Chad Daybell says wife Tammy is 'frozen and clearly dead' in 911 call a month before marrying 'cult mom' Lori Vallow
MADISON COUNTY, IDAHO: Chad Daybell, the husband of Lori Vallow, referred to his first wife, Tammy, as "clearly dead" and "frozen" in a 911 call played in court during the ongoing Lori Vallow murder trial on Friday, April 28. Vallow is being accused of murdering her two children and conspiring with Chad to kill his wife Tammy, who was found dead in 2019. Chad is also facing charges for the same and will have his own trial later.
Emergency dispatcher Christina West testified in Ada County Court on Friday about her experience answering the 911 call from the Daybells' Salem home on the morning of Tammy's death. "I’m Chad, the husband. She’s clearly dead," Chad was heard telling West in the audio recording played for the court, as reported by the East Idaho News. "She’s frozen," he continued through tears.
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Who was Tammy Daybell?
Tamara "Tammy" Douglas Daybell was the former wife of Chad Daybell, who is currently facing murder charges for her death and the deaths of Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Tammy was born in Pasadena, California, but she moved to Springville, Utah, at the age of 13. She met Chad, who was also from Springville while attending Brigham Young University, and they were married on March 9, 1990, in the Manti Utah Temple. After being married to Chad for 28 years, Tammy reportedly died in her sleep. Chad was later charged with her murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The 911 call was made by Tammy's son
According to testimony in Ada County Court on Friday, Tammy and Chad Daybell's son initially placed the 911 call reporting Tammy's death and told the emergency dispatcher that he had found his mother "on the ground frozen." "Or she’s stiff…I don’t know," the son said.
During her testimony on Friday, Officer Alyssa Greenhalgh stated that Chad appeared "distraught" when the officers arrived at the house. He directed them to the couple's bedroom where he had moved Tammy, 49, back onto the bed after she had fallen off it. Chad was crying and informed the authorities that Tammy woke up in the middle of the night and was coughing and vomiting. He claimed that she partially fell off the bed at around 5.45 am, with her upper body and head touching the ground. Chad also emphasized that his wife had a previous history of blood pressure problems but was apprehensive about seeking medical attention.
As the courtroom looked at pictures of Tammy with pink foam around her mouth, Vallow sat with her arms crossed, according to the East Idaho News. Fremont County coroner Brenda Dye told the jury that Tammy's death was initially classified as a natural death because Chad and their daughter, Emma, refused an autopsy. Tammy was buried on October 22, 2019, which was the same day that Vallow, who was then Chad's lover and a dedicated follower of his doomsday cult, searched for wedding dresses online. Just a few weeks after Tammy's unexpected death, Chad and Vallow got married in Hawaii.
'You don’t get married 4 weeks after you just buried your wife'
According to KTVB, Tammy's sister, Samantha Gwilliam, informed the court that her family was heartbroken by her brother-in-law's lack of sensitivity and compassion after Tammy's death. "You don’t get married four weeks after you just buried your wife of almost 30 years," she insisted. "[Chad] wouldn’t even tell my parents he had gotten remarried. He made his daughter call my mom."
In December 2019, an autopsy performed on Tammy's body concluded that her death was caused by asphyxiation and was ruled a homicide. According to prosecutors, Vallow and Chad conspired to murder Tammy in the weeks following the killings of Vallow's two children and the burial of their remains on Chad's property. The court proceedings for Vallow's murder trial began on April 10, and the prosecution is anticipated to conclude its presentation of evidence later this week. Daybell's trial is being conducted separately.