Judge Decides How to Try Lori and Chad Daybell

The Idaho couple can be tried together in the deaths of her 2 children
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 1, 2020 1:00 PM CST
Chad Daybell's Lawyer Loses Key Argument
Lori and Chad Daybell.   (Police mugshot photos)

Chad and Lori Daybell won't be tried separately. A judge ruled Thursday that the Idaho couple—who face similar charges in connection with the deaths of her two children—can have their trials combined, East Idaho News reports. This after Chad's lawyer, John Prior, and Special Prosecutor Bob Wood locked horns in a Zoom hearing over the issue. The prosecutor argued that combining the cases would increase efficiency, while Prior said it would heighten media attention and make it harder to find a fair jury. Wood countered that "separate cases absolutely mean more hearings, more media coverage and more difficulty in finding a suitable jury."

Boyce ultimately sided with the special prosecutor and said two trials and two sets of hearings would be "quite concerning" amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Deseret News reports. Prior said he might file a motion to divide up the cases again after looking over more evidence. Meanwhile, KOMO News reports that Lori Vallow's attorney, Mark Means, suggested in a tweet last month that others might be involved in the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan: "If you know something ... Say something!" he wrote. The children were found buried on Chad's rural Idaho property in June. (A detective testified that Chad stared intently at a nearby pond during the search.)

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