Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow-Daybell appear in court Wednesday
FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell both appeared separately in court Wednesday facing multiple felony charges related to the deaths of Tylee Ryan, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tammy Daybell.
You can watch it below.
Daybell's initial appearance was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. before Judge Faren Z. Eddins.
The judge said the purpose of Wednesday's initial appearance was to go through Daybell's rights, to talk about the date for future hearings and to talk about counsel.
Judge Eddins read the charges and explained the penalties of each. He said the penalties for all those counts could all run consecutively or concurrently.
Daybell's arraignment has been set for the morning of June 9. A specific time has not been set.
He has retained John Prior's office to continue representing him.
Lori Vallow-Daybell appeared about 14 minutes after her scheduled time of 11:30 a.m. Judge Eddins said they took a recess, and the court found "exigent circumstances." So, her initial appearance has been continued after a motion by Mark Means. A new date was not set.
Means said it is his intent to represent Vallow-Daybell on this case.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Daybell and Vallow-Daybell on murder charges in connection with the deaths of Vallow's two children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. Daybell also is charged with murder in the case of his ex-wife, Tammy, who died a few weeks before Daybell got remarried.
"Every person who has worked on this case is to be commended for their diligence and steadfast pursuit of justice for Tammy, Tylee and JJ," Fremont County Prosecutor Rob Wood said in a statement.
The children's disappearance became national news after Daybell and Vallow-Daybell abruptly left the area following questioning by police about the whereabouts of Tylee and JJ and about the recent death of Tammy Daybell.
The children were last seen on different days in September 2019. In June 2020, law enforcement officials found the remains of Tylee, 17, and JJ, 7, on Daybell's property in Fremont County.
Tammy Daybell died in October 2019.
Daybell and Vallow-Daybell are both charged with first-degree murder of the children and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder against all three victims, according to court documents.
Daybell and Vallow-Daybell already were facing charges related to the destruction or hiding of evidence relating to the disappearance of the children. Arrest warrants were issued Tuesday for them to be held without bail.
The new indictments do not provide details on how authorities think Tammy Daybell, Tylee or JJ were killed.
The indictments cite the couple's "religious beliefs" as a factor in the murders.
The grand jury cites evidence that Daybell and Vallow-Daybell spoke in text messages of Tammy Vallow "being possessed by a spirit," and say Chad Daybell changed the life insurance coverage on Tammy Daybell just over a month before she died, increasing the death benefit to the maximum allowed.
Daybell also is charged with insurance fraud, while Vallow-Daybell is charged with grand theft for allegedly continuing to draw Social Security benefits for her children after their deaths.
Daybell and Vallow-Daybell were first charged in connection with the disappearance of the children in June 2020.
Prosecutors said the murder charges would have been presented to the grand jury sooner, but the case was delayed due to the pandemic.
