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Autopsy For Chad Daybell's First Wife Is Completed, But Investigators Say They Won't Release Results Just Yet
Tammy Daybell, a 49-year-old mother of five, died in her sleep at her family’s Idaho home on Oct. 19, 2019, just two weeks before Chad Daybell married his current wife Lori Vallow.
The autopsy for Chad Daybell’s first wife—who died just weeks before he tied the knot with Lori Vallow—has been completed, but authorities have declined to release the results of the report citing the ongoing investigation
Tammy Daybell, a 49-year-old mother of five, died in her sleep at her family’s Idaho home on Oct. 19, 2019.
Chad Daybell, Tammy’s husband and former high school sweetheart, told authorities that his wife had been coughing before she went to bed and he later discovered she had passed away peacefully in her sleep, according to East Idaho News.
However, just two weeks before her death, Tammy, a school librarian, had reportedly visited her parents and siblings in Springville, Utah and showed no signs of sickness, East Idaho News reports.
She had also been training for a race and appeared to be in good health at the time.
Authorities initially believed her death had been due to natural causes, but exhumed her body in December 2019 to conduct an autopsy after developing suspicions around her mysterious demise, KSL reports.
Chad, a religious author who often writes about the end of days, didn’t wait long to move on and married Vallow in Hawaii just two weeks after his wife’s death.
The newlyweds would soon find themselves under increasing scrutiny after authorities discovered Vallow's two children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow were missing. The remains of both children were later discovered buried on Chad’s property in June 2020.
In April of that year, the Idaho Attorney General's Office announced an investigation of both Chad and Vallow for conspiracy, attempted murder and murder in connection with Tammy’s death.
However, just last week the Freemont County Prosecuting Attorney’s office announced that it would be resuming “full authority and responsibility” over the investigation into Tammy’s death.
“The newly elected prosecutor, Lindsey A. Blake, requested the case be transferred back to Fremont to be handled locally,” a statement from prosecutors said. “The Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office thanks the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for their hard work, time and effort on this case.”
While speculation around his wife’s death continues, Chad has previously maintained that the rumors that his wife was a victim of foul play were nothing more than “conspiracy theories” during a recorded phone call with a friend, according to local station KTVB.
“Tammy had been getting weaker and sicker. I begged her to go to the doctor,” Chad allegedly said. “She just passed away, that’s how it happened.”
Vallow’s fourth husband Charles Vallow also died in June 2019 after he was shot by her brother Alex Cox. Cox, who later died himself, told authorities at the time that the shooting had been in self-defense and no charges have ever been filed in connection with his death.
Chad and Vallow are both facing two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence in connection with the discovery of the remains of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. Chad is also facing two counts of felony concealment or destruction of evidence.
The spouses, who have both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, are expected to face trial together later this year.
