Judge denies Lori Vallow Daybell’s request to dismiss murder case
Feb 15, 2023, 4:04 PM | Updated: Mar 21, 2023, 3:16 pm
Lori Vallow Daybell (Madison County)
(Madison County)
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — A Boise, Idaho judge denied Lori Vallow Daybell’s attempt to get her case dismissed because she has not had a speedy trial.
The East Idaho News reported that Judge Steven Boyce made his decision Monday in a 15-page document. It was a response to a motion Daybell filed in January. Idaho law requires a speedy trial for a defendant within six months of arraignment unless the defendant waives that right. Daybell has not waived that right.
Her murder trial with her husband Chad Daybell is set for April 2.
They were indicted on first-degree murder charges related to the deaths of Lori’s children JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. They were also indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell’s wife.
According to the East Idaho News, Boyce said the trial’s delay is ‘minimal’ when the charges and maximum penalties are considered. Boyce also referenced the number of developments in the case like the couple’s arrest in Feb. 2020, the murder indictment in May 2021, and Lori Vallow Daybell’s competency to stand trial.
She was found competent to stand trial at a hearing on Nov. 9.
“It is important to note that during the time Lori’s case was stayed (paused) pending determination of her competency to stand trial, the Jan. 9, 2023 trial setting was necessarily vacated,” Boyce wrote in his response Monday.
Boyce also called the case an “incredibly complex investigation,” the East Idaho News reported. The investigation includes a case involving the death of Alex Cox, Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother, who was also considered to be a co-conspirator.
Officials with the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner said Alex Cox, Lori Vallow’s older brother, died from natural causes.
According to police, Cox shot Charles Vallow, Lori’s former husband, after a confrontation on July 11, 2019.
“All parties have agree at various times that the discovery is exceptionally voluminous, causing concerns about trial preparation and adequate disclosures.” Boyce wrote.
A hearing set for Feb. 23 includes Chad Daybell’s request to sever the cases as well as other motions. Boyce denied a similar request from Chad Daybell in November.
Chad Daybell’s lawyers argued the two cases should be separated, contendinging his version of the facts would be different from his wife’s.
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