The attorney for Chad Daybell has filed a motion for his client’s case to be separated from the case filed against Lori Vallow.

In a memorandum filed Feb. 9, Defense Attorney John Prior said the cases should be severed due to Vallow’s case being paused. Her case has been on hold due to concerns about her mental health and whether she would be able to contribute to her own defense.

Prior argued in his memorandum that he and his client can’t know for sure if she would be present as a co-defendant at Daybell’s trial scheduled for January. He said that if she were not present, he would file motions to disqualify evidence that pertained only to Vallow.

“The prejudice of these other wrongs or acts by Lori Vallow Daybell would certainly have an impact on jurors should these cases remain joined,” Prior argued.

Both Daybell and Vallow are facing a slew of charges including first-degree murder after Vallow’s children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, were found buried on Daybell’s property in June 2020. The children’s bodies were located after months of investigation into the whereabouts of the children.

Vallow has also been indicted in Arizona for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her former husband, Charles Vallow. Charles Vallow was killed in July 2019 by Lori Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox. The siblings said at the time that Cox was acting in self defense.

Cox died in December 2019 of natural causes.

Daybell has an additional murder charge for the death of his wife, Tammy Daybell, who died a month before Daybell married Vallow. Her death was originally attributed to natural causes, but her remains were exhumed for an autopsy after Daybell came under investigation. The results of that autopsy have not been made public.

Prior cites Idaho Criminal Rule 14, which states a judge can take steps to prevent prejudice in joined cases, including severing them into two separate cases.

Daybell is facing a potential death penalty if convicted of any of the three first-degree murder charges filed against him.