BOISE — The voir dire process for jury selection in the Chad Daybell trial began on Monday morning at the Ada County Courthouse.

Daybell is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder, insurance fraud and grand theft in connection to the deaths of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and Daybell’s late wife, Tammy Daybell.

Voir dire is a preliminary process in which potential jurors are questioned by the prosecution, defense and the judge to determine if they can be impartial and help provide a fair trial.

Sixteen jurors sat for questioning on Monday morning. Every potential juror previously filled out a questionnaire to narrow down the pool. Judge Steven Boyce saw two groups of potential jurors on Monday and questioned them along with the prosecution and defense.

Chad Daybell sat in the courtroom, eyes trained on the wall in front of him. He remained fairly still throughout the duration of the court proceedings.

Two jurors were excused within an hour of the process, both due to undue hardships: one who would be fired if they took 10 weeks off to be a jury member and one who had a graduation to attend in May.

“This is your opportunity to say how you feel,” Daybell’s attorney John Prior said to the jury pool.

Prior referenced the length of the trial as he questioned the potential jurors, stating that the case length could be anywhere from eight to 10 weeks long.

“It’s two and a half months of your life that we’re asking you to put forth,” Prior said. “I just want to make sure that all of you are going to be able to put that time commitment in.”

A couple of jury members voiced concerns about the time commitment.

Prior then asked one jury member if they would be inclined to rush the process because of the time the trial would take. The jury member said no.

When asked if any jury members felt that Daybell was guilty, one jury member raised their card, although they said they would be able to be unbiased as a potential jury member. Later in the day, three jurors were excused due to concerns of bias against Daybell.

During individual voir dire, each juror was questioned about bias, attitudes about the death penalty and potential undue hardships. Vacation plans, work demands, paid time off, family responsibilities and desire to be a part of the jury were all discussed at length, both during individual and group questioning.