The trial of Chad Daybell, charged with the deaths of his wife Tammy Daybell and his girlfriend Lori Vallow Daybell's two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, began this week with jury selection in Idaho. The case, which has garnered worldwide attention, is expected to last up to 10 weeks. Chad Daybell, a 55-year-old self-published author, is facing three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Tammy Daybell, JJ, and Tylee. Lori Vallow Daybell, who married Chad shortly after the deaths, was found guilty last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The couple's bizarre beliefs, including the notion that they could identify “zombies” and that the only way to eliminate them was to kill the possessed individuals, were revealed during Lori Vallow Daybell's trial. The children's bodies were discovered buried in Chad Daybell's yard in 2020, sparking a lengthy investigation that uncovered a complex web of relationships and deaths. Chad Daybell is also facing charges of insurance fraud in connection with Tammy Daybell's death and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception in the children's deaths. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Jury selection began in Boise on Monday, with Judge Steven Boyce reading the charges to potential jurors and emphasizing that it is up to prosecutors to prove the charges against Daybell. The defense has maintained Daybell's innocence, with his attorney John Prior stating that his client is prepared to tell his side of the story. The trial was originally scheduled to include both Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell as co-defendants, but the cases were split after it was determined that their defenses would be "mutually antagonistic."

The grim case began in 2019 when JJ and Tylee went missing, prompting an investigation that uncovered the deaths of Tammy Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell's husband in suspicious circumstances. The couple's unusual religious beliefs, which included claims of reincarnation and a biblical apocalypse, were used to justify the deaths of the children and Tammy Daybell, prosecutors allege. The trial is expected to shed further light on the disturbing events that unfolded in the wake of the children's disappearances and the subsequent discovery of their bodies.