ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (Scripps News Salt Lake City) — A judge has set a January 2023 trial date for Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell on charges they murdered her children, J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
Chad Daybell was also charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, his former wife.
Vallow Daybell has also been charged with conspiracy to murder her former husband, Charles Vallow, but has remained in an Idaho state hospital deemed not competent to stand trial.
Lori Vallow Daybell (left) is shown in a March 6, 2020, file photo. Her husband, Chad Daybell, right,
listens during his preliminary hearing in St. Anthony, Idaho, on Monday, August 3, 2020. The couple are charged with concealing evidence by destroying or hiding the bodies of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan at his eastern Idaho home. (John Roark/Post Register via AP, Pool)
Although Vallow Daybell’s time in the hospital was extended by 180 days in September, medical professionals may deem her to be competent sooner, in which case a status conference will be scheduled.
>>>WATCH: ID v. CHAD DAYBELL PRELIMINARY HEARING (2020)
Judge Steven Boyce heard from both the prosecution and defense teams during the scheduling hearing, with the Daybell’s defense team arguing that Daybell shouldn’t have to wait for two years until Vallow is ready for trial, but Vallow’s defense attorney made the case that there is no timeline as to when she’ll be deemed competent.
Boyce set the trial to last ten weeks to avoid scheduling issues that could arise should a shorter timeline not be sufficient. Jury selection alone could take two weeks.
Still to be considered is whether Daybell and Vallow’s cases will be heard separately, with additional hearings on this case set for mid-December.
This story was originally published Dec. 2, 2021, by KSTU in Salt Lake City, an E.W. Scripps Company.
