BOISE, Idaho — The first day of trial began this morning, and Lori Vallow Daybell is facing multiple murder charges dating back to 2019.
This case has captivated the nation and is today is getting started today with jury selection.
Our Idaho News 6 team spoke to a local lawyer David Leroy, the former Idaho Attorney General, regarding how jury selection can play out and why the process will take several days.
"Never been done in the history of Idaho jurisprudence previously," said Leroy.
An unprecedented case in Ada county, the highly-anticipated murder trial for Lori Vallow Daybell is finally getting started more than three years after her initial arrest.
The defendant is accused of murdering her two children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, and taking part in the murder of her husband chads ex-wife, Tammy Daybell.
The first step of the trial is jury selection… and for a case of this magnitude, an unorthodox process polling a massive number of potential jurors ahead of formal questioning.
"Written questionnaires are a bit unusual, and certainly 1800 prospective jurors are outrageously unusual," said Leroy.
Leroy predicts due to the amount of public knowledge of the case, it's likely to take the majority of the first week to finalize the 12 jurors and six alternates.
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"We have the springboard of the questionnaires from which we can begin to make assumptions," said David Leroy.
Leroy also feels that both jury selection and the trial will move faster now that the Judge has removed the death penalty as an option.
RELATED | RELATED | Death penalty no longer an option for Lori Vallow Daybell
During the trial, no cameras will be allowed in the courtroom. The public can watch proceedings in person at the Ada County Courthouse, where they will offer additional seating in an overflow room. Those who would like to attend have to send an e-mail request one day in advance of the day they want to attend.
Idaho News 6 will have full coverage through the entire trial.
