are back. A new photo is displayed, and we
- 3:45Speaker 1: see a tight-wrapped black plastic item that had been buried
- 3:49Speaker 1: under some dirt. Hermosillo says it was not buried too deep.
- 3:53Speaker 1: The next exhibit shows a white piece of plastic, and
- 3:56Speaker 1: there is a little slit in the plastic. There is
- 3:59Speaker 1: some brown human hair through the slit of the plastic.
- 4:02Speaker 1: And it's just horrible to think about how these poor
- 4:04Speaker 1: kids were killed. Their last few minutes, like I said earlier,
- 4:08Speaker 1: with somebody they thought they could trust, somebody that they loved,
- 4:11Speaker 1: and I'm sure they thought that Alex Cox loved them.
- 4:15Speaker 1: And for me, it's a whole ass next level to
- 4:17Speaker 1: do what Alex Cox did to these kids. But as
- 4:20Speaker 1: disgusting as Alex Cox is, let's not forget he was
- 4:24Speaker 1: acting on orders from Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, allegedly. 9.09 a.m.
- 4:31Speaker 1: The next image shows a small body wrapped in a
- 4:34Speaker 1: plastic bag and duct tape. Hermosillo says the next exhibit
- 4:38Speaker 1: shows the moist soil after JJ was lifted from the ground.
- 4:42Speaker 1: This is body decomposition. The body had begun to break down.
- 4:47Speaker 1: The detective says 9.12 a.m. Once the body was taken
- 4:50Speaker 1: from the ground, Hermosillo assisted the coroner in putting J.J.
- 4:55Speaker 1: in a body bag. The body was put into the
- 4:57Speaker 1: coroner's car and it was driven to the morgue. Hermosillo
- 5:00Speaker 1: and Lt. Ball followed the vehicle to the morgue. Once J.J.
- 5:04Speaker 1: was placed in the morgue, the detectives went back to
- 5:07Speaker 1: Chad's house. 9.13 a.m. The body was taken to Madison
- 5:11Speaker 1: Memorial Hospital. When the detectives returned to Chad's house, we
- 5:15Speaker 1: assisted in a second burial site, Hermosillo says. They went
- 5:19Speaker 1: to the pet cemetery, and we knew from talking to
- 5:22Speaker 1: family members that that pet cemetery had a little black
- 5:25Speaker 1: dog statue next to a post. This evil, disgusting, rotten
- 5:31Speaker 1: motherfucker buries this kid in the pet cemetery. Like this
- 5:35Speaker 1: kid is just, you know, nothing more than a cat
- 5:38Speaker 1: that they had taken in off the street that happened
- 5:40Speaker 1: to die. It's truly hard to quantify what kind of
- 5:44Speaker 1: evil scumbag you have to be to engage in this
- 5:47Speaker 1: sort of shit. 9.15 a.m. Hermosillo says the evidence recovery
- 5:52Speaker 1: team was removing soil near the fire pit. They used
- 5:55Speaker 1: heavy equipment and then smaller hand tools to sift through
- 5:59Speaker 1: the dirt. Hermosillo says they could only work for a
- 6:02Speaker 1: few minutes because the smell was so bad. So nobody
- 6:06Speaker 1: else noticed the smell out here, huh? None of Chad
- 6:10Speaker 1: Daybell's kids that are going to take the stand in
- 6:13Speaker 1: his favor in this trial, by the way. None of
- 6:16Speaker 1: them noticed the smell. Okay, I guess. 9.17 a.m. Hermosillo
- 6:21Speaker 1: says as they dug deeper, they found bone fragments and
- 6:25Speaker 1: globs of burnt flesh starting to protrude through the dirt.
- 6:29Speaker 1: The smell was awful. Everyone had a different task. As
- 6:33Speaker 1: they dug deeper, they found something plastic and green. The
- 6:36Speaker 1: ERT leader decided the crew was done for the day. 9.19 a.m.
- 6:42Speaker 1: Big light trucks were brought in and law enforcement secured
- 6:45Speaker 1: the scene for the night. 9.20 a.m. Hermosillo says they
- 6:49Speaker 1: returned the next day and started to dig again with
- 6:52Speaker 1: little tools to find out exactly what we were going
- 6:55Speaker 1: to take out of the ground. The team took turns
- 6:58Speaker 1: because the smell was so bad. The green object started
- 7:02Speaker 1: to take a roundish shape as they methodically removed dirt.
- 7:06Speaker 1: At that point, we saw what appeared to be the
- 7:08Speaker 1: shape of a green, melted bucket that appeared to have
- 7:12Speaker 1: the remains of what we assumed was Tylee's charred and
- 7:15Speaker 1: burned remains inside of the bucket. And not to get
- 7:19Speaker 1: too graphic, but remember, these folks were digging through this
- 7:23Speaker 1: dirt with these little tools so they didn't, you know,
- 7:25Speaker 1: destroy any evidence. So they're down there basically on their
- 7:29Speaker 1: hands and knees digging with their hands and these little tools.
- 7:33Speaker 1: And that's how they were able to locate the remains
- 7:36Speaker 1: of Tylee. But just think about doing that job for
- 7:39Speaker 1: a Next thing you know, this is what you come across.
- 7:44Speaker 1: You know when they say there's some jobs that you
- 7:46Speaker 1: just don't want to do? In my opinion, a job
- 7:49Speaker 1: like this is one of them. 9.23 a.m. Tylee's remains
- 7:53Speaker 1: were put on a blue tarp. Hermosillo says the smell
- 7:56Speaker 1: was horrendous. They were collected and put into a body bag.
- 8:01Speaker 1: Tylee's remains were taken to the morgue and Hermosillo returned
- 8:04Speaker 1: back to Chad's house. 9.26 a.m. We are about to
- 8:08Speaker 1: get into graphic evidence. Boyce says it will not be
- 8:11Speaker 1: shown to the public. in the courtroom or on the
- 8:13Speaker 1: live stream, but the jurors will see it. These are
- 8:17Speaker 1: exhibits Wood asked to admit. And honestly, I don't want
- 8:21Speaker 1: to see those images. I'm good. You could just explain them.
- 8:24Speaker 1: And even that is too much almost. It has to
- 8:26Speaker 1: be a whole other ass kind of experience when it's
- 8:30Speaker 1: your loved one that somebody's talking about inside of one
- 8:33Speaker 1: of these courtrooms. All these pictures and it has to
- 8:36Speaker 1: be almost surreal. And you have to ask yourself, how
- 8:39Speaker 1: the hell did this even happen? How is this my
- 8:42Speaker 1: new reality? But unfortunately, for countless people around the world,
- 8:47Speaker 1: this is their new normal. And that's because there's a
- 8:50Speaker 1: lot of sick bastards out there, folks. 9.30 a.m. We
- 8:54Speaker 1: see the first photo, and it is of the pet cemetery.
- 8:57Speaker 1: There are markers by the fire pit and some tarps
- 9:00Speaker 1: on the ground. 9.31 a.m. Boyce says at this point
- 9:03Speaker 1: it's appropriate to turn off public access. Boyce agrees. 9.32 a.m.
- 9:08Speaker 1: Hermosillo describes the first photo. It shows the change in
- 9:12Speaker 1: color of soil and charred dry bone. All the little
- 9:16Speaker 1: pieces next to it are pieces of burnt flesh, tissue, organs.
- 9:20Speaker 1: We later determined that were in the top of the
- 9:24Speaker 1: inside of the bucket. And again, just a heads up,
- 9:26Speaker 1: this stuff is pretty graphic that he's going to be
- 9:28Speaker 1: talking about. If it's anything like the Lori Vallow trial,
- 9:32Speaker 1: it's going to be graphic as hell. 9.34 a.m. Hermosillo
- 9:37Speaker 1: describes the next picture. It is burnt flesh. still attached
- 9:41Speaker 1: to some bone laid out on a blue tarp. It
- 9:44Speaker 1: shows part of a hip bone that still has burnt
- 9:47Speaker 1: flesh attached to it. Fatty, burned tissue, Hermosillo says. The
- 9:51Speaker 1: jurors look at their screen. Chad looks at Hermosillo and
- 9:55Speaker 1: the screen in front of him. 9.35 a.m. The next
- 9:58Speaker 1: photo shows burned flesh inside the bucket. Hermosillo says. Pryor
- 10:02Speaker 1: asks for a sidebar. They leave the courtroom and go
- 10:05Speaker 1: into chambers. 9.37 a.m. Larry Woodcock is in the courtroom today,
- 10:10Speaker 1: but Kay Woodcock is not. She did not attend court
- 10:13Speaker 1: during Lori Vallow's trial last year on the days these
- 10:16Speaker 1: photos were presented. And I don't blame her. The last
- 10:20Speaker 1: thing I'd want to do is look at these kinds
- 10:22Speaker 1: of photos of my loved one. I mean, my grandson,
- 10:25Speaker 1: my nephew, whatever. Zero chance. Especially considering there's already been
- 10:31Speaker 1: a trial when all of this evidence has been presented. 9.38 a.m.
- 10:36Speaker 1: Attorneys are back. Wood asked Hermosillo to describe the next photo.
- 10:40Speaker 1: It shows part of a human skull. Next to the
- 10:42Speaker 1: green bucket, there were teeth there in the dirt as well. 9.39 a.m.
- 10:48Speaker 1: Hermosillo describes the next photo, which shows some tarps and
- 10:51Speaker 1: hand tools that were used on the scene. The photo
- 10:54Speaker 1: was taken after we got the mass out of the
- 10:57Speaker 1: wet soil. 9.40 a.m. Wood shows Hermosillo the next picture.
- 11:01Speaker 1: He says these are parts of Tylee when we tried
- 11:04Speaker 1: to lift it out of the ground. There are pieces
- 11:07Speaker 1: of skull, charred bones, and burned, rotting flesh attached to
- 11:10Speaker 1: the bone, Hermosillo says. 9.41 a.m. Hermosillo says they followed
- 11:16Speaker 1: Coroner Brenda Dye to the morgue. The morgue was secured
- 11:20Speaker 1: and detectives decided to take the remains of JJ and
- 11:23Speaker 1: Tylee to the Ada County Coroner's Office for an autopsy.
- 11:26Speaker 1: The remains were dropped off around 8 or 9 p.m.
- 11:30Speaker 1: on June 10th at the Ada County Coroner's Office, 9.44 a.m.
- 11:35Speaker 1: The autopsy took place June 11th. Hermosillo says they had
- 11:38Speaker 1: a debrief at the Coroner's Office. They then went to
- 11:42Speaker 1: the room where the autopsies were performed, signed in, and
- 11:46Speaker 1: put on white booties. The detectives then stood back against
- 11:49Speaker 1: the wall while the autopsy took place. 9.46 a.m. The
- 11:54Speaker 1: first body bag was brought out. The autopsy team opened
- 11:58Speaker 1: it and revealed the black plastic wrapped body. The doctor
- 12:02Speaker 1: cut down the plastic. JJ was wearing red pajama pants
- 12:05Speaker 1: and shirts. His arms were folded across his body and
- 12:09Speaker 1: there was duct tape from elbow to elbow. His ankles
- 12:12Speaker 1: were bound with duct tape. He was wearing his pull-up diaper.
- 12:16Speaker 1: He had black sketcher socks on. 9.48 a.m. Hermosillo says
- 12:21Speaker 1: the skin appeared to be bluish green, black, and yellow. Dr.
- 12:25Speaker 1: Warren then cut the white plastic bag that was around
- 12:28Speaker 1: JJ's head with duct tape. It showed duct tape covering
- 12:31Speaker 1: JJ's mouth, and there were several layers of duct tape
- 12:34Speaker 1: from his arms. JJ's wrists were also bound with duct tape.
- 12:39Speaker 1: Can you imagine? The last few moments of this kid's life?
- 12:43Speaker 1: And that beaver-faced rat-fink-fuck Alex Cox? Looking at this poor kid,
- 12:48Speaker 1: doing this to him, and then burying this kid the
- 12:50Speaker 1: way he did? Like I said earlier, there's not a
- 12:53Speaker 1: hell hot enough for somebody like Alex Cox. 9.50am. Once
- 12:59Speaker 1: they removed the duct tape and the bag, Hermosillo realized
- 13:02Speaker 1: it was JJ based on photos he had seen. JJ's
- 13:05Speaker 1: clothing was removed. and Dr. Warren pointed out some bruises
- 13:09Speaker 1: on his arms, ankles, and chest. There were scratch marks
- 13:12Speaker 1: on the left side of his neck just under the
- 13:15Speaker 1: duct tape. At that point, Dr. Warren and his team
- 13:18Speaker 1: performed the autopsy. 9.52 a.m. Wood asked to admit more photos.
- 13:23Speaker 1: Hermosillo says they show J.J. Vallow lying on the table
- 13:27Speaker 1: after the autopsy team cut open the black plastic bag.
- 13:30Speaker 1: All of these are graphic in nature. They will not
- 13:33Speaker 1: be published or shown on the court live feed or
- 13:36Speaker 1: to the public in the courtroom, Boyce says. Jurors will
- 13:39Speaker 1: see the images. 9.55 a.m. Hermosillo describes the first image.
- 13:44Speaker 1: It shows duct tape wrapped around J.J. 's face. The
- 13:48Speaker 1: level of duct tape on his arms is what really
- 13:50Speaker 1: caught my attention. J.J. had a white and blue child's
- 13:54Speaker 1: blanket wrapped around him, several jurors looking at their screens,
- 13:58Speaker 1: others taking notes. 9.56 a.m. The next photo shows JJ
- 14:03Speaker 1: on the table, soaked in body decomposition, Hermosillo says. 9.57.
- 14:09Speaker 1: Hermosillo describes more graphic photos that show JJ's body, face,
- 14:13Speaker 1: wrapped in duct tape. 9.59 a.m. Boyce asks for a
- 14:18Speaker 1: brief sidebar with counsel. He says we will now take
- 14:21Speaker 1: a morning recess. We will be back around 10.30. 10.22 a.m.
- 14:25Speaker 1: We are now back in the courtroom. Several spectators notice
- 14:28Speaker 1: Chad Daybell shaking his head. When the graphic photos were
- 14:31Speaker 1: shown before the break, one lady who was watching chat
- 14:35Speaker 1: closely told me it looked like he had never seen
- 14:37Speaker 1: the images before. 10.32 a.m. Boyce is on the bench.
- 14:41Speaker 1: Jurors are brought back in. 10.34 a.m. The jury has
- 14:45Speaker 1: been seated. Wood continues to question Hermosillo about JJ's autopsy.
- 14:50Speaker 1: When the autopsy was concluded, Dr. Warren and his team
- 14:54Speaker 1: removed JJ from the autopsy table. They brought out a
- 14:57Speaker 1: second black body bag. It was Tylee's remains. 10.36 a.m.
- 15:02Speaker 1: Warren opened the body bag and said there was nothing
- 15:05Speaker 1: he could do with the remains. He could not conduct
- 15:08Speaker 1: an autopsy. Now think about that. That's how far gone
- 15:13Speaker 1: the remains were. And it just goes to show you
- 15:15Speaker 1: the callous manner in which these children were treated. 10.38 a.m.
- 15:21Speaker 1: Hermosillo and Ball went back to the Ada County Coroner's
- 15:24Speaker 1: Office on June 12th. They picked up some evidence and
- 15:27Speaker 1: took it to the state lab in Meridian. The items
- 15:30Speaker 1: were checked into the lab. 10.39 a.m. Hermosillo says as
- 15:35Speaker 1: Rexburg police were investigating JJ and Tylee, the Fremont County
- 15:39Speaker 1: Sheriff's Office was investigating the death of Tammy Daybell, Rexburg
- 15:43Speaker 1: and Fremont worked together. 10.41 a.m. Hermosillo says they became
- 15:48Speaker 1: aware of the Fremont County investigation and it was important
- 15:52Speaker 1: because the suspects in the case were the same suspects
- 15:55Speaker 1: in the missing kid case. At this point, we were
- 15:58Speaker 1: still looking for two small children, So it was imperative
- 16:01Speaker 1: to us that we shared information and gathered information from
- 16:05Speaker 1: neighboring counties and anybody that was involved in this case.
- 16:09Speaker 1: And whenever you have a missing kid, that's usually the
- 16:12Speaker 1: standard practice, right? Going to share information, different counties, going
- 16:16Speaker 1: to see if anybody's seen this kid, etc., etc. 1043 a.m.
- 16:23Speaker 1: Wood asked Hermosillo if he is familiar with Charles Vallow.
- 16:26Speaker 1: Hermosillo says yes. He was shot by Alex Cox, Lori's brother,
- 16:31Speaker 1: on July 11, 2019. 10.45 a.m. Wood asked about the
- 16:35Speaker 1: Jeep that law enforcement in Arizona were looking for. He
- 16:39Speaker 1: said the Jeep was used in the attempted homicide of
- 16:42Speaker 1: Brandon Boudreau, the former nephew-in-law of Lori Vallow. 10.46 a.m.
- 16:47Speaker 1: Hermosillo explains that on October 9, 2019, Tammy Daybell, believed
- 16:52Speaker 1: she was shot at in her driveway. She initially reported
- 16:56Speaker 1: it was possibly a paintball gun. 10.49 a.m. Wood moves
- 17:01Speaker 1: to admit an exhibit showing a key figure in the case.
- 17:04Speaker 1: It shows Lori, Charles, Alex, Tylee, JJ, Chad, Tammy, and
- 17:09Speaker 1: Melanie Palowski. 10.51 a.m. Hermosillo also prepared a timeline on
- 17:14Speaker 1: the case. Wood asked to admit it. Boyce asked for
- 17:17Speaker 1: a sidebar. All the attorneys leave the courtroom with the judge. 10.57 a.m.
- 17:22Speaker 1: Everyone is back. There is an evidentiary issue that needs
- 17:26Speaker 1: to be resolved and the jury is being dismissed and
- 17:29Speaker 1: Boyce is going into his chambers to do some legal research.
- 17:32Speaker 1: 11 a.m. Chad has a laptop in his reading and scrolling.
- 17:36Speaker 1: He was given a laptop in the Fremont County Jail
- 17:39Speaker 1: to review evidence in preparation for trial. I'm told there
- 17:42Speaker 1: was no internet access. 11.28 a.m. Boyce is back on
- 17:47Speaker 1: the bench. He had to go back and review some
- 17:49Speaker 1: rulings in the case. From some time ago, he is
- 17:52Speaker 1: now going to rule on an exhibit outside of the
- 17:55Speaker 1: presence of the jury. 11.34 a.m. The parties are discussing
- 18:01Speaker 1: some objections and rulings filed in the case last year
- 18:04Speaker 1: regarding 404B arguments. This would be in relation to the
- 18:07Speaker 1: death of Charles Vallow and the shooting of Brandon Boudreau. 11.35 a.m.
- 18:13Speaker 1: Pryor is no longer objecting to the exhibit, so it
- 18:16Speaker 1: will be admitted. Boyce will also read instructions to the
- 18:19Speaker 1: jury later. about 404B. 11.37 a.m. Jurors are brought back
- 18:26Speaker 1: into the courtroom. Hermosillo reads from the timeline. It begins
- 18:30Speaker 1: in July 2019 with the deaths of Charles Vallow. September
- 18:34Speaker 1: 2nd and 3rd, 2019, Lori, Alex, and the kids move
- 18:38Speaker 1: to Rexburg. Last known proof of life for Tylee is
- 18:42Speaker 1: September 8th, 2019. Last known proof of life for JJ
- 18:46Speaker 1: is September 22nd, 2019. Attempted homicide of Brandon Boudreau is
- 18:51Speaker 1: October 2nd, 2019. Attempted shooting of Tammy Daybell is October 9th, 2019.
- 18:59Speaker 1: Death of Tammy is October 19th, 2019. All just a coincidence, huh?
- 19:04Speaker 1: None of that stuff lines up. None of that stuff
- 19:06Speaker 1: has anything to do with Chad Daybell. 1141 AM. The
- 19:12Speaker 1: second half of the timeline shows the dates the bodies
- 19:14Speaker 1: were recovered, taken to coroner, etc. Wood finishes his questions.
- 19:19Speaker 1: John Pryor will now conduct cross-examination on Hermosillo. 11.43 a.m.
- 19:25Speaker 1: Pryor asks Hermosillo how he should be referred to, officer
- 19:28Speaker 1: or lieutenant. Hermosillo says lieutenant. Pryor asks Hermosillo about a
- 19:33Speaker 1: number of witnesses he has interviewed, including Melanie Gibb and
- 19:37Speaker 1: David Warwick. And when I say miscreants, this is exactly
- 19:40Speaker 1: who I'm talking about. All these people that were hanging
- 19:43Speaker 1: out at these little functions going on podcasts together. Don't
- 19:46Speaker 1: tell me you folks had no idea what the dealio was.
- 19:50Speaker 1: Don't tell me that these idiots weren't talking this nonsense
- 19:53Speaker 1: to you. You know they were. And frankly, I wouldn't
- 19:56Speaker 1: have been mad to see. Oh, that's right. You know
- 19:58Speaker 1: what I'm going to say. A Rico case here. 1145 a.m.
- 20:02Speaker 1: Pryor asked Hermosillo if he's supposed to remain neutral during
- 20:06Speaker 1: an investigation. He says yes. You're supposed to look at
- 20:09Speaker 1: all of the evidence. Pryor says he asked Hermosillo what
- 20:13Speaker 1: they do with the evidence. Hermosillo says they follow the
- 20:16Speaker 1: evidence and put a case together. 11.46 a.m. Hermosillo confirms
- 20:21Speaker 1: his role is to put together their investigation and hand
- 20:24Speaker 1: the case over to the prosecutor. Pryor asks about prosecutors
- 20:29Speaker 1: showing up at investigations and Hermosillo says that's happened before.
- 20:33Speaker 1: Hermosillo says it's important for prosecutors to have all the information. 11.50 a.m.
- 20:39Speaker 1: Prior pivots and asks about body cameras. Hermosillo says all
- 20:43Speaker 1: the detectives share a body camera. Prior asks what the
- 20:46Speaker 1: policy is for recording interviews. Hermosillo says interviews are recorded
- 20:50Speaker 1: at the police station. 11.52 a.m. Prior asks about the
- 20:55Speaker 1: day Hermosillo and his colleagues went to Lori Vallow's apartment.
- 20:58Speaker 1: Prior asks why they went. Hermosillo says it was for
- 21:02Speaker 1: a welfare check. The detectives went out at different times.
- 21:06Speaker 1: Pryor says none of them decided to bring a video
- 21:08Speaker 1: camera or a recorder. Nobody took out their phone and
- 21:11Speaker 1: made a video or audio recording of the discussion of Mr.
- 21:14Speaker 1: Daybell or Mr. Cox, right? Hermosillo says that's correct. 11.53 a.m.
- 21:20Speaker 1: Pryor asked Hermosillo about his request to get Lori's phone
- 21:24Speaker 1: number from Alex and Chad. Pryor asks if Ever made
- 21:28Speaker 1: any threats. Wood objects. Pryor launches another question. Boyce tells
- 21:32Speaker 1: him to hold on. Mr. Pryor, when there is an objection,
- 21:35Speaker 1: I'm going to rule on it. Objection sustained. Pryor continues
- 21:39Speaker 1: his questions. 11.57 a.m. Hermosillo explained he had to ask
- 21:44Speaker 1: Chad twice to get Lori's phone number. Pryor asks Hermosillo
- 21:48Speaker 1: about the paintball gun incident. Pryor asks Hermosillo if he's
- 21:52Speaker 1: had a chance to look at all the evidence in
- 21:54Speaker 1: the case. Hermosillo says he has. Pryor fiddling with his
- 21:58Speaker 1: computer to get the exhibit shown. 12.00 noon. Pryor asks
- 22:02Speaker 1: if Hermosillo has seen all the evidence in relation to
- 22:05Speaker 1: Tammy Daybell's death. Hermosillo says yes. Pryor shows on the
- 22:09Speaker 1: screen the Facebook post Tammy wrote about the paintball incident
- 22:13Speaker 1: in her driveway. 12.03 p.m. Pryor refers to the Facebook
- 22:18Speaker 1: post as an email. Wood objects, says it's not an email.
- 22:22Speaker 1: Boyce asks Pryor to clarify. Pryor says it's a text
- 22:25Speaker 1: message that went to members of the Salem Third Ward.
- 22:28Speaker 1: Wood objects, saying it's not a text message. Boyce overrules
- 22:31Speaker 1: the objection. 12.05 p.m. Pryor asks if Hermosillo looked at
- 22:36Speaker 1: the search engine for Tammy Daybell's account. Hermosillo says he
- 22:40Speaker 1: did not. Pryor asks if he spoke with Officer K,
- 22:44Speaker 1: I believe he means Kyle Kamana, Pryor can't pronounce his name,
- 22:48Speaker 1: about the search history. He then moves on to where
- 22:51Speaker 1: Alex Cox was at the time of the shooting. 12.07 p.m.
- 22:55Speaker 1: Pryor asks Hermosillo about the Dodge Dakota Tammy got out of.
- 22:59Speaker 1: Pryor says if Chad Daybell had been driving the vehicle,
- 23:02Speaker 1: what Alex Cox had been trying to shoot Chad. Hermosillo
- 23:05Speaker 1: says Tammy Daybell called 911. Chad didn't. 12.10pm. We are
- 23:11Speaker 1: having an hour lunch break. We'll be back around 1.10pm. Alright,
- 23:15Speaker 1: so this is where we're going to wrap up as well.
- 23:18Speaker 1: And in the next episode, we'll pick up where we
- 23:20Speaker 1: left off with this first session. All of the information
- 23:23Speaker 1: that goes with this episode can be found in the
- 23:26Speaker 1: description box. What's up everyone and welcome back to the program.
- 23:31Speaker 1: In this episode we're going to pick up where we
- 23:32Speaker 1: left off with the testimony of Detective Hermosillo up in
- 23:37Speaker 1: Idaho during day number two of the Chad Daybell trial.
- 23:43Speaker 1: Once again we'll be using eastidahonews.com and the author of
- 23:47Speaker 1: this article is Nate Eaton. 1 11 p.m back in
- 23:51Speaker 1: the courtroom John Pryor will continue to cross-examine Detective Hermosillo.
- 23:56Speaker 1: Pryor talks very fast, so I will try to keep up.
- 23:59Speaker 1: Even when Wood lodged objections, Pryor plowed through and Boyce
- 24:03Speaker 1: had to tell him a few times to wait on
- 24:05Speaker 1: the ruling. 1.12 p.m. The prosecutors are at their table
- 24:10Speaker 1: and Pryor is at his. Chad Daybell is smiling as
- 24:13Speaker 1: he and Pryor chat. Must be nice to sit here
- 24:16Speaker 1: and crack a smile, considering the graphic nature of that evidence.
- 24:20Speaker 1: Pretty sure those jurors aren't smiling, Chad Daybell. 1.19 p.m.
- 24:25Speaker 1: Boyce is back on the bench. The jurors are being
- 24:29Speaker 1: brought in. 1.21pm. Pryor says he's going to take his time.
- 24:34Speaker 1: The judge has admonished me enough at this point. I
- 24:36Speaker 1: think I got the point. We're going to slow down
- 24:39Speaker 1: a little bit at this point, he says. 1.22pm. Pryor
- 24:43Speaker 1: says we don't know who is driving the Dodge Dakota.
- 24:47Speaker 1: Hermosillo says that's correct. Pryor jumps back to June 9th
- 24:52Speaker 1: and asked about Daybell leaving the scene of his house
- 24:55Speaker 1: at a high rate of speed. Hermosillo says Daybell didn't
- 24:58Speaker 1: take off in the Dodge Dakota. It was another vehicle.
- 25:01Speaker 1: And of course, the strategy here is to try and
- 25:04Speaker 1: throw enough doubt into the mix so that the jurors
- 25:08Speaker 1: might think that Chad Daybell had nothing to do with
- 25:11Speaker 1: any of this and that it was all Alex Cox
- 25:14Speaker 1: and Lori Vallow. That could be what they're shooting for,
- 25:18Speaker 1: though I doubt it's going to be successful. Now, one
- 25:22Speaker 1: thing I will say about Mr. Pryor here is that
- 25:25Speaker 1: at least he's already seen the blueprint of how the
- 25:28Speaker 1: state plans to prosecute his client. And that blueprint was
- 25:31Speaker 1: laid out in stark detail during Lori Vallow's trial, 1.25 p.m.
- 25:37Speaker 1: Pryor asking about Alex Googling what type of caliber was
- 25:41Speaker 1: needed to shoot at a Dodge Dakota. Pryor says we
- 25:44Speaker 1: don't know who Alex's target was, but it was likely
- 25:48Speaker 1: someone that owned the vehicle. Hermosillo says, correct. 1.26 p.m.
- 25:54Speaker 1: Hermosillo can't recall the date Alex Googled the terms. Pryor
- 25:59Speaker 1: says he will take the liberty and help you out
- 26:01Speaker 1: a little bit. 1.28 p.m. Pryor displays an exhibit showing
- 26:06Speaker 1: the date Alex Googled the terms. It was October 12, 2019,
- 26:11Speaker 1: three days after a paintball incident. Pryor asks if this
- 26:15Speaker 1: was the only time a Google search was done. Hermosillo
- 26:18Speaker 1: says on the evening of October 9, 2019... Alex googled
- 26:22Speaker 1: how to make an AR function in cold weather. So
- 26:26Speaker 1: not only was this dude out here allegedly committing these crimes,
- 26:30Speaker 1: he's googling about it, leaving a trail, going to these
- 26:34Speaker 1: different shooting ranges, just a whole host of stupidity that
- 26:38Speaker 1: Alex Cox left in his wake that ties him directly
- 26:41Speaker 1: to these murders. And there is no doubt in my mind,
- 26:46Speaker 1: as I've said since the Lori Vallow trial at this point,
- 26:49Speaker 1: that Alex Cox is the one who actually did the
- 26:52Speaker 1: wet work and killed those kids. 1.30 p.m. Pryor asks
- 26:58Speaker 1: Hermosillo about Alex having a habit of googling a lot
- 27:01Speaker 1: of things. Hermosillo says he can't answer that. Pryor asks
- 27:06Speaker 1: about Alex googling the Hannibal Lecter thing. Hermosillo says he
- 27:10Speaker 1: is not aware of that. Boyce reminds Pryor to stay
- 27:13Speaker 1: by the microphone. 1.31 p.m. Pryor shows another exhibit that
- 27:18Speaker 1: shows Alex googled sharpening swords three days after Tammy Daybell died.
- 27:24Speaker 1: On October 23rd, he googled 15 facts about Silence of
- 27:27Speaker 1: the Lambs you didn't know. Pryor asks Hermosillo if he
- 27:31Speaker 1: recalled that search. Hermosillo does not. 1.33 p.m. Pryor is
- 27:36Speaker 1: moving from one thing to another. He's now asking Hermosillo
- 27:39Speaker 1: if he did a check on all the guns and
- 27:41Speaker 1: knives found in Alex's garage. Hermosillo says he did not.
- 27:46Speaker 1: and isn't sure how to do a search on knives.
- 27:49Speaker 1: Pryor says, I don't either. I don't either. Well, I
- 27:52Speaker 1: doubt there is a way to do a search on knives.
- 27:56Speaker 1: There's no background check. Anyone could walk into a store
- 27:59Speaker 1: and buy a knife. So trying to track one of
- 28:02Speaker 1: those down, very difficult, as we have seen in the
- 28:06Speaker 1: Brian Kohlberger case. 1.35 p.m. Pryor now asks Hermosillo, who
- 28:12Speaker 1: is charged in the death of Charles Vallow? Hermosillo says
- 28:16Speaker 1: Lori Vallow. Pryor asks if he's aware Chad Daybell is
- 28:19Speaker 1: not charged in Maricopa County. Hermosillo says he is. Pryor
- 28:24Speaker 1: asks Hermosillo if he's aware Chad Daybell is not charged
- 28:28Speaker 1: in connection to the Brandon B shooting. Hermosillo says he is.
- 28:33Speaker 1: So basically trying to set it up that Chad is just,
- 28:36Speaker 1: you know, a shrinking wallflower. He had nothing to do
- 28:40Speaker 1: with any of this and he was just led astray
- 28:43Speaker 1: by a woman who He fell head over heels for.
- 28:47Speaker 1: That's what Pryor is trying to infer here. Unfortunately for
- 28:51Speaker 1: Pryor and for Daybell, the evidence tells us something completely different. 1.47pm.
- 28:59Speaker 1: Now Pryor jumps to J.J. Vallow and his last known
- 29:02Speaker 1: proof of life. He mentions Tylee Ryan's last known proof
- 29:05Speaker 1: of life. He says there was a 16-day gap between
- 29:09Speaker 1: the two deaths. Pryor asks about J.J. being at Lori's
- 29:12Speaker 1: home on September 22nd. Lori, JJ, Melanie Gibb, and David
- 29:17Speaker 1: Warwick were there. Lori, Melanie, and David were recording a
- 29:21Speaker 1: religious podcast. Pryor says the allegation is JJ was acting
- 29:26Speaker 1: up and Alex took JJ into a separate apartment. Well, yeah,
- 29:31Speaker 1: that's exactly what happened. And all of these adults that
- 29:34Speaker 1: sat there and let it go down, they can all
- 29:37Speaker 1: get fucked as far as I'm concerned. I don't care
- 29:41Speaker 1: if it's your friend, your uncle, your niece, whatever. If
- 29:44Speaker 1: you think a kid's in jeopardy, you have to act.
- 29:47Speaker 1: Call child services, whatever it is. Unfortunately, all of these
- 29:52Speaker 1: people had the same outlook on life as Lori Vallow's
- 29:55Speaker 1: disgusting skafooza ass and Mr. Stunaud. Oh yeah, they were
- 30:00Speaker 1: all into the whole prophecy thing, right? Oh, the Angel
- 30:03Speaker 1: Moroni's coming. This one's coming. That one's coming. Vafangul. Nobody's
- 30:07Speaker 1: coming to save you. You can't even save yourself. 1.50 p.m.
- 30:12Speaker 1: Pryor asks who was in the apartment of September 23rd, 2019.
- 30:16Speaker 1: Hermosillo says Warwick, Gibb, and Lori Vallow were there. Hermosillo
- 30:21Speaker 1: says within two hours, JJ was buried on Chad Daybell's property. 1.51 p.m.
- 30:27Speaker 1: Pryor brings up phone calls. Hermosillo had with Melanie Gibb.
- 30:31Speaker 1: He said Hermosillo interviewing David Warwick and Melanie Gibb in Provo, Utah. Hermosillo,
- 30:36Speaker 1: a lieutenant, and Rob Wood went down for the interview.
- 30:40Speaker 1: Pryor asked if the conversation was recorded. Hermosillo says the
- 30:44Speaker 1: very beginning wasn't. The recorder malfunctioned, but the majority of
- 30:48Speaker 1: the interview malfunctioned. Pryor says the recording was around 22 minutes.
- 30:53Speaker 1: Hermosillo says that doesn't sound right. They were there for, oh,
- 30:57Speaker 1: about an hour. 1.54 p.m. Hermosillo says he doesn't know
- 31:03Speaker 1: exactly how long the interview was and how long the
- 31:06Speaker 1: recording is. Wood objects and says this is beyond the scope.
- 31:10Speaker 1: Boyce says we are way beyond the scope of direct examination.
- 31:14Speaker 1: Pryor says this will be revisited at another time when
- 31:18Speaker 1: Hermosillo is called back to the stand. 1.56 p.m. Pryor
- 31:23Speaker 1: asks about JJ being found in red pajamas and sketcher socks.
- 31:27Speaker 1: Pryor asks If J.J. wearing red pajamas when he was
- 31:31Speaker 1: carried upstairs by Alex Cox. Hermosillo says, I don't know.
- 31:35Speaker 1: Pryor says he will save the rest of his questions
- 31:38Speaker 1: when Hermosillo is recalled. Pryor is done. Wood will now redirect. 1.58 p.m.
- 31:45Speaker 1: Wood will now redirect. He asked Hermosillo who Chad Daybell
- 31:49Speaker 1: was with when Hermosillo first met Chad. Alex Cox. Wood
- 31:53Speaker 1: asks the detective if Chad looked afraid of Alex Cox.
- 31:57Speaker 1: Hermosillo says no. You see what they're doing here, right?
- 32:00Speaker 1: Setting Alex Cox up as the fall guy. I mean,
- 32:04Speaker 1: not a bad idea to blame somebody who's dead and
- 32:07Speaker 1: can't defend themselves, but this shit right here is dead
- 32:10Speaker 1: on arrival. Nobody's buying this. You jackwagons were all working
- 32:14Speaker 1: together as part of a conspiracy. You're all guilty, in
- 32:18Speaker 1: my opinion. 1.59 p.m. Wood asked about the initial scope
- 32:23Speaker 1: of the investigation when Hermosillo began investigating. It was about
- 32:27Speaker 1: the Jeep. Wood shows the timeline on the screen and
- 32:30Speaker 1: asks about the paintball incident. Wood asks Hermosillo why he
- 32:33Speaker 1: doesn't believe it was a paintball gun. Hermosillo says through
- 32:37Speaker 1: their investigation, they learned that Alex Cox was on Chad
- 32:40Speaker 1: Daybell's property the morning Tammy Daybell was shot at. He
- 32:44Speaker 1: says the night Tammy Daybell was shot, it was a
- 32:47Speaker 1: colder evening and Alex Googled how to make an AR
- 32:50Speaker 1: function in cold weather. 2.01 p.m. Hermosillo asks to look
- 32:55Speaker 1: at his notes. He's allowed to look at them, but
- 32:58Speaker 1: he can't testify from them. 2.02 p.m. Hermosillo says the
- 33:02Speaker 1: morning of the shooting, Alex was driving up and down
- 33:04Speaker 1: the road on Daybell's property and also on the property.
- 33:08Speaker 1: On October 10th, he googled how to make your AR
- 33:11Speaker 1: function in cold weather. Hermosillo says that is why they
- 33:15Speaker 1: believe it wasn't a paintball gun. We believe Alex Cox
- 33:18Speaker 1: was there to shoot Tammy Daybell. And it's just bananas
- 33:24Speaker 1: that anyone would think that they'd get away with that.
- 33:27Speaker 1: Does he really believe, or did he believe, that if
- 33:29Speaker 1: he shot Tammy Daybell, that was going to be the
- 33:31Speaker 1: end of it? Everybody was just going to be like, ah,
- 33:33Speaker 1: you know what? Can't figure this one out. Not going
- 33:36Speaker 1: to solve this crime. Zero chance. A lady gets shot
- 33:40Speaker 1: in her front yard? Oh yeah, people are going to
- 33:42Speaker 1: be looking for the culprit. And considering Mr. Beaverface over here,
- 33:48Speaker 1: Alex Cox, isn't a mastermind criminal, I'm pretty sure they'd
- 33:51Speaker 1: have no problem putting two and two together. and finding
- 33:54Speaker 1: out who was responsible, just like they're doing here. 2.04 p.m.
- 34:00Speaker 1: Wood asks if the fact that Tammy died 10 days
- 34:02Speaker 1: after the incident had any bearing on whether or not
- 34:05Speaker 1: he believed it was a paintball gun. Hermosillo says yes.
- 34:09Speaker 1: Wood asks if the fact Chad got married 17 days
- 34:12Speaker 1: after Tammy died had a bearing on his belief that
- 34:15Speaker 1: it was a paintball gun. Hermosillo says yes, like every
- 34:18Speaker 1: other logical person on the planet. 2.05 p.m. Hermosillo says,
- 34:23Speaker 1: based on all of the events of not finding the kids,
- 34:26Speaker 1: not being able to get a hold of anyone, the
- 34:28Speaker 1: timeline of the deaths and marriage of Chad and Lori,
- 34:31Speaker 1: all of it played into it. Hermosillo says Alex Cox
- 34:34Speaker 1: died in December of 2019. Wood asks if any time
- 34:39Speaker 1: after Alex Cox died, did Chad call Rexburg police to
- 34:42Speaker 1: report there were missing kids? Hermosillo says no. Yeah, well,
- 34:46Speaker 1: that's because he was in on it. That's because Alex
- 34:50Speaker 1: Cox was acting... On Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow's commands. 2.07 p.m.
- 34:57Speaker 1: Wood asked Hermosillo what was the first thing he asked
- 35:01Speaker 1: Chad when they met the first time. Hermosillo says that
- 35:04Speaker 1: he asked when was the last time he saw JJ Vallow.
- 35:08Speaker 1: Chad responded with October. Wood asked about Hermosillo asking Chad
- 35:12Speaker 1: for Lori's phone number. Chad responded that he didn't know
- 35:15Speaker 1: Lori's cell. 2.09 p.m. Pryor asks about Hermosillo testifying about
- 35:21Speaker 1: the whereabouts of Alex Cox on Chad Daybell's property on
- 35:25Speaker 1: October 9th. Pryor asks if they looked at all of
- 35:28Speaker 1: Alex's phone records for the day. Hermosillo said there were
- 35:32Speaker 1: more interested in the time frame of when the incident happened. 2.10 p.m.
- 35:38Speaker 1: Pryor asks about metadata in Alex Cox's cell phone. Hermosillo
- 35:42Speaker 1: says Alex's phone was not on Chad's property during the
- 35:45Speaker 1: paintball shooting incident. 2.11 p.m. Pryor asks how long Chad's
- 35:50Speaker 1: driveway is. Hermosillo says he can't testify to that. Pryor
- 35:54Speaker 1: asks if it's 50 yards. Hermosillo says maybe 20 to
- 35:57Speaker 1: 30 yards. Pryor has nothing further. 2.12 p.m. Lieutenant Hermosillo
- 36:03Speaker 1: is released from the stand. He remains under subpoena to
- 36:06Speaker 1: be recalled, and Boyce tells him he cannot review any
- 36:09Speaker 1: testimony of the trial. 2.13 p.m. Wood asks for a sidebar.
- 36:14Speaker 1: All the attorneys leave the courtroom. 2.15 p.m. A few
- 36:19Speaker 1: jurors and people in the gallery, including yours truly, stand
- 36:22Speaker 1: and stretch their legs. These wood benches are hard. Daybell
- 36:26Speaker 1: sits motionless at the defense table. 2.20 p.m. The attorneys
- 36:31Speaker 1: are at their table and Boyce is back at the bench.
- 36:34Speaker 1: The judge wants to clarify that exhibits were admitted today. 2.22 p.m.
- 36:39Speaker 1: Boyce says jury selection went quicker than anticipated, so the
- 36:42Speaker 1: next witness is not here. We are dismissing for the
- 36:45Speaker 1: day and no court tomorrow. Court will resume Monday at 8.30 a.m.
- 36:51Speaker 1: So that's where things stand as of now, folks. That's
- 36:54Speaker 1: the whole first week of proceedings. And next week, when
- 36:58Speaker 1: the proceedings start once again, we'll get right back to it.
- 37:02Speaker 1: But for now, that's going to do it for this one.
- 37:05Speaker 1: All of the information that goes with this episode can
- 37:07Speaker 1: be found in the description box.