Lori Vallow Daybell, front, second right, and her defense team wait to leave the courtroom during her hearing on Friday, March 6, 2020, in Rexburg, Idaho. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool)
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — Prosecutors filed two new charges against Lori Vallow Daybell related to the deaths of her missing children.
According to court documents, Vallow faces two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence. The charges were filed hours after another search warrant was served at the home of her husband, Chad Daybell.
Vallow’s initial court appearance on the additional charges took place on Tuesday via Zoom.
Judge Faren Eddins read the charges against Vallow. The count of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence against Vallow is related to her reportedly lying about the whereabouts of her adopted 7-year-old son Joshua “JJ” Vallow.
The prosecution argues that Vallow, Chad Daybell, and another person or persons did “willingly, knowingly, combine, conspire, confederate, and agree to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence in a felony proceeding,” with the intent to hide JJ’s remains from law enforcement.
Court documents assert that additional overt actions related to the charges include Vallow providing “false or misleading” information to law enforcement about the location of JJ. Lori Vallow is also accused of asking others to provide false information about the location of JJ.
The second conspiracy count relates to Vallow’s 17-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan.
The prosecution alleges Vallow participated in the “destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence,” by hiding Tylee’s remains. Vallow is accused of “providing false information,” about Tylee’s attendance at BYU-Idaho and failing to physically present Tylee as ordered by the court.
Daybell’s older son Colby, as well as JJ Vallow’s grandparents, also appeared during the proceedings.
Vallow’s preliminary hearing is set for August 10 and 11, 2020. Her bail remains at $1 million.
Lori Vallow was originally arrested in February, after being found in contempt of court for failing to “physically produce” JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. A judge initially set bail at $5 million, before reducing it to $1 million.
On June 6, the Rexburg Police Department along with the Fremont County Sheriff and the FBI served their second search warrant at the home of Chad Daybell. During the course of their search, they found human remains. They later confirmed the remains belonged to JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
See our full reporting on the Daybell case here: