Chad Daybell's Lawyer Asks For Delay In Trial, Severing From 'Doomsday Mom' Case
Chad Daybell (left) and Lori Vallow Daybell.
Sep. 29 2022, Published 1:01 p.m. ET
Chad Daybell, the husband of "Doomsday Mom" Lori Vallow Daybell, has asked for a delay in the start of his murder trial and wants the proceedings separated from that of his wife, Radar has learned.
Daybell's attorney filed lengthy motions in an Idaho Court on Sept. 27 that ask for those adjustments as he is facing murder charges in connection to the deaths of two of Vallow Daybell's children, Joshua "J.J." Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, and his first wife, Tammy Daybell. Vallow Daybell is also charged with murder in connection to those deaths.
Both J.J. Vallow and Ryan were found dead and buried in Daybell's backyard in June 2020 after after going missing in the fall of 2019. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Lori Vallow Daybell.
John Prior, Daybell's attorney, told a judge that he needs additional time because of a “substantial amount of investigation and preparation." He also stated in the motions that prosecutors have not shared a "significant amount" of evidence with his team.
“There is no possible way to complete the investigation and be prepared for a death penalty trial in January 2023,” Prior wrote in the motion. “Death penalty cases are unique in the criminal legal system and require counsel to undertake an extensive, time-consuming investigation.”
Prior is requesting that the trial begins no earlier than October 2023. Prosecutors previously asked that the trial begin in September 2023. However, a judge ruled that the trial will start in January 2023.
Prior also wants the trial separated from that of Vallow Daybell as he believes having the trials combined will get in the way of him presenting a fair defense. He said that he plans to introduce evidence that details “prior bad acts of both Ms. Vallow and Alex Cox (Vallow Daybell’s deceased brother), as well as evidence regarding their relationship and the death of Mr. Cox.”
Daybell married Vallow Daybell just weeks after Tammy Daybell died. Vallow Daybell is also charged in Arizona with conspiracy to murder her previous husband, Charles Vallow, who was found fatally shot by Cox mere weeks before Tammy Daybell and the children's deaths. Cox, who died months after the fatal shooting, had claimed self-defense. He reportedly died of natural causes.
“While the court may continue Ms. Vallow’s trial date despite her asserted speedy trial right, severance is the most direct approach to enforce the constitutional rights of both Mr. Daybell and Mrs. Vallow, and the most sensible approach due to the irreconcilable conflicts which will arise in a joint trial of both death-noticed co-defendants,” Prior wrote, according to crimeonline.com.
Netflix recently released a docuseries on Vallow Daybell called "Sins of Our Mother.
