BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Kaitlyn Hart with East Idaho News reports that Judge Boyce has said he will sever the Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell trials.
A status hearing in court on Thursday, March 2nd, to deliberate the amount of time the defense would need to review new evidence they have received from the prosecution. DNA evidence that reportedly came directly from a crime scene and it's indicative of unknown persons that could further be identified through additional testing, according to Judge Boyce. "Isn't the best remedy here to allow time for testing, so we don't have to delve into speculation about what all of this evidence is?"
Judge Boyce deliberated after hearing arguments from both prosecution and the defense. "Circumstances can arise, and the court has to take into consideration whether or not going forward with a joint trial, in this case, can impair the due process rights of the defendants. What I'm absolutely not willing to do is engage in any speculation about what this new DNA evidence may end up revealing."
Unlike Chad, Lori did not waive her rights to a speedy trial. In order to force a continuance and allow more time for the defense to test the new DNA evidence it would violate Lori's right to a speedy trial and certainly push the timeframe of the trial into late this year, well past the six-month timeframe indicated by the Supreme Court for speedy trials. "If I force a continuance here, then I have to violate Mrs. Vallow-Daybell's right to a speedy trial," said Boyce.
East Idaho News reports that Judge Boyce has elected to sever the Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell trials, vacating the April 3, trial date set for Chad Daybell. Lori's trial date is still set for April 3rd as of now.
We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
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