LATEST UPDATE: The jury has reached a verdict in the triple murder trial of 55-year-old Chad Daybell.
(NewsNation) — Jury deliberation is underway in the trial of Lori Vallow’s husband Chad Daybell — the Idaho man accused of killing his ex-wife and Vallow’s two youngest children.
It’s now been more than four and a half hours of deliberation behind closed doors as the fate of one man is decided by 12 of his peers.
Chad Daybell is in a holding cell beneath the courtroom.
Reporters have been told they’ll receive a 30 to 45-minute notice when the jury comes back with a decision.
Just a year ago in the same courthouse, it took a 12-person jury two days to reach a unanimous guilty verdict in the trial of Daybell’s wife Lori Vallow.
She was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
While much of the evidence is the same in Daybell’s case, some added wrinkles could prolong the deliberation. Daybell, for instance, could face the death penalty if convicted.
Before going behind closed doors, there was a lot to take in.
Nearly two months of witness testimony, evidence and exhibits — all tightly packed into about four hours of closing arguments.
The prosecution painted the picture of Daybell as power-hungry and obsessed with his sexual desires, willing to kill his wife and two children to get the things he wanted.
But the defense argued there wasn’t enough evidence, saying Daybell’s DNA was nowhere near the crime scene and there was no explicit agreement between him and Vallow proving they conspired to commit a crime.
“It can’t be an agreement that we talk about religion without unless there’s an extra step,” Daybell’s attorney John Prior said. “And that extra step has to be we are going to kill these children. We are going to agree to kill Tammy Daybell. And at no time did the prosecuting attorney show you a text message that said, ‘Let’s kill the kids. Let’s kill Tammy.'”
Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake, however, reminded jurors that Vallow’s children Joshua and Tylee were found buried in Chad Daybell’s backyard, while Tammy Daybell was found in the couples’ bed.
“And for what? “ Blake said. “Money, power and sex.”
The jury is sequestered, meaning they’re not allowed to go home or talk to anyone outside of their jury pool until they reach a decision.
