IDAHO, USA — Although Lori Vallow will spend the rest of her life in prison, the fate of her current husband, Chad Daybell, remains undecided.
Chad's trial is set to start on April 1, 2024, in Ada County. He is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy in the deaths of Lori's two children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and his late wife, Tammy Daybell.
He is also charged with insurance fraud and grand theft in their deaths. Dave Leroy, former Idaho attorney general and defense attorney, said Lori's trial likely gave Chad's defense team good insight.
He predicted the defense team saw about 80% of the evidence that might be presented during Chad's trial.
"They will be able to focus on any weak points that they believe will favor their client in terms of cross-examination," Leroy said. "It may be that they'll find some new expert between now and the time that the trial is had that pokes a hole in some finding."
The death penalty is still an option for the prosecution. But Leroy said both sides can always come up with a plea agreement.
He said it is difficult to tell what the state will be okay with.
"These are dreadful crimes and may be fully deserving of the death penalty if someone is convicted of these allegations," Leroy said. "It's hard to guess that the prosecutor would be open to that possibility."
Even though Leroy said there would be a lot of crossovers if Chad's case goes to trial, there will be some differences.
"Chad himself is charged with the homicide of his wife," he said. "Lori was not charged with that homicide; she was merely charged with a conspiracy."
Because of that reason, Leroy said the evidence regarding Tammy would be new. The rest of the case, except for the grand theft of the child's money, should be identical.
Tammy's Aunt, Vicki Hoban, said she is not sure whether she wants Chad to take a plea deal. However, she does not like the idea of sitting through another trial.
"It's just an assault to your heart," she said. "I would not like to go through that again. At the same time, I almost think living your life in prison is worse than the death penalty. I don't know how to feel about it."
As always, Chad is innocent until proven guilty, Leroy said. In addition to Chad's upcoming trial, Lori has two conspiracy to commit murder cases in Arizona.
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