Thanks for joining us for the n.
At 10, Laurie Valo De Bell will
spend the rest of her life in prison.
Judge Stephen Boyce handed downt
sentence more than two months after a
jury found the Eastern Idaho mom guilty
of murder and conspiracy to comt
murder in the deaths of her two kids,
JJ and Ty Lee, and her current
husband's late wife, Tammy De B.
From the moments leading up to
that sentence to the moments afr
today's hearing was filled with
emotional and powerful statemens
from those who've been waiting r
this day for nearly four years.
News Channel Seven's Shira Matza
has been covering this case since 2019,
and she was at the Fremont
County Courthouse today
nearly four years.
That's how long it took to get to this point.
And for the families of the vic,
it's a day they've been waitingd
praying for the value of a life and hope.
2 concepts highlighted in courtn
Monday from two sides of the courtroom
as both the state and the defene
for Lori Valo de Bell recommendd
what her sentence should be.
What is the value of the life of a 16
year old girl with her life ahead of her?
What is the value of a life of a
7 year old boy with special nee?
What is the value of the life
of a mother and a grandmother?
I think we have to think about how are
we going to heal the hurt and the pain
and the devastation of this case with Hope.
Those recommendations coming after JJ's
grandmother Kay Woodcock sharedr
love and the loss of her grandc,
1536. That is how many days
it has been since I've seen
JJK was among those who gave
a victim impact statement.
At Valo sentencing hearing in M,
a jury found Valo guilty of murr
and conspiracy to commit murder
in the deaths of her two kids,
JJ and Ty Lee, and her current
husband's late wife, Tammy Dayb.
Tammy's sister Samantha Gwilliam
choked up as she shared how she
misses her sister every day.
I will always remember them.
As for you, I choose to forget .
Her aunt Vicki Hoban also
getting emotional. She
was taken from us by murdering thieves
and while the families of the victims
painted the court with their pa,
Valo addressed the court for the first time.
One of the times that Tylie
came to me as a spirit.
After she died, she said she
commanded me and she said to me, stop
worrying mom, we are fine.
She knows how I worry
and how I miss her. The first te
JJ visited me after he passed a,
he put his arm around me
and he said to me, you didn't
do anything wrong. Mom.
Immediately after, Judge Steven
Boyce shared his thoughts.
I don't think to this day you he
any remorse for the effort and
heartache you caused for others.
Look for your children when youw
where they were and knew they were dead.
Then sentence Valo to five life
terms in prison without parole
after the sentencing, like he has from
the start of this case. Jj's grandpa,
Larry Woodcock addressed the me,
this time filled with relief.
It's time to heal.
It's time to get past this.
It's time to for us to everybod,
to look out for everybody else d
for those in the community and
across the country who have been
following this case closely. Mo,
sentencing was also closure for them. I'm
just here to watch Lori
get what she deserves,
Just happened, you know,
having so close to home.
It's kind of like seeing histor.
Prosecutor Rob Wood also read a
statement on behalf of Kobe Rya.
He's the oldest and only
surviving child of Lori Valo.
After the hearing,
Annie Cushing, Tylie's aunt,
also sent me a statement.
She called it therapeutic,
and she adds that this is bringg
them one step closer to being able to
focus on healing in Fremont Cou.
Sher Matsuzala,
Idaho's News Channel 7
Powerful statement from Annie
that we received tonight.
Although Valo will spend the
rest of her life in prison,
we're not even halfway through the trials.
In this case, the trial of Laurs
fifth husband, Chad De Bell,
is set for next spring here in Boise,
just as Laurie's was.
And Chad faces three counts of t
degree murder as well and three counts
of conspiracy to commit murder n
the deaths of JJ Ty Lee and Tam.
Abby Davis talked with the local
defense attorney about whether Laurie's
sentencing today could impact Cs
trial. Well, during Laurie's tr,
attorney David Leroy says her
defense saw about 80% of the
trial the state might use.
In Chad's trial, He says both
sides have a good idea about
what worked and what didn't.
Life imprisonment with no
possibility of parole.
Now that Laurie Valo
sentencing is over, I thought
it was a very proud moment
for Idaho jurisprudence.
It's time to look ahead to her codefendant
and 5th husband Chad Daybell's trial.
Chad is charged with three
counts of firstdegree murder and
conspiracy in the deaths of Laus
children JJ Valo and Ty Lee Rya,
and his late wife Tammy Daybell.
He's also charged with insurance fraud
and Grand Theft related to their deaths.
Chad's trial is set to start April 1st,
2024 in Ada County.
How do you think the decision ty
will affect Chad's case going forward?
I think it will give the defense lawyers
in Chad's case more data points upon which
to ponder what their best choices are.
Former Idaho Attorney General ad
defense attorney Dave Leroy saye
death penalty is still on the t,
although both sides could
come up with a plea agreement.
These are dreadful crimes and me
fully deserving of the death penalty if
someone is convicted of the allegations,
so it's hard to guess that the prosecutor
would be open to that possibili.
If Chad's case does go to trial,
Leroy says there will be a lot of crossover
from what was said during Lauris
Chad himself is charged with
the homicide of his wife.
Laurie was not charged with that homicide,
she was merely charged with the conspiracy.
So the evidence as to Tammy
will be new and will be
different in some particulars.
The rest of the case,
except for the Grand Theft
of the child's money,
should be identical.
It's the thought of hearing and
seeing all that evidence again
that makes Vicki Hoban nervous.
She's Tammy's aunt.
It just as an assault on your h,
on your brain, on just everythi.
It just it's like opening a wou.
Hoban says she's not sure what o
think about a possible plea dea.
I would like to not have
to go through it again.
And I at the same time almost
think living your life in prison
is worse than the death penalty.
I don't know.
I don't know how I feel about i.
To clarify what I said earlier,
I was talking about Chad's defense team.
His defense attorney, John Pryo,
was at most of Laurie's trial.
Leroy says Pryor will be
looking at any possible holes
in the prosecution's arguments.
He also says it's important
that people remember Chad is
innocent until proven guilty.
Even though a judge sentenced
Laurie in Idaho,
She also has two additional conspiracy
to commit murder cases in Arizo.
So that's also important, right, Right.
She's been indicted on on one of those.
And Abby, it's interesting too,
because Jean Fisher,
who we've interviewed many time,
former chief deputy prosecutor of Ada County,
told me several months ago during Laurie's
trial that actually a lot of pee
haven't paid attention to this .
We have because we're in media
and people that consume this.
But there are quite a few peopln
Ada County that they're going t,
that they're going to find.
And it's difficult when they go through
jury selection to find those pee
that haven't had any media expo.
But there are going to be people
that haven't seen this case exa.
Alright, Abby, Thank you.