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SALT LAKE CITY — An Idaho judge has reduced Lori Daybell’s bail from $5 million to $1 million.
The 46-year-old mother of two missing Rexburg children appeared for the first time in a Madison County (Idaho) courtroom Friday afternoon for her arraignment. The court also set her preliminary hearing for March 18-19 in Rexburg, Idaho.
She did not enter a plea in her case Friday.
Daybell is charged in Madison County with two counts of desertion and nonsupport of a dependant child.
Her children, 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, have been missing since September. Daybell was arrested in Hawaii last month in connection with their disappearance.
Watch Friday’s court hearing below:
Daybell, referred to in court documents as Lori Vallow, married Chad Daybell in October, and police say the two had been living in Hawaii prior to her arrest.
Her bail was previously set at $5 million following a court hearing in Hawaii, where she was arrested Feb. 20.
Daybell's attorney, Edwina Elcox, argued during Friday's hearing that Daybell's bail should be set at $10,000 and no more than $50,000 because she has no prior criminal history and the crimes she is charged with in the case are not violent.
But Madison County Court Judge Faren Eddins declined such a reduction after Prosecutor Rob Wood argued that Daybell is a potential flight risk and noted that she has recently lived in three different states: Idaho, Arizona and Hawaii.
Eddins required the following restrictions in order for Daybell to post bail:
- She must sign a waiver of extradition for any and all court jurisdictions.
- She must not leave Bonneville, Madison, Jefferson or Fremont counties in Idaho.
- She must wear an ankle monitor that will track her whereabouts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- She must maintain regular contact with her attorneys and make all court appearances as a condition of any release.
The group is growing- they want answers for #TyleeRyan & #JJVallow. We’re hearing media will be allowed in shortly. @KSL5TVpic.twitter.com/8H0F6WX4ZE
— Garna Mejia KSL (@GarnaMejiaKSL) March 6, 2020
The hearing was the latest development in the bizarre case that has attracted public interest and media attention from across the nation. Several people waited outside the courthouse Friday holding signs saying "Where are the children?" and "Welcome back Lori."
Before the packed courtroom, Daybell's attorney acknowledged the heightened public scrutiny of the case, saying that the last thing the case needs would be being tried in the media. The judge started the court session by asking the spectators to remain civil or risk being removed from the courtroom.
Also in the courtroom were several family members connected to the case including J.J.'s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, who wore Hawaiian necklaces as they sat in the front row. Chad Daybell, Lori's husband, observed the proceedings a few rows behind his wife.
Contributing: Garna Mejia, KSL TV
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