Lori Vallow-Daybell found not competent to continue with court proceedings, may face Arizona charges
FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - Lori Vallow-Daybell has been found not competent to continue with court proceedings, according to court documents regarding a psychological assessment.
On March 8, the court issued an order for a competency evaluation. The evaluation was ordered after her fitness to proceed was drawn into question by counsel.
The completed assessment determined at this time, Vallow-Daybell is not competent to proceed and recommended restorative treatment.
The prosecution objected to the findings of the report.
A hearing will be scheduled on the issue.
You can view the document HERE.
Also Thursday, more murder charges in the death of Vallow-Daybell's fourth husband Charles Vallow. He was killed in suburban Phoenix months before his son, 7-year-old Joshua Vallow, and stepdaughter, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, went missing.
The Chandler Police Department released a press release saying they've submitted a charge of conspiracy to commit first degree murder against Vallow-Daybell.
The charge is currently under review by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors haven’t set a deadline for deciding whether to charge Vallow-Daybell.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Chad 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.
