A judge in Ada County, Idaho, will determine if Kay and Larry Woodcock can attend the trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, who is accused of conspiracy to commit first degree murder, as well as first degree murder in the death of their grandson, 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow. (KSL TV screenshot)
ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Walking into the Ada County Courthouse this week for Kay and Larry Woodcock will be a huge moment they’ve been patiently waiting for.
“It’s just mixed emotions,” Kay Woodcock said over Zoom from the couple’s home in Louisiana.
“It’s the accumulation of four years of us living this every day,” Larry Woodcock said.
She described feeling unsettled now that Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial is here and afraid of the new details they’ll undoubtedly learn in the murder of their grandson, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow.
Vallow Daybell’s adopted son was killed, police believe, weeks after the murder of Vallow Daybell’s daughter Tylee Ryan, who was killed days before her 17th birthday in September 2019.
In June 2020, the children’s remains were discovered on the property of Chad Daybell, Vallow Daybell’s new husband. His late wife, Tammy Daybell, died weeks after Tylee. Here death was later investigated as a homicide. The couple was charged in all three murders and will be tried separately.
The Woodcocks planned to sit in court every single day for the duration of Vallow Daybell’s trial, but that’s if they can get inside.
The couple is still waiting on Judge Steven Boyce to decide if they’re allowed to watch witness testimony because they’re testifying themselves. Vallow Daybell’s attorneys argued the Woodcocks do not fall under the legal definition of victims, whereas prosecutors argued they do.