Now that she’s competent, what’s next for Lori Vallow Daybell?

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ST. ANTHONY — Lori Vallow Daybell will be making her way back to eastern Idaho in the coming days as proceedings in her murder trial are set to begin.

Daybell has been at an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare facility in northern Idaho for 10 months since she was declared incompetent to stand trial. Earlier this week, District Judge Steven Boyce issued an order saying she is now fit to proceed and the stay, or pause, in her case has been lifted.

Officials remain tight-lipped as to how Daybell will be transported back to eastern Idaho. When she arrives, she will be housed in the Madison County Jail, where female inmates from Fremont County stay. Daybell stayed in this jail from March 2020 until June 2021, when she was declared incompetent.

Daybell is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Fremont County Courthouse. The hearing should be relatively short, and she will plead guilty or not guilty to the following crimes:

First-degree murder in the death of Tylee Ryan

First-degree murder in the death of JJ Vallow

First-degree murder in the death of her current husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell

Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception in the death of Tylee Ryan

Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception in the death of JJ Vallow

Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Tammy Daybell

Grand theft related to Social Security survivor benefits over $1,000 allocated for the care of minors Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow that were appropriated after the children were missing and ultimately found deceased.

Following the arraignment, Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake and Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood have 60 days to declare if they intend to seek the death penalty against Daybell.

RELATED | Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Chad Daybell

“That written notice has to list the aggravating factors that they would be using to seek the death penalty,” says Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Alayne Bean, who is not associated with the Daybell case. “You can remove it or change it (the death penalty notice) once it’s filed, but you can’t start it at 61 days with something you didn’t think of and didn’t file the written notice.”

WATCH OUR ENTIRE INTERVIEW WITH ALAYNE BEAN IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE

Daybell is represented by Jim Archibald, a public defender who is death-penalty certified. He has been the defense attorney in several high-profile cases, including Brian Dripps, who raped and killed Angie Dodge; and Erik Ohlson, who killed Jennifer Nalley and her unborn baby.

Within the coming weeks, additional attorneys will likely be appointed to help Archibald with his defense.

“The jury has to find guilt on the charge, and then they go into a whole different process to evaluate the death penalty (if the death penalty is on the table),” Bean says. “You’d actually have a break (after the verdict), and the defense can bring in expert testimony about why the jury shouldn’t do the death penalty. The state would have the opportunity to counter that mitigation expert.”

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