REXBURG, Idaho — A document filed in Idaho's Seventh Judicial District Court on Tuesday shows the Madison County Prosecutor's Office, which has been appointed as a Special Prosecutor representing the State of Idaho, has moved to join the cases of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell.
The Daybells are both facing charges of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence in connection with the disappearance and deaths of Vallow Daybell's two children: Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
JJ's and Tylee's bodies were discovered on Chad Daybell's Salem, Idaho property on June 9, about nine months after the two children were last seen.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell are each bound for a trial to answer to their conspiracy charges, but their cases are currently assigned to separate judges.
Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood believes trying the two cases separately would have a number of drawbacks, including repetitive hearings and the potential for inconsistent pre-trial rulings on issues of evidence and procedure.
"In the case before this court, the Daybells are both charged with the same crimes of Conspiracy to Commit Destruction, Alteration or Concealment of Evidence. Chad Daybell's further charges of Destruction, Alteration or Concealment of Evidence are the resulting and completed crimes of their conspiracy. Trials in these matters will require the same witnesses and evidence be presented by the State. In order to preserve judicial economy and efficiency, avoid delays in bringing either Defendant to trial, and for the benefit of the witnesses and victims, these cases should be joined," Wood wrote in a memorandum.
