A judge ruled Tuesday that a woman who was charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of her two children and her new husband’s late wife will no longer face the death penalty.
The trial of Lori Vallow Daybell is set to start on April 3.
Both she and her new husband, Chad Daybell, have pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy, and grand theft charges related to the deaths of Vallow Daybell’s children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. They are also charged with Chad Daybell’s wife, Tammy Daybell’s, death in October 2019.
Prosecutors wanted the death penalty for both defendants, but Vallow Daybell’s lawyers said it shouldn’t be an option because they won’t have enough time to fully look over a lot of new evidence that came out in the last few weeks.
7th District Judge Steven Boyce agreed during a hearing on Tuesday morning. He said that Vallow Daybell hasn’t given up her right to a quick trial, so the hearing couldn’t be moved to give her defense team more time to look over the evidence.
Chad Daybell, on the other hand, is still facing the death penalty. The two were going to be tried together at first, but earlier this month, Boyce agreed to Chad Daybell’s lawyers’ request to split the trials. The new date for Chad Daybell’s trial has not been set yet.
In January, Boyce stopped the two from talking about trial strategy face-to-face.
Prosecutors say that the couple’s religious beliefs about the end of the world helped them plan to kill their kids and Tammy Daybell. This was part of a plan to steal Social Security and insurance money, prosecutors say.
In November 2019, family members told police in Idaho that the couple’s children were missing. This led to an investigation of the couple. Police say that during that time, the couple lied about where their children were. Later, their bodies were found buried on the Idaho farm of Chad Daybell.
Two weeks after Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, died suddenly, the two of them got married. Tammy Daybell was thought to have died of natural causes at first, but when Chad Daybell quickly remarried, police became suspicious and dug up her body.
In Arizona, Vallow Daybell is also charged with plotting to kill her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, in connection with his death in July 2019. Alex Cox, who was Vallow Daybell’s brother, shot and killed him in what he said was self-defense.
While the Idaho case is going on, the legal proceedings in Arizona have been put on hold.