Lori Vallow court appearance. Photo: KSL NewsRadio
REXBURG, ID — The woman accused of deserting her children and preventing police from finding them made her first court appearance in Rexburg, ID on Friday.
At that time, the judge decided to reduce bail. But the reduction did not reflect the wishes of Lori Vallow’s attorney.
The attorney echoed the arguments made by her previous lawyer in Hawaii, saying she has no criminal record and that her passport has expired. Therefore, the attorney said, Vallow is not a flight risk.
Vallow had asked for bail to be set between 10 and 50 thousand dollars. But, prosecutors say Vallow had already lied to that court.
And the children are still missing.
The judge reduced the bail to one million dollars. If Vallow posts it, she has to wear a GPS monitor.
The preliminary hearing is set for March 18th and 19th.
Thursday, she boarded a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, before making stops in Seattle and Boise en route to Rexburg.
On the flight to Los Angeles, a Herriman man on the same plane shot video of cops escorting her into a police vehicle.
“As soon as we got off and could look through the window, there were several police cars down there,” says Kevin Lunt, a professional photographer.
He says the plane ride was relatively normal.
“She was in the back and there wasn’t anyone within several rows of her,” says Lunt. “They had a couple, I think they were marshals, I don’t know, authorities with her. Those that were closer said she seemed to be in good spirits, positive, smiling, she slept for part of the flight and none of the passengers really interacted with her.”
Daybell spent her first night back in Rexburg at the Women’s Detention Center next to the courthouse.
She was transferred to that location from the Sheriff’s Office and under heavy guard. One witness tells KSL-TV it was hard to make out much during the exchange.
“The police, they knew exactly what they were doing,” he explains. “Trying to make sure that no one really got a good angle.”
He says there weren’t many details to note.
“You saw the blonde hair, you saw her in her orange and white jumpsuit,” he says.
Daybell will appear in an Idaho courtroom Friday afternoon at around 2 P.M.
She’s currently facing two felony charges, being accused of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children.
Reports indicate that Daybell’s new attorneys will ask for her $5 million bail to be reduced.
Authorities are expecting her husband, Chad Daybell, to attend the proceedings.
This story will be updated.