Lori Vallow Daybell found competent to stand trial

REXBURG, Idaho — Lori Vallow Daybell has been found competent to stand trial, according to a court order signed by Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce.

Daybell will now be arraigned, or formally charged, at a hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 19.

Daybell was initially indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder and grand theft related to Social Security benefits in connection with the deaths of her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

Boyce ordered a stay in the case against Daybell on May 27, 2021, when she was found “not competent” to stand trial following a mental health evaluation.

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Prosecutors withdrew their opposition to the report in June 2021 and agreed with the assessing psychologist’s recommendation that Daybell should undergo “restorative treatment.”

Daybell was in the care of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare since that report, and details of her commitment were sealed.

“Based upon the Court’s determination that Defendant Lori Norene Vallow aka Lori Norene Vallow Daybell is restored to competency and is fit to proceed, the Court orders that the Defendant be brought before this Court to be arraigned,” read Monday’s order.

Daybell’s defense attorney previously filed motions for her removal from the state’s care and for criminal depositions of the prosecution after Daybell was allegedly manipulated by an Idaho clinician. Prosecutors called the claims “unfounded” and said they would address them in court.

Here are the charges Daybell is currently facing:

• JJ Vallow — first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit destruction, conceal or alter evidence
• Tylee Ryan — first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit destruction, conceal or alter evidence
• Tylee and JJ — solicitation, resisting and/or obstructing an officer, contempt
• Tammy Daybell — conspiracy to commit murder
• Grand theft

Chad Daybell was indicted on the same charges, in addition to one count of first-degree murder related to the death of Tammy Daybell, his previous wife.

The Daybells could face the death penalty if convicted on the first-degree murder charges.

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Lori Daybell has also been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the death of her previous husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona.

The Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office said they will give priority to the cases in Idaho as they were filed first, and no hearings are currently scheduled in Arizona.

“Lori Vallow‘s case will need to be completed in Idaho before anything occurs in Arizona, said Maricopa County spokesperson Jennifer Liewer. “From there, an extradition process will take place. The cases in Idaho were filed first, so they have priority over the Arizona indictment.”

Maricopa County officials said Chad Daybell will not face murder charges in connection to the death of Charles Vallow.

Judge Boyce also declined to separate the Daybells’ trials, saying that having the trials together would be efficient, economic and avoid possible inconsistent verdicts.

He said the trial will proceed as scheduled in Ada County on Jan. 9, 2023.

The Idaho Supreme Court ordered the trial be transferred from the Seventh Judicial District, which covers most of southeastern Idaho, to the Fourth Judicial District, which includes Boise — the state capital and Ada County seat — after Chad Daybell’s lawyers argued he wouldn’t receive a fair trial in Fremont County, near Rexburg.