FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho — Vicki Hoban is sharing the times she misses spending with her niece, Tammy Daybell.
“[We] would all get all the girls and go to have a big girl's lunch and you know, just talk and laugh and tell jokes and take silly pictures… I miss those lunches,” Hoban said.
She told KTVB, they haven't had one of those lunches since they lost Tammy. Hoban is among those expected to give a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing for Lori Vallow Daybell on Monday. In May, a jury found the Eastern Idaho mom guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of her two kids, JJ and Tylee and her fifth and current husband’s late wife, Tammy Daybell.
“I'm feeling anxious a little bit,” Hoban said. “It'll be the first time I'm able to address her, so I do have some things I want to say.”
She adds, she’s hoping for the longest sentence possible. That sentence will solely be up to the judge.
“If the death penalty had been still considered, the jury would have had the same jury would have sat and had, like a jury part two, and they would have made the decision right there, and then what her sentence would be, and they would have not had to do this whole pre-sentence investigation. but it this point, the that's up to the judge to determine and he's going to look into all that all that information,” Retired Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Jean Fischer said.
The pre-sentence investigation is an extensive process, and it will include a deep dive into Vallow’s history.
“Everything about her life, her marriages, her family, it will also include most likely a psychological examination if that if one of those was requested, and her attorneys, and she, of course, will have been able to review all that, as well as the prosecutor and the judge,” Fischer said. “In Idaho, all victims have a constitutional right to make a statement at sentencing, where they're allowed to talk about the impact that this case has had on them and what they would like to see happen for purposes of punishment or retribution.”
Then based on that information, the state and defense will argue its case for sentencing.
“She's looking at life in prison for first degree murder and first-degree murder carries a minimum of at least 10 years that she must serve, and there's multiple deaths in this case,” Fischer said. “So, the likelihood that she gets anything less than a fixed life sentence to me seems very unlikely.”
As for Hoban, she's not revealing what she's going to say out of respect for the court. If Vallow chooses to, she may also make a statement before the judge hands down her sentence.
“She will be the last person to make a statement and the state cannot cross examine her,” Fischer said. “If she does say anything at all, the court will certainly pay close attention to what she says how she says it, you know, how she reacts to that.”
KTVB also talked with JJ’s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, as they saw a growing memorial for the victims in the case ahead of Monday’s sentencing hearing. Larry was seen signing letters with the message ‘paw paw loves you.’ Vallow’s sentencing hearing is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Monday.
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