An Idaho court has set a sentencing date for “cult mom” Lori Vallow Daybell, who was convicted earlier this month of murder and conspiracy to murder two of her children and her husband’s first wife.
The sentencing hearing is set for July 31 at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, moving back to the trial’s original location before Judge Steven Boyce approved a change of venue to Boise, where the 6-week trial was held, according to KUTV.
The jury took a day and a half to return guilty verdicts in the 2019 deaths of 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell’s wife who died just weeks before Daybell and Vallow Daybell hustled off to Hawaii and were married, as CrimeOnline has reported.
Tammy Daybell’s death was initially ruled natural causes, but that changed as the investigation in the children’s disappearance progressed. Their bodies were found on Daybell’s property in June 2020.
The couple’s trials were originally to be held together, but Vallow Daybell was twice declared incompetent to stand trial and sent for treatment. Daybell waived his right to a speedy trial, but Vallow Daybell did not, and Boyce eventually agreed to sever the cases. No date has been set for Daybell’s trial.
The Idaho court said that the state Adult Probation and Parole board will conduct a pre-sentencing investigation prior to the sentencing, KUTV reported. The report will help to guide Boyce as he determines the sentence.
She faces multiple life sentences, with parole possible after a minimum of 10 years. Boyce must also determine if her sentences will be served consecutively or concurrently. She can appeal the decision within 30 days.
Seating for the public will be on a first come, first serve basis, EastIdahoNews.com said, and the court is expected to livestream the hearing. Victims are expected to make victim statements, and Vallow Daybell will be allowed to speak if she so chooses.
Sometime after the sentencing, Vallow Daybell will be extradited to Arizona, where she faces conspiracy charges in the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot to death in July 2019 by her brother, Alex Cox, who in turn reportedly died of natural causes before the year was out. During her trial, Vallow Daybell’s attorneys intimated that Cox had something to do with the children’s deaths.
But her attorneys presented no case during the trial, promptly resting just after the prosecution did.
Vallow Daybell has also been indicted in Arizona for conspiring to kill her niece’s husband in 2019.
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