Lori Vallow Daybell Set to Be Arraigned on Felony Charges

Lori Vallow Daybell has waived her right to a preliminary hearing, and her case will now move to district court.

A date has been set for Lori Vallow Daybell's arraignment on charges of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence related to the disappearance and deaths of her two children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16.

Lori is due to appear in Fremont County, Idaho district court on Aug. 27 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Dane Watkins, according to court documents. Her husband, Chad Daybell, is set to be arraigned in district court on Aug. 21 before Judge Steven Boyce. 

Chad faces felony charges of willfully destroying, concealing or altering evidence and conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence after Tylee and JJ's remains were found on his property in June. Chad and Lori have previously pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. 

Over a two-day preliminary hearing last week, prosecutor Rob Wood laid out his case against Chad using multiple witnesses, police body camera footage, a jailhouse phone call and a secret recording made by Chad and Lori's former friend, Melanie Gibb.

Although it was Chad, an end-times author and publisher, seated at the defense table, Lori loomed large: it was her voice on the body camera footage of the Nov. 26 welfare check on JJ, and she was the one who called Chad from jail just before her children's bodies were found in his backyard. 

Investigators believe that JJ and Tylee were killed shortly after they were last seen in September and buried on Chad's land by Lori's brother, Alex Cox. Lori never reported the children missing, according to police, who said she lied about where they were during the Nov. 26 welfare check. 

In addition to the felony charges she faces in Fremont County, Lori also faces misdemeanor charges of resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt in nearby Madison County. A trial has been set on those charges for January 2021, according to court documents. She has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. 

Chad and Lori are both being held on $1 million bond in Idaho jails. 

Separately, Chad and Lori 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. 

Lori remains a person of interest in the shooting of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and could be charged with conspiracy to commit murder in his death, according to the Chandler Police Department in Arizona. Charles was shot and killed by Cox, Lori's brother, on July 11, 2019, in what Cox claimed was self-defense. Cox was not charged in the incident and died himself on Dec. 12. A medical examiner ruled Cox died of natural causes but his death also remains under investigation by the Gilbert, Arizona police department. 

Chad and Lori's attorneys, John Prior and Mark Means, have not responded to Inside Edition Digital's requests for comment.

The Rexburg Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the case to contact them at 1-208-359-3000.

RELATED STORIES

Lori Vallow Daybell Case: Arizona Police Weigh Conspiracy to Commit Murder Charge in Charles Vallow's Death
Here Are The 5 Major Revelations from the Prosecution's Case Against Chad Daybell
Here Are the Central Figures in the Case of Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and Tylee Ryan