Chad Daybell pleads not guilty to all charges, including murder of Lori Vallow's children and his first wife

Chad Daybell pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder and conspiracy charges he faces in connection with the deaths of his first wife and the two children of his current wife, Lori Vallow.

Idaho 7th Judicial District Magistrate Judge Steven W. Boyce said that a scheduling conference would take place in two weeks to determine a date for the start of Daybell's trial. He could face a death sentence, the judge said.

A grand jury in Idaho indicted Daybell and Vallow last month on murder charges in connection with the deaths of Vallow's two children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow. Daybell is also charged with murder in the case of his first wife, Tammy, who died in her sleep in October 2019, a few weeks before Daybell got remarried to Vallow.

"This whole process is really hard," Colby Ryan, the children's older brother, said after Daybell's plea, according to East Idaho News. "We've all had to go through it but he's going to say what he's going to say. He's going to lie about it. From the beginning, they have lied about it. So, there's nothing you can do about it."

Ryan said he's been holding on to the good memories of his siblings and the "normal days, waking up, especially in the summer .. swimming, enjoying each other. That's what I hold on to."

Kay Woodcock, JJ's biological grandmother, who was also present Wednesday, called Daybell a "liar."

"I'm glad that we're moving on to the next step," Woodcock said after the hearing. "I think he should just give it up. How do you have two kids in your backyard and you don't know anything about it."