Lori Vallow Daybell's lawyers asked that she not be subject to the death penalty if convicted of the murders of her children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and her now-husband's wife Tammy Daybell.
Prosecutors said they also have “sufficient evidence” to suggest that Lori Vallow “participated in the killing of her own children,” according to newly filed court documents.
District Judge Steven W. Boyce issued an order on Tuesday declaring Lori Vallow once again "fit to proceed with trial" after a mental health competency hearing last week.
Prosecutors in the case oppose the move, but Daybell's lawyers say the couple will offer "mutually antagonistic defenses" that would make it impossible for both to be acquitted if tried together.
Lori Vallow is expected to undergo a competency evaluation on Wednesday to determine whether or not she's mentally fit to stand trial in the deaths of her two children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua "JJ" Vallow.
Judge Steven W. Boyce said he "sees no other alternative" than to vacate the upcoming January 2023 trial in light of concerns about Lori Vallow's competency to stand trial.
The judge overseeing Lori Vallow's murder trial made the decision to ban cameras from all future court proceedings after determining that visual media coverage of the case could pose "a great risk to the fair administration of justice."
Both prosecutors and Lori Vallow Daybell's lawyers support the request to bar cameras from the courtroom during her January trial for her kids' murders.
A spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said prosecutors made the decision to drop the charges "without prejudice"—meaning they can be refiled in the future—to allow for time for an "additional review" of the case.
