Judge Steven Boyce granted the request to move the trial for Chad Daybell out of the Seventh Judicial District and Ada County is suggested to be the location for the trial.
The motion to change the location was filed on July 21, 2021, with court documents saying "a fair and impartial jury trial cannot be had in Fremont County nor within the Seventh Judicial District of the State of Idaho." Boyce held a hearing on October 5 and the court considered the testimony, admitted exhibits and argument of counsel.
Court documents state the extensive pre-trial publicity related to Daybell and Lori Vallow has "tainted the prospective jury pool of both Fremont County and the entire Seventh Judicial District." According to the court documents, hundreds of news stories have been published locally and nationally since December 2019.
Potential jurors may also be impacted by media coverage related to Lori Vallow, a co-defendant in the case, and her pending murder case in Arizona.
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Prosecutors filed their motion of intent to seek the death penalty against Daybell in August. Daybell waived his right to a speedy trial according to court documents posted on August 24.
The conclusion of the court document says the motion to change venue is granted and that the case will move out of the Seventh Judicial District. The court also recommends that Judge Boyce continues the assignment over the case.
A trial date for Daybell has not been set. Vallow's case remains on hold after she was committed to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare when she was deemed unfit for trial.
