Lori Vallow Daybell, the Arizona woman facing murder charges for the deaths of her children, has asked an Idaho judge to move her trial to a different county, claiming that she cannot currently receive a fair trial.
Vallow’s attorney Mark Means filed the change of venue motion on June 28. Thin on details, the filing does not provide a specific reason for Vallow’s request beyond saying that a “fair and impartial jury trial cannot be had in Fremont County, [Idaho],” where the case is currently filed. Vallow’s motion promises that future filings will provide more information.
“[This motion] shall be supported by the papers and pleadings of/in this case, the memorandum of law to be filed, evidence to be submitted and the evidence to be adduced at the hearing of this Motion,” Vallow’s filing said.
Vallow, 47, is charged with murdering her two children. The remains of Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, were found on the property of Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell, 52, in June 2020. Daybell is also charged with murder in the children’s deaths.
The grisly discovery came after months of speculation and suspicion as to the children’s location. Neither JJ nor Tylee had been seen since September 2019; meanwhile, Vallow and Daybell got married in Hawaii on Nov. 15, 2019, while JJ and Tylee were missing.
According to police, Vallow descended into cult-like religious beliefs, including believing that she was an “exalted Goddess” and that she and Chad Daybell were “directed to lead 144,000 people in preparing for the end of the world.” She and Chad also believed that they had the ability to teleport.
Vallow and Daybell are implicated in multiple other deaths. Daybell is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, and Vallow is charged with conspiring in her killing. Tammy was found dead in October 2019, but her death was not immediately considered suspicious, although investigators have since exhumed her body and ruled that her death was a homicide.
Chad Daybell originally said that Tammy had died in her sleep, and refused an autopsy.
Vallow is also charged in connection with the death of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot and killed in July 2019 by Lori’s brother Alex Cox. At the time, Cox claimed self-defense, and no charges were filed. Cox died in 2020 of what medical examiners said was a blood clot.
Vallow was Lori’s fourth husband; JJ was their adopted son.
Tylee Ryan was the daughter of Lori and her third husband, Joseph Ryan, who died in April 2018 from natural causes, according to Arizona officials. Cox, Vallow’s brother, had reportedly tased Ryan in 2008 and threatened to kill him, and Vallow herself was heard on audio saying that she wanted to kill Ryan. But Arizona authorities confirmed to Law&Crime in March that Ryan died from heart problems.
Ryan was also accused of physically and sexually abusing Tylee, as well as his son from another relationship, Colby Ryan.
Days after the Lori Vallow was indicted and charged with murdering her children, Judge Steven Boyce issued a stay in the proceedings, finding that Vallow was not competent to participate in the case. Boyce issued a second stay on June 8, after another determination that Vallow was not competent to proceed.
Vallow’s attorney also filed additional motions on June 28—one reserving Vallow’s rights and defenses, specifically the right to challenge any court’s jurisdiction over the case, even if the motion to transfer is granted, and a request for specific discovery regarding autopsy reports, witnesses, and communications regarding the charges against her.
Vallow requested oral arguments and a hearing date.
Vallow’s attorney did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
Read Vallow’s motion for a change of venue, below:
[Image via Madison County Sheriff’s Office]