The jailed mother of two missing children is expected to ask a judge for a bond reduction on Wednesday.
NBC News reports that Lori Vallow, who was arrested last week in Hawaii on felony child abandonment charges, is due in court in Kauai on Wednesday, when her attorneys are expected to ask for a bail reduction.
Vallow’s two younger children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow have not been seen since September.
Vallow was ordered held on $5 million bond, and in her first court appearance on Friday her lawyer asked for bail to be reduced to $10,000. The request was denied.
East Idaho News reports that an attorney representing Vallow, Craig De Costa, requested an additional hearing to discuss the bail amount. He is reportedly arguing that Vallow is not a flight risk and that the bail amount is disproportionate to the charges Vallow is facing. According to a court motion obtained by NBC News, De Costa claimed that Vallow had offered to turn herself into authorities before her arrest on February 20.
In a court filing opposing the bail reduction request, prosecutors reportedly argued that Vallow is a flight risk, citing a bank account belonging to her husband Chad Daybell with a balance of $152,000.
“Given the extensive media attention, she is clearly aware that the authorities have prioritized her case,” prosecutors said in the filing, according to NBC News.
“She also has the means to move across an ocean.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Vallow’s relatives have said they believe she became involved, through Daybell, in a so-called end-days cult. Vallow and Daybell were married this fall, weeks after Daybell’s wife Tammy died suddenly. Her death is now under investigation. Vallow’s former husband Charles Vallow died in July after her brother Alex Cox shot him, claiming self-defense. Alex Cox died in December of still unknown causes.
Vallow and Daybell have refused to cooperate with the investigation into the disappearance of Vallow’s children, and are believed to have fled Rexburg, Idaho, shortly after police discovered the children missing during a wellness check in late November. Vallow is expected to be extradited to Idaho.
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