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ST. ANTHONY, Idaho – The murder trial for Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell will be held together.
In an 11-page ruling, Judge Steven Boyce denied Chad Daybell's attorney's request to sever his case from his wife's.
"The court determines here that a joint trial of these cases will promote the administration of fairness for each if tried together, where it is clear that there will be substantial overlap in witnesses and in evidence presented relating to both defendants, in particular as it relates to the conspiracy charges," Boyce wrote.
Boyce had already ruled on this decision in May, after Daybell's attorney, John Prior, filed a motion in September 2021 to sever the trials form each other.
Boyce denied the original request and Prior asked the judge to reconsider, saying that Chad Daybell's defense would be "diametrically' different from Lori Vallow Daybell's.
On Tuesday, Boyce also ruled that Vallow Daybell's court proceedings could resume after she was found to be competent for trial.
The Daybells are charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan – two of Lori's kids – along with Daybell's previous wife, Tammy Daybell.
Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against the couple, who have both pleaded not guilty to all charges. A grand jury in Arizona has also indicted Vallow Daybell for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
A joint trial for the couple was scheduled to begin in January but has been postponed. A new date has not been set.
