Idaho
Mom charged in kids’ deaths could face death if convicted
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors in Idaho say they will seek the death penalty against a woman charged with killing her two youngest children and her new husband’s previous wife.
The prosecuting attorneys from Fremont and Madison counties made the announcement in court documents filed Monday, saying Lori Daybell Vallow will qualify for capital punishment if she is convicted at her trial later this year because the slayings were exceptionally depraved and carried out for financial gain.
The prosecutors also said Lori Vallow Daybell showed “utter disregard for human life” and “has exhibited a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.” Her attorney, Jim Archibald, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lori Daybell’s co-defendant and husband, Chad Daybell, is also facing a potential death penalty if convicted. The pair are charged with murder, conspiracy and grand theft in connection with the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan.
Prosecutors announced their intent to seek capital punishment in Chad Daybell’s case last August, but Lori Vallow Daybell’s case was on hold at the time because she was undergoing treatment at a mental health facility. Lori Vallow Daybell is scheduled to stand trial in October, and Chad Daybell is scheduled for trial next January.
Idaho law enforcement began investigating the Daybells in November 2019 after extended family members reported the children were missing. The children were missing for several months, during which time police said the couple lied about the children’s whereabouts, before their bodies were found buried on Chad Daybell’s property in rural Idaho.
Chad and Lori Daybell married just two weeks after his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died unexpectedly. Tammy Daybell’s death was initially reported as “natural causes,” but investigators had her body exhumed after growing suspicious when Chad Daybell quickly remarried.
Lori Vallow Daybell is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Arizona in connection with the death of her previous husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Lori Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, who claimed it was self-defense. Cox later died of what police said was natural causes.
Chad Daybell has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and a judge entered a “not guilty” plea on Lori Vallow Daybell’s behalf after she stood silent when asked for a plea earlier this year.
Idaho law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty if they can show certain “aggravating factors” for crimes like murder or conspiracy to commit murder.
Minnesota
U.S. attorney orders entire staff to work on violent crime
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's top federal attorney says he's ordering his entire staff to work on violent crime cases.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced Tuesday that he's directed all 42 prosecutors in his office to work on violent crimes. He said he will oversee every case from indictment to sentencing.
He promised that all adult carjackers will do federal time and prosecutors will devote more resources to enforcing gun purchasing laws.
The announcement comes as Minneapolis and St. Paul are facing a violent crime wave. Minneapolis saw 97 homicides last year, the most since 1995. St. Paul recorded 38 homicides in 2021, breaking the city's record of 34 set in 1992.
Police in Minneapolis also recorded more than 640 attempted or successful car-jackings last year. St. Paul saw about 100 car-jackings.
New York
Court won’t pause Trump’s $10K-a-day fine while he appeals
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appellate court judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to halt his $10,000-a-day fine, keeping the former president’s meter running for now as he fights a lower-court decision penalizing him for failing to turn over documents in a state civil investigation.
Judge Tanya Kennedy, of the appellate division of the state’s trial court, denied Trump’s interim application to pause the fine pending his appeal. The court’s full bench will weigh in on Trump’s motion to stay the fine later this month, Kennedy said.
Trump’s attorney Alina Habba requested the stay Monday, a week after Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump for failing to comply with a subpoena issued in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ probe of his business dealings.
Habba wrote in a court filing that Engoron’s ruling was “unconscionable and indefensible.” The judge found that Trump, who is appealing the ruling, and his lawyers had failed to show they conducted a proper search for subpoenaed records.
In asking the appellate court to pause his fine, Trump sought to stop it from accruing while he seeks to overturn Engoron’s ruling — potentially saving him hundreds of thousands of dollars if the appellate court ultimately upholds the contempt finding.
Trump is also appealing Engoron’s Feb. 17 ruling requiring him to answer questions under oath. Oral arguments in that appeal are scheduled for May 11. No arguments have been scheduled in Trump’s contempt challenge.
In a written statement Tuesday, Trump, a Republican, lashed out at James and the state’s court system. He called the attorney general, who is a Black Democrat, “racist,” said the courts were “biased, unyielding, and totally unfair” and claimed to have turned over “millions of pages of documents, perhaps more than any person or entity has ever given before.”
“This is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in history, and it should not be allowed to continue,” Trump said. “The good news is, I have done nothing wrong!”
A message seeking comment was left with Habba.
James, a Democrat, asked Engoron to hold Trump in contempt after he failed to produce any documents to satisfy a March 31 deadline to meet the terms of the subpoena. She has said her investigation has found evidence that Trump may have misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade.
Habba told Engoron that she met with Trump to ensure he had no records and there were none to be found. On Friday, she submitted additional documents explaining the document search, including an affidavit in which Trump claimed he has no documents. Engoron criticized the affidavit as lacking in detail.
In seeking to halt the fine, Habba said Trump and his representatives had performed a “diligent, thorough and comprehensive search” for everything sought in the subpoena and provided complete and accurate responses to the attorney general. She said the additional submissions last week amounted to “extraordinary efforts to comply.”
“Given these circumstances, it is unconscionable and indefensible for Appellant to be held in contempt in any manner, must less at the inordinate expense of $10,000 per day,” she said.
