Lori Vallow Daybell pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt in Madison County, Idaho, and asked that her $1 million bond be reduced.
Lori Vallow Daybell, the mother of two children who were found buried on her fifth husband's property, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt in Madison County, Idaho.
They are the three lesser charges the mother of Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan faces. The children's remains were found near the home of Lori's husband, Chad Daybell, in June, more than nine months after they were last seen.
Lori has requested a jury trial on the misdemeanor charges and is once again asking the judge to reduce her $1 million bond, according to a document filed Tuesday by her attorney, Mark Means. A pretrial conference has been scheduled via Zoom for 10:30 a.m. Friday morning before Magistrate Judge Michelle Radford Mallard.
The misdemeanor charges stem from Lori's alleged refusal to help find JJ and Tylee, according to police. She never reported the children missing, and police now believe JJ and Tylee were killed and buried on Chad's property shortly after they were last seen in September, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Lt. Ron Ball of the Rexburg Police Department, the lead detective on the case.
Lori has also been charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence in neighboring Fremont County after JJ and Tylee's remains were found.
Chad has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, as well as two felony charges of willfully destroying, concealing or altering evidence in the case.
Both Chad and Lori have pleaded not guilty and deny all allegations of wrongdoing. Neither Lori's attorney, Mark Means, nor Chad's attorney, John Prior, responded to Inside Edition Digital's requests for comment.
Separately, Lori and Chad are currently under investigation by the Idaho Attorney General's office for "conspiracy, attempted murder and/or murder" in the death of Chad's first wife, Tammy, who died weeks before the couple married.
Lori has unsuccessfully tried to get her bond reduced before, arguing that it is disproportionate to the charges she is facing. The two felony charges of deserting a minor child Lori faced in Madison County were recently dropped after her children's remains were discovered, court records show.
But prosecutors have argued that Lori is a flight risk, pointing out that she left Idaho and was living in Hawaii with Chad while investigators searched for her children. Lori was arrested in Kauai on Feb. 20 and extradited to Idaho to face charges. She's been in jail ever since.
Chad and Lori will both appear in court in person in August for their preliminary hearings amid the coronavirus pandemic. Attendees will practice social distancing in the hearing room, and "protective plexiglass has been installed along the bench and witness stand to protect the health of all hearing participants," Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins wrote.
The Rexburg Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the case to contact them at 208-359-3000.
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