Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell Due in Court in August After New Charges Are Filed in Missing Idaho Kids Case

Lori Vallow Daybell was initially due to appear in court this week on felony charges of deserting her children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell will now appear in court in August after new conspiracy charges were filed against them in the deaths of Lori's children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan

Lori Vallow Daybell is due to appear in court to face two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence before Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins in Fremont County, Idaho on Aug. 10 and Aug. 11, according to court records. Lori is also facing misdemeanor charges of resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt before Judge Michelle Radford Mallard in Madison County. 

A new preliminary hearing date for those charges has not been set after Lori's original July 9 hearing was vacated when the two felony desertion charges against her were dropped, court records show

Lori's fifth husband, Chad, is also due to appear before Judge Eddins on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, according to court records. Chad has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, as well as two felony charges of willfully destroying, concealing or altering evidence after JJ and Tylee's remains were found on his property. 

The conspiracy charges each carry a penalty of up to 5 years in prison or up to $10,000 in fines. Both Chad and Lori are being held on $1 million bond and have pleaded not guilty. The couple denies all allegations of wrongdoing, and neither Lori's attorney, Mark Means, nor Chad's attorney, John Prior, responded to Inside Edition Digital's requests for comment. 

A glitch in the county's inmate release alert system mistakenly sent a text to subscribers saying that Lori had been released from jail on June 23, EastIdahoNews.com reported, but she remains behind bars. In a tweet, Means called the alert about Lori's release "fake news."

The August hearing will be the second time Lori has been assigned to Judge Eddins. Means had previously filed a motion to remove the judge from her case in Madison County, but she will now appear before him on the felony conspiracy charges filed against her in Fremont County.

The new felony charges were outlined in a criminal complaint filed on June 30. In it, authorities allege that Chad "misrepresented" his relationship with Lori to Rexburg police on Nov. 26, weeks after the two married on a beach in Hawaii. The complaint also alleges both Lori and Chad asked their friend, Melanie Gibb, to lie and tell police JJ was with her during the Nov. 26 welfare check.

Authorities also allege Chad sent text messages "disguising the destruction, alteration and/or concealment of the human remains of Tylee Ryan on his property," and that Lori lied to investigators when she told them Tylee was attending Brigham Young University in Idaho, according to the complaint. 

Tylee was last seen Sept. 8 at Yellowstone National Park and JJ was last seen at home Sept. 22, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Lt. Ron Ball of the Rexburg Police Department, the lead detective on the case. Investigators now believe JJ and Tylee were buried on Chad's property within hours of the times they were last seen, according to the affidavit.

Investigators executing a search warrant on Chad's property on June 9 found a body wrapped in plastic and duct tape buried near the pond that autopsy results confirmed was JJ, according to the affidavit. 

Investigators then found "bones, charred tissue and charred bones" near the fire pit and pet cemetery on Chad's property, which autopsy results confirmed belonged to Tylee, according to the affidavit. 

The discovery of the children's remains was a heartbreaking end to the months-long search for them. Last week, their extended families issued a statement to EastIdahoNews.com confirming that memorial services would be held for JJ and Tylee in Rexburg, Arizona and Louisiana, where their extended families still live. 

"We have utmost faith in the judicial process and are confident justice will prevail. We want to express our immeasurable gratitude to the numerous law enforcement agencies and officers who tirelessly worked this case amongst all the others within this tangled web," the Vallow-Woodcock, Boudreaux and Ryan families wrote. 

"Like us, many want to bid final farewell to JJ and Tylee. All plans are pending since their bodies have not been released, nor an estimated date is given. Upon release, we plan public services to be held in Rexburg, Idaho, Phoenix, Arizona, then Lake Charles, Louisiana." 

Separately, Lori and Chad are currently under investigation by the Idaho Attorney General's office for "conspiracy, attempted murder and/or murder" in the death of Chad's first wife, Tammy, who died weeks before the couple married. 

The Rexburg Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the case to contact them at 208-359-3000. 

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