REXBURG — Attorney John Prior filed a court document stating Daybell would be pleading not guilty to his charges, according to court records dated June 12.
The records also stated Daybell’s intention to seek a pre-jury trial conference and a jury trial. Pre-trial conferences are a time at which a judge and opposing attorneys can confer as to what will happen at a trial in order to simplify the trial process.
Daybell faces charges involving two felony counts of concealment of human remains “about to be produced, used and/or discovered as evidence in felony proceeding, inquiry and/or investigation authorized by law, with the intent to prevent it from being so produced, used and/or discovered.”
The maximum punishment for each felony includes up to “five years imprisonment and/or up to (a) $10,000 fine.”
Daybell was arrested following the discovery of the remains of his two stepchildren in his backyard on June 9. The remains of 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow were located by law enforcement after a more than six-month search for them. Their mother Lori Vallow also currently sits in jail awaiting court hearings regarding their disappearance and deaths.
The investigation into Daybell and Vallow and the monthslong search for the missing children has drawn interest from around the world.
The suspicious death of Daybell’s first wife Tammy on Oct. 19 at the same Salem property where the children’s remains were discovered last week remains under investigation.
Daybell and Vallow also are being investigated for murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy regarding the death of Tammy Daybell, according to an April letter from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.
The Chandler, Ariz., Police Department also is investigating Vallow for her potential involvement in her estranged husband Charles Vallow’s death on July 11, following a reported family disturbance that also involved Vallow’s brother Alex Cox. Cox told police he shot Charles Vallow after Charles hit him in the head with a baseball bat. The incident was initially deemed self-defense but remains under investigation. Other than Lori Vallow, there are no surviving witnesses to Charles Vallow’s shooting death. Cox died from what was ruled natural causes on Dec. 12 in Gilbert, Ariz.
Lori Vallow moved her children to Rexburg less than two months after Charles Vallow’s death.
Seventeen days after Tammy Daybell’s death, Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow in Hawaii. Shortly after, police ruled Tammy Daybell’s death suspicious. Her body was exhumed from her grave in Utah for an autopsy looking into the manner of her death. Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries confirmed to the Post Register on Tuesday that Tammy’s autopsy is still pending and law enforcement has received no timeline as to when the autopsy will be concluded.
Prior also filed a new request for discovery. In the court document, Prior asks to see a wide variety of evidence the prosecutor may have obtained. This included “any material or information … that tends to negate the guilt of the accused.” Additionally, Prior is seeking any written or recorded statements made by Daybell that the prosecutor has obtained.
The request for discovery also mentioned a potential co-defendant in the case for the first time. In it, Prior asked for “any written or recorded statements of co-defendant if any.”
The request went on to ask for documents and tangible objects, reports of examinations or tests, state witnesses, expert witnesses, police reports and digital media recordings.
Daybell is set to appear in court on July 1 for a preliminary hearing.
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