Human Monsters · Morgan Rector & Glassbox Media

Serial Killers Chad and Lori Daybell Part IX

March 31, 2026·1 hr 14 min·5 clips

Chad assigned numeric 'dark zombie' scores to people including his own children JJ and Tylee.

1. Human Monsters covers day nine of the Chad and Lori Daybell murder trial, focused on digital evidence and expert forensic testimony. 2. FBI tactical specialist Nicole Heidemann returned to the stand and was examined by prosecutor Blake, having testified earlier in the trial. 3. The episode's core thesis is that premeditated wedding planning — evidenced by Malachite ring searches and purchases — ran concurrently with and preceded the deaths of both Charles Vallow and Tammy Daybell. 4. Heidemann's digital evidence showed Chad and Lori searched for Malachite rings as early as March and May 2019, months before Tammy's death in October 2019. 5. On August 15, 2019, an unsuccessful attempt was made to purchase Malachite rings; on August 25, Lori tried to buy glow-in-the-dark rings but her credit card was declined. 6. On October 2, 2019, Lori successfully purchased two wedding rings, 17 days before Tammy Daybell died. 7. A July 19, 2019 text from Chad to Lori — sent two days after Charles Vallow was shot dead — referred to Tammy as 'she' and stated 'I feel she will be gone by then,' in reference to an upcoming graduation ceremony. 8. Heidemann compiled sections of Chad's self-published novel, 'James and Elena,' which prosecutors argued closely mirrored the real-life meeting between Chad and Lori at a 2018 book conference in St. George. 9. The novel was read aloud in court; it described 'James' experiencing a phenomenon he called 'loin fire' upon meeting 'Elena,' and contains explicit sexual passages framed as spiritual reunion between eternal companions. 10. Chad and Lori exchanged texts using the pseudonyms Elena, James, Raphael, and Lily; August 2019 texts included explicit content referencing Chad's nickname 'storm' for his genitalia. 11. Lori replied to Chad's explicit August 9 text with 'That is pretty incredible. Fire emojis. The fire is definitely burning. I miss you way too much.' 12. Chad also texted Lori on July 22-23, 2019 that 'there are only 272 threes left' and expressed worry one was trying to 'get into JJ,' revealing his supernatural framework for targeting the children. 13. Chad regularly assigned dark-versus-light spiritual scores to people, labeling certain individuals as dark zombies; these scores applied to family members including JJ. 14. FBI forensic anthropologist Dr. Angie Christensen testified about Tylee Ryan's skeletal remains, finding thermal damage consistent with burning, typically occurring postmortem. 15. Six sharp trauma marks on Tylee's right hip bone were made with a pointed or beveled edge while the bone was still fresh, though timing relative to death could not be determined. 16. Animal predation marks were also found on one of Tylee's femurs, and the marks were described as inconsistent with dismemberment, which typically involves breaking bones at joints. 17. Retired Idaho State Police forensic chemist David Censerbo identified gasoline and decomposing flesh in a fuel can recovered from the Daybell property. 18. Rexburg detective Chuck Consaitis presented four satellite images of the Daybell property from August 27 through September 9, 2019, with discoloration visible on September 9, the day Tylee was buried. 19. The episode is presented in a neutral, procedural narration style, reading court testimony and evidence directly rather than editorializing. 20. Best suited for true-crime listeners following the Daybell trial; not for listeners unfamiliar with the case or sensitive to explicit content read in court.

As heard by us

A procedural Daybell chapter that reads like evidence, not spectacle.

Human Monsters stays close to the Chad and Lori Daybell murders, with Samantha Gwilliam back on the stand and John Pryor on cross-examination.

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Why you'd press play

You want the Daybell timeline, not a recap with the edges sanded off.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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