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Lori Vallow Daybell’s New Attorneys Now File to Withdraw Request for Competency Hearing, Say They Need More Time
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Nearly 10 days after an Arizona judge granted Lori Vallow Daybell’s motion for a mental competency exam — and pushed back the start of her trial to accommodate it — Vallow Daybell’s lawsyers have now asked to withdraw that request.

According to KSAZ, the public defenders say they need more time to go over five boxes of records along with a hard drive containing 16 terabytes of data before they decide what to hand over to doctors.

The request to withdraw comes from Vallow Daybell’s new lawyers; it was her previous representation who filed to motion for the competency hearing.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Justin Beresky granted that motion on October 21, when he simultaneously vacated the February 2025 trial date, as CrimeOnline reported. Vallow Daybell is accused of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and the attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

Vallow Daybell was extradited to Arizona nearly a year ago following her conviction on murder charges in the death of two of her children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and her fifth husband’s first wife, Tammy Daybell. She was sentenced to three life terms. That trial was paused twice when Vallow Daybell was declared incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a state facility for treatment.

Earlier this year, Vallow Daybell participated in an hour-long recorded chat with her surviving son, Colby Ryan, which he broadcast on his new podcast, “The Scar Wars Podcast.” In the recording, she said that Tylee Ryan killed JJ Vallow “by accident” and then killed herself. She also said she frequently spoke to Jesus, who had given her a mission, and that she was not crazy.

Chad Daybell, Vallow Daybell’s current husband, was later convicted on the same charges and sentenced to death. He is not charged in the Arizona cases.

According to KSAZ, Vallow Daybell’s new attorneys also say they need more time to have a “meaningful opportunity” to speak with their client and that she wants an expedited in-person hearing.

The new attorneys were appointed on October 24, three days after the judge’s order, and they received the boxes of records that same day along with an order saying they had three days to provide the doctors assigned to the case with records they wanted reviewed. The request was submitted on October 29.

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[Featured image: Lori Vallow Daybell/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office]