I went back and revised my earlier version of CD's defense. (Prior, if you're reading this and would like to use it for a closing statement, I charge $1 a word.)
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THE DEFENSE'S ARGUMENTS, IN SUMMATION:
Chad Daybell was just quiet, humble LDS Everyman, writing his fiction and talking to people about totally normal LDS doctrines until the day he met and was deceived by the womanly wiles of Lori Vallow, who threw herself at him and then completely twisted his totally normal LDS teachings. Of course, he had to keep making up stories about how special she and all of her friends were and how evil the people she didn't like were, and giving her friends oddly specific blessings and keeping them busy with “secret missions” revolving around some vague, super-important “plan” in order to hold her attention, but he was an author! That's literally what he did for a living! And sure, having an affair was against his church's teachings, but hey, nobody’s perfect! What man could resist such adoration, especially when his current wife was so stubborn, lazy, and unattractive? (Besides, he'd been told in a totally normal LDS vision that Tammy was going to die soon anyway, so it'd all work out in the end!)
In July 2019, Charles Vallow was killed by his brother-in-law over some domestic dispute. Although Chad, through his totally normal LDS visionary powers, was aware that Charles had a demon problem, his death had nothing to do with Chad Daybell at all. Lori immediately started planning her next wedding, and Chad played along because women, amirite? (Besides, it was probably just about time for Chad’s totally normal LDS vision about Tammy’s death to come true anyway, so what was the harm?)
In September 2019, Tammy began to realize that her colloidal silver wasn’t working to combat her constant fatigue, fainting spells, and demon-possession, but as an antisocial introvert who didn’t trust doctors, her only confidante was her BFF Emma, who happened to be her daughter, coworker, an amateur meteorologist, and the only person to whom she revealed her true self. On Emma’s advice, Tammy increased her life insurance. It’s unclear how Chad’s signature ended up on the insurance paperwork; Tammy probably forged it.
Around that same time, Tylee and JJ disappeared (with Melanie Gibb and David Warwick, probably) due to some custody dispute, or because they'd been witnesses to Charles Vallow's death, or because they were difficult to deal with. Although Chad, through his totally normal LDS visionary powers, was aware that they both had demon problems, their deaths had nothing to do with Chad Daybell at all. (He wasn't even there; he was at church!)
Some time after this, Alex Cox (Or possibly some random stranger. Or law enforcement. Or raccoons.) snuck onto the Daybell property and, using the tools in the Daybell shed, disposed of the bodies. This had nothing to do with Chad Daybell, or the raccoon Chad buried in the pet cemetery that morning, or the bonfire Chad had in the firepit that morning to “burn limbs.”
In October 2019, Brandon Boudreaux was shot at by his wife's uncle over some custody dispute. Although Chad, through his totally normal LDS visionary powers, was aware that he had demon problems, this attempted murder had nothing to do with Chad Daybell at all.
A few days later, Tammy was randomly shot at by some autistic neighbor kid with a paintball gun. This had nothing to do with Chad Daybell at all. (Except if it was Alex Cox, then he was obviously trying to shoot Chad, because he was the one who usually drove the truck. Maybe it was just some paintball game that fun-loving Chad and his new BFF Alex were playing in their spare time!)
A few weeks later, Chad’s totally normal LDS vision came to pass when Tammy, who’d grown so weak that she was unable to carry a single box of books and had to live on Big Macs because she was too tired to cook for her stay-at-home husband and grown son, died of natural causes (And laziness. And essential oils. And sleep apnea.) in their one-story house. Since he'd already known this was going to happen (due to his totally normal LDS precognition) and his own near-death experiences and work as a sexton had given him spiritual superiority over earthly matters like death, Chad only needed a few hours of grieving before he was ready to move on.
After thirteen full days of widowerhood, Chad gave in to Lori Vallow's seduction and married her in Hawaii, using money from life insurance and social security... though Chad obviously didn't know where the money came from, because they didn't co-mingle their accounts. Besides, he was used to his wives taking care of "terrestrial" matters like money and bills. He also didn't know where Lori's kids were, because domestic matters like childrearing weren't really his thing, either. But those nosy police just refused to let him enjoy his new wife, new life. They kept bugging them about the kids (whom Lori said were somewhere perfectly safe!), so--just like Joseph Smith--unjust persecution drove him from his home in Idaho to exile in Hawaii.
In December 2019, a bunch of police organizations, lawyers, and other government cronies got together and decided to persecute him further by pinning Tammy's death on humble, unassuming Everyman Chad Daybell. They did so by desecrating Tammy's grave and changing her cause of death (to fit their confirmatory bias).
The next day, Alex Cox died of natural causes. Although Chad, through his totally normal LDS visionary powers, was aware that Alex’s time was drawing to a close, the death itself had nothing to do with Chad Daybell at all.
In February 2020, Lori was arrested because the nosy police wouldn't leave them alone about that pesky custody issue, so Chad asked his neighbors to foot him some bail money.
He still kept in touch with her, of course, and tried to keep her spirits up by giving her a weekly commissary allowance, discussing her favorite home renovation shows, and making up stories for her about what her dead brother was doing in the afterlife.
In June 2020, that same bunch of police organizations, lawyers, and other government cronies got together and decided to persecute him EVEN MORE by pinning JJ and Tylee's deaths on humble, unassuming Everyman Chad Daybell. They did so by ditching their body cameras, planting evidence on his property (for instance, a shovel that Tylee spit on), chasing him when he innocently headed across the county line to meet with his attorney, and letting the real culprits (Melanie Gibb and David Warwick, probably) off the hook. None of this had anything to do with Chad Daybell at all… which is why he told his daughter she only needed to cooperate with police if she wanted to and why he's obviously Not Guilty.
(Oh, and any aspect of Chad Daybell’s writings that happens to resemble any real-life event is pure coincidence. Or prophetic, depending on who’s asking.)
