The first witness called to the stand yesterday in the Chad Daybell trial was Rexburg Det. Ray Hermosillo with Rob Wood doing the questioning for the prosecution.
Hermosillo has been detective department with Rexburg police for about five years and in law enforcement for 18 years.
Hermosillo said that he was contacted on November 1st, 2019, by Fremont County Sheriff's Office who said there was possibly a Jeep in Rexburg that was involved in a homicide in Arizona. He said that he contacted Gilbert Police and asked them how he could help. They asked him to seize the Jeep if it could be found. Gilbert asked Rexburg to conduct intermittent surveillance on 565 Pioneer Road in Rexburg. Hermosillo says they surveilled the residence between Nov. 1-4 and located the jeep there. Hermosillo says Chad and Lori were observed a few times at the location. Wood then admitted four photos into evidence and asked Hermosillo to look at them.
Prior had some questions about the evidence. He asked Hermosillo if he went through the Jeep or took photos himself. Hermosillo said he went through the Jeep personally but wasn't the one who took the photos. Prior had no further questions.
Wood then showed two photos of the Jeep to the jurors. It was a gray Jeep that was registered to Charles Vallow, but Tylee Ryan drove it. The next photo showed the back of the Jeep with a Texas license plate.
Hermosillo said that he never saw children with Lori or Chad. He said at that time he didn't know who JJ or Tylee were, nor were the Rexburg police asked to look for the kids.
He said that after the Jeep was seized Gilbert police detectives and crime analysts flew to Rexburg on Nov. 18, 2019, and served a warrant. They were looking for the infotainment system that contained the GPS locations. They also asked him that if he had seen any children in his surveillance and he had not.
Hermosillo then said Gilbert police asked Rexburg to do a welfare check on JJ Vallow. Gilbert police provided Rexburg with a brief description of JJ and with the address 565 Pioneer Rd. where JJ was supposedly living with Lori.
Wood then admitted three exhibits. The first was Canaan Todd Trahan's birth certificate from Lake Charles, Louisiana with a birth date of May 25th, 2012.
The second exhibit was an adoption decree for Canaan Trahan which stated the name of Canaan Trahan was changed to Joshua Jackson Vallow.
Exhibit three was Joshua Jackson Vallow's birth certificate.
Wood then asked Hermosillo if during his investigation if he had learned what JJ Vallow looked like. Hermosillo said he did. He said that he received a few photos of JJ from Gilbert police and JJ's grandmother, Kay Woodcock. He said photos and video of JJ were found on Lori Vallow's iCloud account.
Wood then admitted admits exhibit four, a photo of JJ Vallow, into evidence. Prior asked the source of the photo. Hermosillo said it came from Vallow's iCloud account.
Wood showed the photo of JJ to the jury and gallery. Hermosillo said that on Nov. 25, 2019, he got a call from Gilbert Police Detective Pillar requesting a welfare check on JJ the next morning. Hermosillo did do a well fare check the next day with detective Dave Hope. He said that as they approached, they noticed Chad and Alex unloading a pickup near the garage area.
Hermosillo testified that he knew who Chad and Alex were. He said that he got out of his vehicle and made contact with Alex, who was standing on the driver's side of his pickup and Chad was standing on the passenger side. Hermosillo asked Alex if Lori was home, and he said she was not. Hermosillo asked if JJ was home and said that he was there to do a welfare check. Hermosillo told the court, "At that point, Alex got surprised, frightened look on his face, looked over across the pickup at defendant Daybell. Daybell then looked back at Alex and initially neither one of them answered my question."
Hermosillo said that he asked them again if JJ was home Alex eventually answered and said JJ was with his grandmother in Louisiana. Hermosillo told the court that at that time he had been concerned because at that time he informed Alex that it was unlikely that JJ was with his grandmother Kay because she was the one who called in the welfare check.
Hermosillo said that in response Alex looked over at Chad and they both looked at each other. He then asked Alex where he could find Lori. Alex told Hermosillo Lori was in the same complex a few apartments down in #107.
Hermosillo then said he asked Alex for Lori's cell phone number. Alex said he didn't have it. Rexburg police knew Alex and Lori were siblings and extremely close. "When Alex told me he didn't have his sister's cell phone number, I assumed he was lying to me."
He said that after he received the information, he went with Hope to apartment 107 to find JJ. They said he knocked on the door but there was no answer. Hope then knocked on the neighbor's doors while Hermosillo walked back to his vehicle to call for more detectives. He called for reinforcements "because of the deception from Alex. I wanted to figure out exactly what was going on and we were going to start canvassing the area and knocking on doors."
As Hermosillo approached his car, he noticed Chad driving towards him in a black Chevy Equinox. Hermosillo stopped him to talk and asked Chad when the last time he saw JJ Vallow. Chad stated that it was in it was in October in apt. 107 with Lori Vallow. He then proceeded to tell Hermosillo he had only met Lori a couple times and didn't know her very well.
Hermosillo said that he was concerned at that time because through the course of his investigation he knew Chad and Lori were married two weeks prior. He said that he then asked Chad for Lori's phone number and Chad said he didn't have it. He said that as he was speaking to Chad detective Hope saw them and walked back toward them. As Hope approached, he asked Chad again for Lori's number. Chad told Hermosillo that he felt like he was being accused of something and that's why he didn't give him the number the first time.
Hermosillo testified that he was not wearing a body camera at the time because as a detective most interviews are done at the department in a controlled environment with cameras. He said that Patrol officers are assigned body cameras, but detectives are not.
Hermosillo said that he called his Lieutenant, Ron Ball and told him what was going on. Hermosillo said that he felt that the lies and the deception from Chad and Alex at the time was concerning and he wanted everyone he could to respond to the complex to find out what was going on with Jj's whereabouts.
He said that a few minutes later Ball arrived with detective Dave Stubbs, who had a body cam at that point. He said they began knocking on doors. So that they also went back to Lori's apartment, and nobody answered.
Hermosillo said that during their investigation they learned Melanie Boudreaux, Lori's niece, lived right next door to Lori So at that point they knocked on her door as well to see if JJ or Lori were there but nobody answered.
Hermosillo said that he was instructed to go to the prosecutor's office and asked for a search warrant to search the residence for JJ Vallow while the other detectives stayed on scene and to continue to knock on doors in that complex. Hermosillo said that "At that point, our only focus was to find JJ and we were going to exhaust every means to do that."
He said that he did not obtain warrant that day because while he was on the way, Lori had called Hope back after he had tried to reach her earlier and was unsuccessful. He said that Lori was instructed to open her door to detectives Stubbs and Ball who were waiting outside. Hermosillo said that their interaction with Lori was recorded. He said that in the recording of the interaction with Lori, she told detectives that JJ was with a family friend named Melani Gibb in Gilbert AZ.
Hermosillo said that they attempted to locate Gibb, which was fruitless, so he contacted Det. Pillar in Arizona. Pillar went to Gibb's residence and around 9 p.m., Rexburg police learned JJ was not there.
Hermosillo proceeded to contact Ball and they agreed to meet at prosecutors early the next morning to get search warrants on apts. 175 (Lori's), 174 (Melani's) and 107.
The warrants were executed on Nov. 27, 2019. They first searched apartment 175. He said everything looked ordinary, there were couches, there were papers on the table, food in the refrigerator and in the pantry. They said when they went upstairs there were beds and there were pictures. He said it appeared to them that people did live there. But what caught their attention was there was no clothes on hangers.
Hermosillo said that they did not find JJ in the apartment but there was a couple of things that indicated that he did live there at one point in time. He said that they located a child's Star Wars suitcase under a little crawl space under the stairs mixed in with 72-hour kits and an old prescription bottle for JJ. There was also some scooters and a small child's bike on the porch. Hermosillo said they then seized the Risperidone prescription and the suitcase.
He said that police then searched apartment 174. He said that there were no signs of JJ, no signs that he was ever there.
Apt. 107 was searched as well, and it was completely vacant.
In apt. 174, police found large amounts of cash in a closet and seized it for safekeeping.
In apt. 175, police found several different styles of weapons in the garage - handguns, rifles, various calibers, army knives and seized them for safekeeping.
A rental contract was also found for a storage unit belonging to Lori. The storage unit was searched as well.
Hermosillo testified that at the time they weren't looking for nor did they see Tylee because she hadn't been reported missing yet.
After a lunch break Wood continued to question Hermosillo about the search of Lori's apartment and also asked to admit more exhibits.
The exhibits were photos taken of Lori's residence on Nov. 27, 2019. Prior asked what time the photos were taken. Hermosillo answered that it was between 10 a.m. and noon. Prior then asked again who took the pictures who took the pictures Hermosillo responded that he didn't know. Prior objected to having the pictures admitted. Wood said he wanted to lay more foundation. Judge Boyce overrules the objection with the exception of one photo.
The photos were then shown to the jury. The first picture is the front porch area of apt. 175. The next photo shows the front room/kitchen area. A child's suitcase was on the floor along with some other items. The next photo showed pictures on the walls, the TV, papers on the counter. The next image was the Star Wars suitcase and under the stairs. The next photo showed the top of the stairwell looking down into the bottom of the stairs. The next image showed the master bedroom. There was bedding and pillows on the mattress.
The next photo was Hermosillo said is what caused red flags when searching the apartment. It was a photo of the of closet with the empty hangers. Hermosillo said that "It appeared to us that she grabbed her clothes, left everything else and took off."
The next picture was the bedroom on the right-hand side where police found some of Alex's belongings including a plastic tub. There were two white suits laid out on the floor. The room to the left had twin beds with bedding.
Wood admitted a photo of a rental agreement to the storage unit that Lori had signed, which had been found on the desk in the master bedroom,
Wood presented more exhibits for Hermosillo to review. They were photos taken in apt. 175 and in the garage on Nov. 27, 2019. Prior objected to the photos and then asked who took them. Hermosillo said Det. Dave Hope took them. Boyce overruled objection.
The first photo showed rifle magazines on the floor that were inside tubs. There were also suppressors, ammunition, a ghillie suit and along with some other items. The next photo showed clothing laid out on the floor that had been found in black plastic bags. The next photo was of various calibers of ammunition. The next picture showed a rifle that was found inside the garage with duct tape on it. The top of the rifle was threaded for a suppressor to muffle the sound of a gunshot. The next photo showed the exact same rifle along with another rifle. The next picture was a close-up of the rifle followed by a photo that showed two suppressors. The picture after that showed knives found among the ammunition in the tubs. The next photo showed a handgun in a case found inside the garage. The next one showed a Halloween mask found in a plastic bag in the garage along with duct tape and rope. The next photo showed the rope and duct tape in a Walmart bag. The last photo showed Alex's passport found in the belongings.
Wood moved to admit more exhibits and Prior interrupted to ask about police staging the items and what items were photographed. Hermosillo testified they took pictures of anything they thought was of evidentiary value.
The photos were admitted. The first picture showed a printed email, sent from Chad Daybell in Oct. 2018, of what was located in the garage. It showed names and numbers associated with names. The other photos showed more printed email papers. The next photo showed books written by Chad that were found in a tub. The final photo was off a cell phone found in a tub in the garage.
Hermosillo testified that JJ had not been located during the search on Nov. 27, 2019. He said that next step was to talk to anyone who would take their phone calls. He said that "JJ was who we were looking for, so we were exhausting every effort to find JJ."
Hermosillo said that they called siblings, family members, anyone really who might know the whereabouts of JJ. He said they ended up speaking to Brandon Boudreaux, Melani Boudreaux and Tylee's brother Colby Ryan. He said that after he spoke with Colby, the search grew to include Tylee.
Wood then asked Hermosillo if while he had searched for JJ if he had found Tylee or found any evidence of her whereabouts. Hermosillo said he hadn't.
Wood admitted Tylee Ryan's birth certificate into evidence.
On Dec. 11, 2019, JJ and Tylee were entered into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). After November 27tth, 2019, the FBI, Chandler police and Gilbert police were contacted to help in the search.
Hermosillo said they tried to contact Lori on her cell phone, but it was shut off. He said they tried to contact Chad but his cell as well. He said neither Lori nor Chad never reported the children as missing.
He said they set up multiple tip hotlines so anyone with information on JJ and Tylee could call. He said they received tips, and those tips were all assigned numbers. They were followed up on by detectives and other officers.
Hermosillo said he learned about the location of Chad and Lori the beginning of January 2020 after eyewitnesses called into the police department and said the couple was on Kauai. Hermosillo issued cell phone warrants that helped locate Chad and Lori.
Hermosillo arrived in Hawaii on Jan. 24, 2020, to assist in serving the courts order to Lori and Chad to produce Tylee and JJ in Rexburg. Hermosillo said the next day he observed Kauai Police serve a search warrant on Chad and Lori's condo and the other on a rental car.
He said everything looked normal at the condo. He said that it appeared that two adults were living there. There were two beach towels, food in the fridge and couches. He said that JJ and Tylee were not there and there was nothing that showed a child or teenager lived there.
He said that Lori never produced her children to the Rexburg Police Department or the Department of Health and Welfare. Wood then presented an exhibit which was a photo of Tylee Ryan taken from her Instagram account.
Wood then asked Hermosillo what the phrase "proof of life" meant to him as a detective. He said it was anything such as a video or a photo that could be used to prove the last time somebody was seen alive. He then testified that the last known "proof of life" for Tylee was a picture of Tylee at West Yellowstone taken from Lori's "Lori4Style" iCloud account.
Wood admitted more photos without objection.
Hermosillo said that the next step in the investigation was to reach out to anyone who might know where JJ was. He said they reached out to the family, FBI, and other agencies "anybody that would take our calls".
During the search for the kids, Hermosillo was aware of an investigation in Fremont County regarding the suspicious death of Chad's wife Tammy who died on Oct. 19, 2019.
Wood then asked Hermosillo if he ever executed a search warrant on Chad Daybell's house. He said he had on June 9, 2020. He said he has arrived about 7 a.m. with Ron Ball, Dave Stubbs and two other detectives.
Wood admitted a Google Earth image that showed the Daybell's property. Hermosillo indicated that he was familiar with the general layout of the yard and house.
Hermosillo said the FBI, the FBI ERT (evidence recovery team), the AG, Fremont County Sheriff's Office and Rexburg Police conducted the search warrant.
Hermosillo said that when they first arrived at Chad's house they knocked on the front door and Chad's son, Mark Daybell, answered. He was eating cereal and said his dad was still sleeping. He let the police in they showed him the warrant. He then took them to where Chad was sleeping in a bedroom above the garage. Chad asked if he could get dressed. He then met them downstairs. They gave him the warrant and Chad asked to speak with his attorney. They were in the kitchen, and he sat down and called his attorney at the time, Mark Means. Chad then sat on a recliner in the front room and read through the search warrant while his kids sat on the couch. Chad then asked the police if he needed to leave while they conducted their business. They told him that he didn't need to leave, but if he chose to stay, he would be accompanied by an officer for safety purposes.
Hermosillo said that Chad then asked to make a phone call. He and Hermosillo went outside. Chad then asked to sit in the car to make his call. Hermosillo stood in the grass near the vehicle while Chad was inside it is making his call. Wood then showed the satellite map displaying the Daybell property. Hermosillo used a laser pointer to show on the map where he and Chad were in the front of the home. He showed where the shop, back driveway and pasture areas were.
Hermosillo said that he observed Chad while he was on the phone. He said that as the call progressed, he had the phone in his right hand and was intently looking over his right shoulder. Hermosillo said that "I found it odd. I wanted to see what he was looking at, so I maneuvered myself to see what he was so intently looking at." What Hermosillo said he saw was enforcement officers marking off different areas on the property. "There were some ERT members marking off a section under this tree right next to the pond area," Hermosillo said, pointing with the laser to the area on the map.
Hermosillo said that next he was tasked with going through the dirt in the fire pit. He said he went through the dirt in the fire pit area with some others and put it in a sifter. He said it was around 9 a.m. and they sifted in the fire pit around 35-45 minutes.
Hermosillo said ERT members needed more people to help then search a 6x6 section they had marked off under the tree near the pond. He left the fire pit area to go help. He described the area. "There was taller shrubs. In middle of the 6x6 section, it looked like there was a little bit of grass, the length of sod, and some dirt protruding through the grass."
Hermosillo said the ERT began excavating that site. He said as they removed the first layer of ground, he saw three large white rocks. He said as soon as they did that, they could start to smell a decomposing body. Underneath the layer rocks were two pieces of thin boards. He said that after the boards were removed there was a discoloration in the dirt. He explained that the discoloration was because the dirt was wet and moist. Hermosillo said after they removed the dirt, police found a black round object. He said that "It appeared to take the shape of the crown of a human head." Hermosillo said that at that point, the ERT team leader made a slit in the black plastic opened it up a little bit. Underneath the black plastic Hermosillo said was another white layer of plastic. He said that they're a team member the ERT team leader made a slit in that as well and opened it up a little bit. Hermosillo said that underneath that it looked to be brown human hair.
Hermosillo said that as soon as that discovery was made there was a call over the radio that Chad was leaving his daughter's residence kitty-corner to Chad's house "at a high rate of speed. He said at that point Chad was pulled over and taken into custody.
Hermosillo said the ERT continued to excavate under the tree, and they discovered a small body wrapped in black plastic.
Court was then adjourned for the day.
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