The mother of two children who haven't been seen since September, was denied her request for a reduction in her $5 million bail in a Hawaii court on Wednesday.
Lori Vallow, 46, was arrested last week on a $5 million warrant out of Madison County and faces multiple charges including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of children. During her court appearance Wednesday afternoon, Vallow also chose to waive extradition to "expedite her return" to Idaho "so she can defend herself against these false accusations," her attorney Craig De Costa told the court.
Vallow had sought to have her bail reduced to an amount between $2,000 and $20,000, which her attorney said is comparable for similar felonies. However, prosecutors argued that Vallow was a flight risk and had a history of defying court orders.
The judge agreed and her bail was not reduced.
De Costa says his client is looking forward to getting back to Idaho to defend herself against what he called are false allegations.
Vallow's two children, Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua "J.J." Vallow, 7, haven't been seen in months. Police have stated that Vallow and her current husband, Chad Daybell, are not cooperating with authorities in locating them.
The investigation into their disappearance began in November after police conducted a welfare check on J.J., the Rexburg Police Department said.
Authorities say Tylee was last seen alive in security camera footage at the entrance of Yellowstone National Park. A photo on Lori Vallow's iCloud account also showed the 17-year-old with her brother, mother and uncle, Alex Cox at the park that same day.
Vallow's 7-year-old, JJ, was last seen attending an elementary school in Rexburg, Idaho before she withdrew him from the school, telling school officials that JJ would be homeschooled.
The strange case also involves an investigation into three separate deaths, including one into the death of Chad Daybell's former wife, Tammy, who died unexpectedly in their Idaho home. Authorities have exhumed Tammy's body to perform an autopsy. Those results are still pending.
Vallow's estranged former husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by Lori Vallow's brother, Alex Cox. Then, Cox, who told authorities that he had killed Charles in self-defense, also died from unknown causes in December.
At some point, Lori became involved with Chad Daybell, who is the author of several religious-themed self-published fiction books, some of which that focus on near-death experiences. According to court documents obtained byThe Arizona Republic, Lori Vallow once claimed that she was a "god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020." Lori reportedly didn't want anything more to do with her family so she could better focus on her "more important mission."
Authorities initially questioned Vallow and Daybell about the two children's whereabouts in November. However, when investigators returned the next day to follow-up, they discovered the couple had fled their home in Idaho. It wasn't until January that detectives were able to track them down on Kauai.
Photos: Rexburg Police Department, Kauai Police Department