CHAD Daybell made an urgent request in the case of his wife, “cult mom” Lori Vallow.
The couple is facing trial in connection to the deaths of Vallow’s children, JJ, 7, and Tybee, 16, along with Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy Daybell.
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Chad Daybell could be seen in court on Thursday, smiling at Vallow as she walked into the Fremont County courtroom with shackles on her ankles, reported East Idaho News.
Daybell’s attorney, John Prior said he needed more time to submit evidence despite the original deadline being on February 27.
“The concern is that from Dec. 25 until the present time, I was given five additional items of discovery. I need additional time for my experts to review it,” he said.
Prior added that he and the prosecution are waiting on a piece of DNA evidence that his expert will need 60 days to analyze, which won’t be enough time ahead of the trial.
He also said that 1,100 pages of documents were given to him on Thursday, however, he hasn’t had enough time to go through them – along with GPS evidence he recently received.
“That GPS evidence is significant, and it has taken a significant amount of time for my expert to evaluate that. I don’t expect to receive that report for another week,” said Prior.
“If the court is going to insist on me going to trial, I’m going to need some additional time.”
Prosecutors suggested pushing the deadline back another two weeks with the new date being set as March 13.
VALLOW’S RIGHTS ‘VIOLATED’
Vallow’s attorney argued to District Judge Steven Boyce that her case should be dismissed due to lack of a speedy trial.
By the time the trial starts on April 3, Vallow will have been in jail for 1,169 days, which her defense attorney Jim Archibald argued violates her constitutional rights.
According to Idaho law, a trial must be held within six months from the date a defendant is arranged if that person doesn’t waive their right to a speedy trial – which Vallow has not done.
“The state acknowledges they are 44 days over (by the time the trial), but any amount of time over is a violation of speedy trial,” said Archibald.
Vallow’s case was paused when she was declared incompetent to stand trial.
“The defense knows it’s outside the time of speedy trial, the state knows it’s outside the time of speedy trial, so what’s the remedy? The Idaho Legislature says the remedy from the indictment is for it to be dismissed.”
However, Fremont County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tawnya Rawlings argued that Judge Boyce had “good cause” in delaying the trial, such as scheduling conflicts with the Ada County Courthouse and questions on Vallow’s competency.
“I think it’s important to note that Miss Vallow Daybell has concurred with the co-defendant’s request to transfer the trial to Ada County, to keep the trials joined,” said Rawlings.
“And in consideration of holding the trial in Ada County, a short postponement has not violated her rights.”
Boyce said he will issue a decision on the motion soon.
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