When Fremont County Coroner Brenda Dye arrived Chad bells the dayAt home in Idaho in October 2019, she immediately asked questions about how the wife of the famous Doomsday author passed away.
Just 45 minutes earlier, Daybell's son had called 911 in panic after finding his mother, Tammy Daybell, “standing stiff” in her bedroom. Daybell later told police that his wife of nearly 30 years was “clearly dead” and that she was “frozen.”
Dye entered the house and found Daybell “very upset and distraught,” Dyle told an Ada County jury Wednesday. She then walked into the couple's room, where Tammy had been moved to bed – and wrapped in blankets.
“I observed blood coming out of her mouth, a kind of pink foam,” Dye said Wednesday, noting that Tammy was “cold to the touch.”
Daybell explained that his wife, who had been unwell for the past few months and had fainted, woke up coughing that night and eventually fell out of bed. He also claimed that Tammy Daybell suffered from low blood pressure but insisted on treating things naturally because she hated going to the doctor.
Dye said that despite her questions, she respected Daybell's wishes not to complete an autopsy and Tammy was ultimately declared dead of natural causes. Months later, after Daybell flew to Hawaii with her lover Lori Vallow and the two were suspected of her children's disappearance, Tammy's body was exhumed.
Later, Dye said she performed an autopsy and learned that Tammy was a murder victim who died of asphyxiation.
“If I had known that information, I would have requested an autopsy,” Dye said, expressing regret about his initial decision. “At the time, with limited training and being a novice, I did the best I could with the training I had at the time.”
The confession came on the 10th day of Daybell's death penalty trial in Idaho. Prosecutors allege Daybell, 55, and Vallow conspired to murder Tammy in October 2019 to claim insurance money before flying to Hawaii to get married 17 days later.
“When they were dissecting the bruise, it was a very deep bruise on her arm. It didn't make sense for her to vomit the night before because there was substance in her stomach,” Dye said of Tammy's autopsy. “Her stomach was full of food. If she had vomited there would have been no food in her stomach during the autopsy.
“I was the one who signed the death certificate to make that decision. All her internal organs are healthy,” she added. “The only organ that was not healthy was her lungs. There was a lot of foam in her lungs.”
The murder was believed to be the last of three murders that religious fanatics committed that year after killing Vallow's children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow is 7 years old and Tylee Ryan is 16 years oldin September 2019 and buried them in his backyard, prosecutors said.
Daybell has pleaded not guilty to several charges – including first-degree murder, attempted murder, grand theft and insurance fraud – and his attorneys allege there is no direct evidence tied him to the murders. In July, Vallow was sentenced to life in prison for her role in the crime.
“When he had a chance at what he saw as his rightful destiny, he made sure that no one, no law, could stand in his way,” said Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood. in opening statements. and power led him to pursue those ambitions and this pursuit led to the deaths of his wife and Lori's two innocent children.”
