FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho — Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow shouldn't be tried separately, the judge in the eastern Idaho couple's case ruled Thursday, denying Daybell's motion to split the case.
Daybell and Vallow were indicted in May 2021 on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the deaths of two of Vallow's children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and Chad Daybell's late wife, Tammy Daybell. They are currently set to stand trial together as co-defendants, and prosecutors are seeking death sentences.
Daybell's attorney John Prior on Sept. 27 filed a motion to split the trial, a motion that prosecutors opposed. In a hearing on Nov. 10, Prior argued that the trials needed to be severed, or separated, in part because "our version of the facts of this case will differ greatly from what Ms. Vallow and her legal counsel are going to be presenting."
In his 12-page written memorandum of decision and order, Fremont County District Judge Steven Boyce outlined why he has denied the motion, titled "motion to sever from death-noticed co-defendant in order to enforce Mr. Daybell's constitutional rights" in Prior's filing.
"The charges in the indictment include charges for conspiracy, which necessarily involves the agreement and participation of conspirators. The conspiracy charges result in a distinction that matters," Boyce wrote. "The Court determines here that a joint trial of these cases will promote the administration of fairness for each case if tried together, where it is clear that there will be substantial overlap in witnesses and in evidence presented relating to both Defendants, in particular as it relates to the conspiracy charges."
Boyce also wrote that a single trial eases concerns that presenting witnesses and evidence in separate trials for Daybell and Vallow would result in different outcomes, and "weighs in favor of preserving the right to a fair trial throughout the proceedings, from jury selection through deliberations, for each defendant."
The trial, which will take place with an Ada County jury, was scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2023. However, that date was vacated in October and the trial was postponed until officials could make a determination about Vallow's mental competency.
Boyce earlier this week lifted the stay on Vallow's case and ordered the trial to be rescheduled after Vallow was found to again be mentally fit to proceed to trial. The new trial date has not been announced.
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