'Cult mom' Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell will face trial TOGETHER on charges for conspiring to conceal the remains of her kids
A judge has agreed to combine the cases against 'cult mom' Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell so they can face trial together on charges related to the deaths of her children.
Judge Steven Boyce of Idaho's 7th Judicial District issued the ruling on the joinder motion, filed last month by Madison County Special Prosecutor Rob Wood, at a hearing on Thursday.
During the hearing Wood argued that Chad and Lori should be tried together because they are both facing charges for conspiracy to hide the remains of Lori's children, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and Tylee Ryan, who disappeared in September 2019 and were found buried on Chad's property in June.
Chad and his attorney John Prior joined the hearing via Zoom from Fremont County Jail. Prior opposed Wood's motion, arguing that combining the cases would create unfair prejudice for his client by heightening media attention.
Lori did not appear at the hearing because her attorney said she is not opposed to combining the cases.
Judge Steven Boyce sided with the prosecution, citing the fact that the charges against both defendants involved the same evidence and same witnesses.
He also said that the defense had not presented a compelling enough argument that the joinder would create prejudice against Chad.
A date for the combined trial will be set at a later date. Both Lori and Chad have pleaded not guilty.
An Idaho judge agreed to combine the cases against Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell at a hearing on Thursday. Chad and his attorney John Prior joined the hearing via Zoom
Lori and Chad are both facing charges for conspiracy to hide the remains of her children
Lori is facing two felony counts of conspiracy to destroy or conceal evidence, as well as three misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing officers, solicitation to commit a crime and contempt of court.
Chad is also charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to destroy or conceal evidence, along with two other felony counts for destruction or concealment of evidence.
Neither Chad nor Lori have been accused of harming Tylee or JJ. Authorities have yet to say how the children died, or whether homicide charges will be filed in the future.
Prior filed a motion in September asking for all the charges against him to be dismissed because there is no evidence to support them. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for November 24.
Madison County Special Prosecutor Rob Wood argued that Chad and Lori should be tried together because they are both facing the same conspiracy charges
Wood presented several arguments for why the cases should be combined during Thursday's hearing, the first being that the charges against both defendants stemmed from the same alleged conspiracy to hide the children's remains.
He said that both cases involved the same evidence and the same witnesses, asserting that trying them separately would require 'duplicative work' by the prosecution and the court.
Wood said having two separate trials would be burdensome for witnesses and JJ and Tylee's families, because many of them will have to travel in from out of state.
He also noted that both Lori and Chad would have the option to ask the court to sever the cases again at a later date.
Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, seven, disappeared in September 2019 but were never reported missing by their mother. The children's remains were found buried on Chad's property in June
Prior responded by saying that combining the cases could be prejudicial against his client because it would attract more media attention, making it harder to find an unbiased jury.
Wood refuted that assertion, saying that two cases would inevitably lead to more media attention.
Prior also said the defense was still waiting on some discovery materials from the prosecution, which he claimed had hindered his ability to effectively argue against the joinder motion.
Addressing Wood's arguments about two trials creating 'duplicative work' and being 'burdensome' on witnesses and the victim's families, Prior said those concerns are 'secondary' to Chad receiving a fair trial.
After both sides said their piece, Judge Boyce offered his analysis.
He said the issue boiled down to two key questions: Is there a common scheme or plan connecting the charges against either defendant, and would a joint trial be prejudicial.
Boyce said the first question was 'easily satisfied', because the charges all relate to common evidence and witnesses.
With the second, he said: 'I don't find that the prejudice has been demonstrated by the defense.'
At that point the hearing was concluded. Boyce did not indicate when the date for the joint trial would be set.
Judge Steven Boyce sided with the prosecution, citing the fact that the charges against both defendants involved the same evidence and same witnesses
The search for JJ and Tylee began back in November 2019 when police officers performed a welfare check at Lori's home in Rexburg and found that neither of the children had been heard from since two months earlier.
Tylee vanished on September 8, 2019, just days before her 17th birthday. Investigators said her body was burned and dismembered before being buried sometime the following day.
JJ was last seen two weeks later on September 23. His body was wrapped in duct tape and plastic and buried the same day, investigators said.
Authorities believe Lori's now-deceased brother Alex Cox brought the children's bodies to Chad's home to bury them.
The story captured nationwide attention with the revelations that police were also investigating at least three suspicious deaths linked to Lori and Chad, as well as relatives' claims that the couple are members of a dangerous doomsday cult.
Lori and Chad went on the run the day after police began searching for the children and reopened an investigation into the death of Chad's first wife Tammy Daybell, who died on October 19, 2019.
Police tracked the couple down in Hawaii in January and Lori was later arrested on charges of child abandonment and desertion.
The search came to a devastating end in June as JJ and Tylee's remains were discovered in Chad's backyard in Salem, Idaho.
Investigators are seen recovering the remains of Tylee and JJ from the backyard of Chad's home in Salem, Idaho, on June 9
Timeline of JJ and Tylee's disappearance
July 11, 2019: Lori Vallow's husband, Charles Vallow, is killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona. Police initially rule that Alex acted in self defense but reopen the case months later after the children are reported missing.
August: Lori moves children JJ and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho, where her future husband Chad Daybell lives with his wife Tammy.
September 8: The last time Tylee is seen during a trip to Yellowstone National Park with Lori, JJ and Alex. In the following weeks she tells people who ask where Tylee is that she's studying at Brigham Young University's Idaho campus.
September 23: The last time JJ is seen at his school in Rexburg. Lori emailed the school the following day and claims she is moving the family to California for a new job.
October 2: Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Lori's niece Melanie Pawlowski, is targeted in a drive-by shooting in Arizona. Police identify the vehicle carrying the shooter as a Jeep registered to Charles Vallow, Lori's late husband.
October 19: Chad's wife Tammy, 49, dies at their Idaho home. An obituary states that she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Chad declines an autopsy and her death is listed as natural causes.
October 25: A friend of Tylee receives a vague 'miss you' text from her phone but says that it didn't sound like the teen.
November 5: Lori and Chad tie the knot on a beach in Kauai. Receipts indicate that Lori purchased her own wedding ring from Amazon nearly three weeks prior to Tammy's death.
November 26: Out-of-state relatives ask Idaho police to perform a welfare check on JJ. Lori and Chad claim he is in Arizona with relatives and ask their friend, Melanie Gibb, to lie and say she took the boy there for Thanksgiving. Police soon learn that no one has seen JJ, or his older sister Tylee, since September.
November 27: Police execute a search warrant related to the children at Lori's home and discover that she and Chad have fled Idaho.
December 11: Tammy's body is exhumed from a Utah cemetery and her death is reclassified as suspicious.
December 12: Lori's brother, Alex Cox, is found unresponsive in a bathroom in Arizona and dies. Months later an autopsy determines that he died of natural causes while he had the overdose drug Narcan in his system.
December 21: Rexburg police issue the first press release about JJ and Tylee, revealing they believe their disappearance could be linked to Tammy's death and asking the public for information.
December 24: Lori and Chad issue a statement through an attorney saying they love their son and daughter and look forward to addressing 'allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor'.
December 30: Police accuse Lori and Chad of lying to investigators and say they believe the couple know where the kids are or what happened to them.
January 3, 2020: Police search Chad's home in Salem and remove 43 items, including tech devices and journals. They also comb over sections of the snow-covered yard with rakes and metal detectors.
January 26: Lori and Chad are seen for the first time in months as police serve them with two search warrants in Kauai. Lori is also served with a court order to produce the children to authorities in Idaho in five days. The couple are approached by the media while officers serve the documents and refuse to say anything about the children.
January 30: Lori misses the court deadline to produce the children to Idaho authorities.
February 20: Lori is arrested in Kauai and charged with two felony counts for desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, and one misdemeanor count each for resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime, and contempt of court.
March 5: Lori is extradited to Idaho, where she is held on $1million bond at Madison County Jail.
March 17: Lori professes her innocence in a statement through her attorney as two other members of her defense team quit and the judge removes himself from the case.
March 24: Court documents filed in the divorce of Lori's niece Melani and her husband Brandon Boudreaux allege that Lori told people she believed her children were zombies before they disappeared.
April 9: Authorities reveal they are investigating Lori and Chad for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in connection with Tammy's death.
May 25: Idaho police issue a statement expressing hope that the kids will be found safe on what would have been JJ's eighth birthday.
June 9: Police search Chad's home in Salem for the second time and discover human remains in the backyard. Chad is taken into police custody and charged with destruction or concealment of evidence.