Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Cult Mom Lori Vallow: Trouble in Paradise

Episode Date: February 18, 2023

Lori Vallow-Daybell and her attorney have been turned down yet again by a judge who denied their bid to have the murder case against the so-called cult mom thrown out. A trial date has been set for  April 3.  Vallow-Daybell has asked to be able to meet with her husband in order to plan strategies. That, likewise, was denied.  Meanwhile in Chad Daybell's camp, his attorneys have tried to get the case against the couple, separated. Currently,  Chad and Lori Daybell will be tried together. This begs the question: Is there trouble in paradise?   Nate Eaton with East Idaho News joins Nancy Grace to discuss the latest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. How many times do I have to ask this question? Will she ever go away? Well, you know what? I know the answer to that. The answer is no cult mom Lori Vallow is going to be with us for a very long time there is someday going to

be a trial for the murder of her two children and that's just touching the ice to tip of the iceberg with all the dead bodies connected to Lori Vallow. There will be a trial. God help us all. I think there will be a conviction. Then there will be years and years of antics behind bars. And then the appeals process, God forbid, there's a reversal and so forth and so on. I mean, you know, Charles Manson is dead.

He's still dead, isn't he, Jackie? Charles Manson is dead and we still hear about him all the time. Okay, in that vein, let me introduce to you our guest today. It's Nate Eaton. And I believe I can say, not only my colleague, but now my friend. Nate, thank you for joining us. It's a real pleasure to have you on. Nate Eaton is the news director at EastIdahoNews.com.

You can find him on Facebook, Nate Eaton-Reporter. That's your Facebook handle, right? Nate Eaton-Reporter. Okay, we're going to have to help you with that. And on Instagram at n.eaton nate okay i've got a lot of serious topics to talk about with i'll call it mom laurie valo but first there's a certain spring to her step there's more jailmaid makeup her hair looks different different. She's dressing up almost giddy. Is it because she sees? Is it husband number four or five? I lost track. I think it's four. The cult prophet, Chad Daybell. You know,

as if I know, but I've got a sense from reading the New Testament that Christ would not be very happy with Chad Daybell's doomsday hate-filled prophecy about somehow getting to heaven is like a VIP limited ticket event.

I mean, I'll be lucky just to be a little mouse in the corner watching all the saints if I get really lucky, but I mean, I'll be lucky just to be a little mouse in the corner watching all the saints if I get really lucky. But I mean, this guy really takes the cake. But since I'm not a Bible scholar, I'll get off that and back on Lori Vallow. That's something I can tell you about trials. Why is she so happy in court? Is it because she's seeing Daybell?

Well, they did appear for the very first time together in a courtroom very recently. And one thing that stuck out to me, Nancy, is, you know, we were all sitting there waiting for the defendants to walk in. And Lori came in with a big smile on her face. What? Are you friends now? You're on a first name basis? Do you expect to be invited over for one of her cult mom dinners when she gets out of jail? That's not happening. Lori, Zallo, or just cult mom dinners when she gets out of jail that's not happening lori well or just call it mom please you're hurting my ears go ahead he he had a smile on she had on her lips took her hair was curled she had on black leggings a nice white blouse

and she sat down and waited for Chad Daybell to walk in. And one thing I noticed is when he walked in, he looked at her ever so slightly, gave her a small smile and then looked straight ahead. And over the next hours... There's trouble in paradise. Go ahead. Yeah, Lori repeatedly looked over at Chad, but I did not see him glance at her,

even when it came time for him to leave, to go back to the jail. She looked at him. He did not look at her. So one can assume that they're each building their own defense strategies as we get closer and closer to the trial. I think that that is likely a very wise assumption because now they're not together all the time the way they were when they i'm just going to put it out there cheated on both their spouses both of their spouses end up dead and now now they are still married even though they're in separate holding facilities. Is there any way that they can FaceTime each other?

I mean, in the sense that could she FaceTime her lawyer and he patch in Daybell, who is FaceTiming his lawyer from the jail? Is that possible? Yes. Is that possible? Yes, but from what I've heard, that has not happened because Lori asked her attorney to file a motion to see Chad face to face so that they could have strategy sessions. They wanted to sit down in a room without the prosecutor there, but have Chad's attorney, Chad, Lori's attorney, Lori, have a deputy outside the door so that the room is secure, and really to discuss strategy. Obviously, the state had major issues with this. They said, if you're talking strategy or settlement, we need to be involved in this. But Lori wanted to see her husband, and her attorney argued that they're married. They should have a right. They're charged with the same crime. They should have the legal right to sit together and talk about strategy.

Ultimately, the judge said no, that's not happening. Okay, just pause right there. They do not have a right. Let's just be clear about that. The reality is that when you are charged with double murder, you have no right to be in a room with your spouse who is also charged with double murder. That is not in the Constitution. In the Constitution, as it has been interpreted over many, many years in our wonderful country, you do have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the state, i.e. you and me, will pay for the attorney for you, including a lawyer on appeal. You do not get the right to visit with loved ones in a private room. N.O.

That's the end of that story. And that is because that's how the judge ruled, Nancy. The judge said, no, it's not happening. You know, you need to communicate, work out a settlement strategy, whatever, go through your attorneys. So the only time they do see each other are during these court hearings for a few hours at a time but that's it there's no other communication and uh chad has a set list of people that he talks to his children being some of them and his attorney and laurie has a

set list of people she talks to but um it's been we're going on over three years now since we i first tracked him down in hawaii oh i love that video of your is it your hand where you're chasing laurie valo in hawaii and you're and you're saying hey where are your children have you talked to your children do you know where your children are wasn't that your hand yeah i mean you were running pretty hard to keep up with her by the way hey why are you looking at her attire so closely is it because you knew someone me would ask well here's the thing in this part of the state where we we cover trials and hearings all the time people normally are in yellow or orange striped jumpsuits gel uniforms they're not they don't have their hair curled they don't have makeup on they don't say she had her hair curled nate eaton i'm telling

your wife that was a did he say that at the beginning he did say her hair was curled yeah you always side with him jackie you always side with nate eat. I do. Okay, all right. I'll pretend that she's right this time. So her hair was curled. Were they in the, what do you say, mermaid curls going down her? Yeah. Kind of how her hair, she's looked in the past. I will say, though, the hair dye has worn off, so there was darker hair. I say it simply because I am asked about that probably more than anything when

these hearings come. What did she look like? What was her behavior like? You know, there have been stages of this case where her case is on hold because of her competency questions. And people think, well, maybe if she takes medication or she gets, you know, counseling, that she'll appear and act differently. Or maybe now that cameras are not in the courtroom, she will act differently. I have noticed no changes at all over the past three years. So bottom line, there was a joint appearance in court where cult mom Lori Vallow appeared with, I believe, makeup, hair curled, black tight tights a new white shirt and gazed sending non-verbal communication to her fourth husband chad daybell also charged with double murder and the murders of her two

children jj and tylee who were not only murdered but but their bodies rendered asunder, burned. What they did to Tylee's body is just beyond comprehension to me. That said, sending nonverbal communication to him, he gave one brief smile, and that was it. There's trouble in paradise. That's the banner. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The reality is, I believe that Chad Daybell, the cult doomsday prophet, is planning a defense without wife Lori Vallow. He could actually even be turning on her. You know, I see that a lot, Nate Eaton, as I'm sure you have, where once you get co-defendants

in court, they always point the finger at each other. Has the judge severed their cases, or are they going to be tried together? Well, that's an interesting point you bring up, because right now they're set to be tried together beginning of April, but Chad's attorney twice has filed motions to sever. He says that they deserve separate cases. It's not going to happen. Give it up. Unless the death penalty is a possibility, they're not going to get their cases severed.

They are going for death penalty on both. I thought that they had retracted that. Okay, I'm glad you told me that. So DP is on the table. They probably will be severed then. They will be severed. It's on the table, and we're six weeks away from the trial, and they're still waiting on evidence. So, Chad's attorney is arguing, listen, by the time this evidence comes back, I've got to have my expert review it. I've got to get analysis on it. That'll take weeks. It will not be ready by the time the trial starts. Is it the end of April 3rd? Okay, let's hold on. So we've got basically not much left. No, no. Yeah,

this is not going in April. If this is a DP death penalty, it is not going forward in April. I can tell you that right now. Here's the problem, Nancy. Lori Ballo has not waived her right to a speedy trial, and she has argued that the clock is ticking. She has six months from when she was arraigned last year to have the trial, and when that six-month date hits, her attorneys filed a motion saying the case needs to be dismissed. Her constitutional rights have been violated because she has not seen a jury. So the judge has to decide, is he going to sever it and give Chad Daybell more time so they can go through this DNA evidence, or do they keep it together and say, sorry, Lori Vallow's right. Who's right? Supercede the others. So it should be interesting in the next few weeks what he decides to do. Well, I predict a severance, and I predict she, Lori Vallow, will go to trial. Is the speedy still in place?

She has not retracted the speedy? She has not, so she will not. Well, they have to go forward. A speedy trial demand is a very powerful tool used by the defense. Under our Constitution, you have a right to a speedy trial, and that typically means within the grand jury session in which the case was indicted and one more. Usually, grand jury sessions go about three to four months, and then a new grand jury comes in. So, at best, most likely that would be six months from the time she files a speedy. That puts the state in a bad spot, especially when you have a lot of circumstantial evidence, DNA evidence, scientific evidence.

You've got to marshal to get to trial. But if the defense does not retract the speedy trial demand, the state's got to go forward with what they've got or else it's like a no-show at a softball game. You get skunked. It's over. She walks if they don't give her a speedy trial. So unless she withdraws that, they're going forward.

And I imagine they would sever Nate Eaton so they can have time to marshal more evidence against him the way they would like to against her. So unless she withdraws it, they are going forward. I'm glad you reminded me of that. So they would be going forward with a DP in April against Lori Vallow. That's how it looks right now to me.

That is how it looks. And that's what her attorneys say they're preparing for. Of course, there could be, from what I'm hearing, there have been talks of a possible settlement plea agreement. But there's been no motion on that. With who? With either party. As far as maybe take the death penalty off the table and take life in prison or, you know, 50-year minimums on each count or something like that. But there's been no headway from everything I've heard.

I know it's easy for us to sit back and say what we would do, but I guarantee you if I had this case, I would try Lori Vallow since she won't withdraw her speedy. I would try her with the DP and see where the chips fall because the reality is I think it's highly doubtful a jury would give a woman the DP it has happened it could happen here because she's so darn conniving but um I would absolutely try her and get the maximum if not DP then life behind bars do you guys have life without parole?

We do. Yep. Yeah. Miss Thing needs life without parole. That's what I think she needs. Give her a couple of decades to think about what she did. The latest, an Idaho judge has denied cult mom Lori Vallow's request for a joint 30-minute strategy session with hubby Chad Daybell ahead of their April murder trial. So far, they've not been severed, although continued motions to sever are going down.

I predict the judge will sever. Now, Chad Daybell has not filed a speedy. Is that correct, Nate Eden? Yeah, he waived his right, so he has all the time that he wants, and his attorney wants all the time that he can get with all of the evidence. I mean, there's terabytes of information, the DNA evidence that's come in. I think we talked before, Nancy, about the shovel that was at Chad Daybell's backyard that they found DNA evidence on, and a hair follicle that was found on JJ's, the duct tape that was surrounding his body. They're testing that. They want to know whose hair that is.

It's likely it could be Alex Cox, who's dead. And one of the defense strategies could be point the finger at Lori's brother, Alex, who they know was there. His phone pinged on Chad Daybell's backyard where their bodies were found. So are they going to just point it at Alex? Do they have evidence? Absolutely. They're going to both try to blame Lori Vallow's brother, Alex.

She said, that's not me, avenging Angel, who would go out and kill people at her bidding. So you know who's got a pretty good chance? I really think if they're severed, each one has a better chance at pointing the finger at the other. If they're both sitting in the courtroom together, that's going to be more difficult. But Chad Daybell has a pretty good shot at this, at even a potential not guilty. Do I think he's not guilty? No, I don't. But between blaming Alex Cox, the brother, and Lori Vallow, he's got a pretty good chance if he could convince a jury, he had

no idea what was being buried in his backyard, essentially. Yeah, that's a big convincing, wouldn't you think, Nancy? I mean, this is... Well, for me, yeah, but for someone gullible on the jury, no. Yeah, it would be an interesting feat to see what his defense is. I mean, what is going to be the hard evidence against Daybell?

Well, but you've also got his wife who's dead. But that's not going to be tried here. I think there's a better shot of getting him convicted. Wait, you think they're going to try J.J. Tiley and Lori together? Yeah, Tammy, J.J., and Tiley. All three. Yep, all three. Murder and conspiracy to commit murder on all three bodies.

Wow, you know what? That was so smart of the state to include all three of the victims in that one indictment. That was really good strategy on their part because once you throw Tammy Daybell into the mix, a jury, I believe, will absolutely find him guilty on that. I mean, on the Amazon order alone, they're going to go straight to hell. Would you refresh everybody's recollection on the Amazon order alone, they're going to go straight to hell. Would you refresh everybody's recollection on the Amazon order? I'm still amazed at that. What idiots. Yeah. So as as Tammy is still alive, Lori Vallow gets into her dead husband's Amazon account and orders. Which dead husband? specific man this is husband number four charles

fallow who was shot and killed by laurie's brother three or four months previous while she was standing right there going don't don't go ahead and that that's also the same day that after the shooting she took jj to burger king and went and bought flip-flops and dropped them off at school as her husband was dying on the floor. So this Amazon order is placed for these rings, and they're real specific green rings that you would have to really go looking for. It wasn't a diamond ring. It wasn't like a fancy engagement ring. After Tammy is dead, after the children are reported missing, Lori and Chad get married on the beach. And the photos clearly show those rings, both of them wearing rings. You know what, Nate Hayton?

I know you're the veteran reporter, but I think you just totally buried the banner. You buried the headline. This should be above the fold. Didn't she search and purchase, search for and purchase a b-e-a-c-h wedding dress yes no she did she did yep and isn't it true that just a couple weeks after his wife tammy daybell's death she was healthy as a horse and died in her sleep. They go to Hawaii together and she has a beach wedding wearing the dress she ordered

from Amazon before Tammy's death. Yeah, three weeks after Tammy died. There you go. Guilty. Unless she's clairvoyant, and I don't believe that she is, how would she know that in three weeks she was going to have a wedding

to a married man? I mean, just no. That's completely wrong. Now, it's three weeks after Tammy died, but how, that they got married, but how far before her death did she order her beach wedding dress? It was a few weeks before her death but but you know some would say stronger than that is their text messages between each other nancy i mean they were they were cad was telling laurie in text that the time is coming for tammy to die he told tammy to

go visit her family several hours away by herself and had told people that she was going to be killed in a car crash. And she wasn't dying. His prophecies were not coming true. You know what I think that was? You know what I think that was? I'm writing it down. Vanity. One of the seven deadly sins.

Of course, you know, that's in old English lore. But it's not one of the Ten Commandments. But vanity. Pride. But it's not one of the Ten Commandments, but vanity, pride. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I believe that he knew that he was going to kill Tammy Daybell. And he was basically bragging that he was clairvoyant or had prophecies or visions. And then she died in her sleep.

As if he predicted it through a prophecy sent from heaven. I hate to even say heaven in the same sentence as all of that. Okay. But yes, you're right. The text messages are incredibly powerful. So, right now we've got the judge denying their 30-minute strategy, a.k.a. make-out session. Daybell.k.a. make-out session. Daybell, no, called Mom Lori Vallow, repeatedly asked for her case to be dismissed, completely thrown out. Has he, Chad Daybell, also asked for the case to be dismissed?

He has not. Their big push right now is to severance. They want the case to split up, and we should know in the next week or so if the judge is going to grant that. The state argues it's the same witnesses, it's the same evidence, it's the same cases. It will cost double. We're already into the millions of dollars for these small Idaho counties. It will cost double to try this case twice. And you made a point a few minutes minutes ago nancy that i think a lot of people would agree with they try laurie dad's able to watch and see what happens in her

trial see what the verdict is and then maybe he cops the plea after it because he has not i don't want to play i reject that i want them both to go down for life without parole. That's what I want them to have. Well, I think I think if the state removes the death penalty option, that they can be tried together in April. If the state does not remove the death penalty, it's going to make it a lot more

difficult. So, Colt Maloney-Vallo is asked to have the case dismissed. DNA testing continues. I think we're going to have a lot of DNA from the avenging angel brother, Alex Cox. I want to hear anything else you can tell me about her, not just her appearance, the makeup, the curled hair, the blouse, the leggings. But I want to hear about his demeanor as well during the hearing. Glum, downcast, pensive, what? I would say evasive and aloof, maybe you could say. You mean trying not to look at her? Is that what you're saying?

Yeah, he looks straight ahead, regardless of who's talking. He is looking straight ahead. He always has his white dress shirt on with a tie. I don't recall him ever, you know, any sort of banter with anyone else, whereas Lori, she's taking

notes. She's looking around the room. She's smiling. She's looking around the room. She's smiling. She's very much engaged in a way into what's happening. And so it's quite the dynamic, which if they do go to trial together, that will be interesting to watch the dynamics between the two. And Lori's attorney has even said he may put her on the stand. Tell me about that. Well, I think that he maybe wants the world to see who she is in a way, in a weird way, that there have been so many psychological evaluations done on her. I believe it's been six different psychiatrists who have evaluated her. She spent

10 months in the Idaho State Hospital, where she, by all accounts, was the social director for the inmates that were there. Not inmates, but the patients that were there. It is just something that it's hard to describe until you see her, until you meet her. And the competency has played in two times in this trial with different attorneys saying, we don't know if she's competent yet. She has cleared the banner that she knows what she's charged with and she can assist in her defense. In Idaho, that's all you need. There's no insanity defense.

You just have to be able to assist in your defense and understand what's happening. She meets that standard, but she clearly, but by all accounts, when looking at her, you would think something's not right here. A mother who's charged with murdering. Well, not right does not rise to insanity.

Correct, yeah. And if you say it's crazy or insane for a mother to kill her child, in the street sense of the word, normal vernacular, yeah. tells me she knew it was wrong. The going to Hawaii, the lying about where the children were, the whole thing reeks of cover-up. Now, we know the judge ruled on a day bail, trial postponement, and jury sequestration. What was the decision on sequestration? The jury will not be sequestered during the trial.

However, if they do decide to go with a death penalty, then during the penalty phase where they discuss whether she's going to get death penalty or not, they will be sequestered during that portion of the deliberations. Okay, repeat one more time, please. So that during the trial, there's the two, if they go, they decide the death penalty phase, she's going to get death penalty during the actual trial. The jury will not be sequestered. When it comes to the penalty phase, when they're found guilty, then they have to decide on the penalty. The jury will be sequestered during that. Another question.

The judge ruled on a day bill trial postponement. Who wanted a postponement? Chadside. Chadside has wanted that postponement. Who wanted a postponement? Or Chad's side. Chad's side has wanted that postponement. And how did the judge rule? Ixnay? Yeah, the judge said I can't because

the cases are tried together and I can't push Lori's case out any further. Without a severance. That's right. If he postponed Daybell's, hers would have to be postponed also if they're going to be tried together. And we can't postpone hers because of the speedy trial demand. Therefore, they both have to go forward. What was his grounds for requesting a delay? The DNA evidence?

Yeah. And it's interesting. You think about this. As I said, we're three years into this, and he's still getting evidence turned over. And from what I have heard, the evidence of stuff, electronic evidence, is just they said last week, I believe that they had 2,000 pages of documents. Hey, you know what? If you don't want to deal with 2,000 pages of new documents against you, don't commit triple murder. There. I put it out there. Remember that, Nate Eaton. Don't commit triple murder if you don't want 2,000 documents,

brand new evidence thrown at you four or five weeks before trial. They can both sit there and simmer and stew and think about what they've done. Wait, call mom Lori Vallow is not thinking about what she's done. She's busy making you pink lip gloss for her next court appearance. Okay, Nate Eden, run with the wind, man. Thank you for joining us. We'll stay on it. This is an iHeart Podcast.