BOISE, Idaho — The attorney for Chad Daybell is asking a judge to throw out the four felony charges against him connected to the discovery of the bodies of two missing children on his property in Fremont County.
Daybell is charged with two felony counts of concealment of evidence and two felony counts of conspiracy to conceal evidence in the case. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He is not charged with killing 7-year-old JJ Vallow or 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, the children of his wife Lori Vallow. Vallow is also charged with concealing evidence and conspiracy to conceal evidence.
Daybell's defense attorney John Prior wrote in the Thursday motion to dismiss that the charges are not supported by the prosecution's evidence, and that they are unfairly duplicative of one another.
"The prosecution made assertions in his Complaint and Information that are vague and overly broad," Prior wrote. "Those assertions violate Defendant’s U.S. and Idaho Constitutional rights to be fairly notified and appraised of when, how, and what he is accused of doing."
The prosecution has also petitioned to join Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow's cases together, arguing that the couple is charged with committing the same actions.
"Due to the nature of the conspiracy charges alleged against the Daybells, the State's evidence in both cases is nearly identical and the trial for each case will be nearly identical," the prosecution wrote. "Further, the statements the Daybells (and Alex Cox) each made as co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy are allowed as evidence against each of them and as such it promotes judicial economy and efficiency to have each defendant in the same trial while those statements are introduced."
A judge ruled last month after Daybell's preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial on the charges. Witnesses at that hearing testified that Daybell lied to police about the children's whereabouts and his relationship with Lori Vallow, and sent a text to his late wife about burning tree limbs, shooting a raccoon and burying it the day after Tylee disappeared.
Tylee's body was recovered in the area where Daybell said he buried the animal. She had been dismembered and burned, according to police. JJ's body, which had been wrapped in plastic and duct tape, was found also buried on the property.
RELATED: Watch: Rexburg detective describes watching JJ's body be unearthed on Chad Daybell's property
The judge has not yet responded to the defense team's motion to dismiss the charges. The trial in the case is set to begin Jan. 11, 2021.
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