Circumstantial evidence holds more weight in court than most people think. Hypothetically, if Tammy died by poison and the police were to arrest Chad for her murder, here is some of the evidence we already know about:
1. Chad was sleeping in the room where Tammy died and claims he didn't notice her fall out of bed and die on the floor until hours after her death. The Medical Examiner or an expert in the type of poison she died from can be put on the stand to detail what her death would have been like and the improbability of Chad sleeping through it or witnessing part of it and not calling 911.
2. Chad declined an autopsy. While the sheriff maintains the coroner had the final say, the specific conversation between Chad and the coroner has been kept under wraps. He may have said something that seemed convincing at the time that turns out to be very damning when her cause of death is discovered.
3. Chad told others that he had a vision of Tammy dying before it happened. While our main source of this (Julie R) is iffy for credibility, if she is going to be a witness or if he told other people the same thing, it could be used as evidence of premeditation.
4. Chad may have been having an affair with Lori before Tammy died. At the very least we know there was some shenanigans going on. Lori goes from reading his books to going to conferences where he is speaking, then she is doing podcasts with him. Then she is sending video of herself dancing. And then there's the whole fake email address in Charles' name set up to send Chad a forged letter from Charles, the purpose of which seems to be to give Chad an excuse to get away and come see Lori in Arizona... Something tells me that those emails are the tip of the iceberg in the digital trail between Lori and Chad prior to Tammy's death (and prior to Charles' death too).
5. Chad increased Tammy's life insurance before her death.
6. Tammy and Chad's entire financial picture, including their past bankruptcy can be presented as evidence. If it's true what Julie R said about Chad telling her he and Tammy were struggling financially, then that can be pointed out as a financial motive.
7. Chad moved out of the home he shared with Tammy the day after her memorial service. He supposedly claimed he was going to Hawaii to grieve and for business (editing a book). We don't know when he really left for HI. Hypothetically, if he lied about when he was going to Hawaii and why, and instead went to live with Lori then it's circumstantial evidence of a cover-up.
8. Chad immediately began removing all reminders of Tammy from his life after her death. He told his in-laws he would probably never visit. He told his kids he wanted to sell the house and close down the book publishing business he and Tammy had built since 2004. But even more telling is that he started to talk about this "new direction" before Tammy died, allegedly telling a stranger on an airplane on Sept 19th that he wasn't going to be writing those end-times books anymore.
9. Chad seemingly hid his marriage to Lori at first. When the police came to ask about JJ, he made it seem like he barely knew Lori and didn't know her phone number, while he was actually already married to her. He apparently told his kids that he met Lori in Hawaii while working on book or editing a book for someone and they spontaneously decided to marry while there. He told them about marrying Lori sometime after the wedding happened.
10. The letter Chad wrote to GRI/AVOW after Tammy's death. We can't see this entire letter but the rest could be revealing. What also may be revealing-- when did Chad first write it? His computer may have the answer.
Here's some ideas for evidence LE may have that we know nothing about:
1. How the poison was administered to Tammy. If it was slipped into something she ate or drank, there are a limited number of people who had access to her to do that.
2. Evidence showing knowledge of the poison used. There could be internet searches. It could have been something in one of Chad's books somewhere. Or there may be someone who taught a wilderness survival class and showed Chad which plants were poisonous and that person can testify that he had knowledge of the poison.
3. Evidence showing access to the poison or when it was obtained. Was it a household chemical that was found in the Daybell house? A plant known to grow in their yard? A prescription drug that he had access to?
4. The 911 call when Tammy died. This is being withheld as evidence in the case. I've wondered before-- did Chad possibly decline to do CPR? Did he show knowledge that Tammy had been dead for a couple hours at that point? He is not a doctor, so how would he know her time of death for certain unless he witnessed it happen?
5. Texts, emails and phone calls may reveal a lot more than we expect. Even deleted messages can be recovered sometimes.
6. The masked man with a gun encounter 10 days before her death. We know nothing indicating Chad had any part in that, but that doesn't mean LE has no evidence connecting him to it. Someone had to tell the shooter approximately when Tammy would be arriving home, where to stand, which direction to run off, the best place to park a getaway car or to get picked up by another accomplice, etc.
7. Where was Chad and what was he doing while he sent Tammy to visit her parents? The answer to this could be revealing.
8. Why did Chad fly to Mesa, AZ on Sept 19th, the same day Lori got a babysitter for JJ, told the babysitter she was going to the airport and then returned with a podcaster woman?
9. The storage CCTV. If that's Chad on video on certain days it could reveal some things.
10. LE Surveillance of Lori may be revealing of Chad's movements. Gilbert PD started surveiling Lori Nov 1st in the investigation into BB's attempted murder.
MOO.
jmo