Growing up in the small town of St. Anthony, Idaho, Lindsey Blake (JD '08) never expected that a homicide case in the area would make international headlines and inspire a movie and documentary—or that she would be a prosecutor on that case.
Taking the lead on the Vallow-Daybell case
In fall 2019, family members reported that 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow, children of Idaho woman Lori Vallow Daybell, were missing. Vallow Daybell and her partner, Chad Daybell, would not cooperate with law enforcement to find the children and fled to Hawaii.
While looking for the children, investigators discovered that Vallow Daybell and Daybell's spouses died suspiciously shortly before and after Ryan and Vallow disappeared. They then determined that Daybell's wife, Tammy, had died by asphyxiation (ruled a homicide) and Vallow Daybell's husband, Charles Vallow, had been shot and killed by her brother.
At the time, Blake had recently taken a position at the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office's Major Crimes Unit. The children's disappearances and subsequent discoveries about the spouses' homicides were already sparking conversation among Blake's friends and coworkers, who knew she was from Fremont County, Idaho.
"Even though Fremont County is small, not everyone knows everyone. But people would say, 'Do you know these missing kids? Lori? Chad?' The names didn't ring a bell for me," Blake recalls. "I remember thinking that the kids would be found—because so often they are—and there would be some crazy explanation but that it would be OK."
Soon, however, friends in Fremont County started contacting her to ask if she'd consider running for prosecutor in the next election.
"The current prosecutor had sent Tammy's case to the attorney general for special prosecution, which was one of the contentious issues. People were frustrated that we'd lost local control, and there was a push to bring that control back," Blake says. "The kids hadn't been found yet, and Madison County was working an abandonment charge against Vallow Daybell, bringing her back from Hawaii."
Blake ultimately decided to return to St. Anthony, Idaho, the city she was raised in. She won the primary election in May 2020 and knew she would be the incoming prosecutor, as no other candidates opposed her. One month later, Ryan and Vallow's bodies were found on Daybell's property in Fremont County.
"After I learned I was the incoming prosecutor for Fremont County and the children had been found there, I started preparations to potentially take over the case. I worked with the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office for a few months to get familiar with the case (since they were handling the disposal of the children’s remains as special prosecutors for Fremont County)," Blake explains. "It quickly became apparent that the homicide of the children and Tammy should be one case. I met with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office before making a decision to try to take the cases back and combine them into one, and they were extremely supportive."
When Blake took office in January 2021 and assumed the case, Madison County agreed to help with manpower and resources. Prosecutors were cross-deputized to work as Fremont County deputy prosecutors, and Fremont County was then able to seat a grand jury.
"I was involved from the beginning in relation to the murder and conspiracy-to-commit-murder charges," she recalls. "The community as a whole was supportive of the decision to take back the Daybell case."
Over the past four years, Blake has been involved in trials for both Vallow Daybell—who was also tried in Arizona—and Daybell, which she says has required a demanding schedule.
"We have a really small office, and it can be hard to keep it staffed with attorneys. During the Vallow-Daybell case, I was carrying more than a full caseload compared to what most attorneys would carry. I had the full felony and the full juvenile calendar for the bulk of those cases, and I had one attorney helping me with misdemeanors and infractions," she says. "It was definitely a challenge to make sure we're serving the needs of the community and also giving a case that required a lot of attention as much attention as we possibly could."
Though she has found the work as Fremont County prosecutor rewarding, Blake says she didn't anticipate the case becoming personal for those following it around the world.
"I truly thought the Vallow-Daybell case would die down when I took it over, because the kids' bodies had been found and I knew the results of Tammy Daybell's autopsy. Given the nature of the charges, I felt there was a good chance that we could resolve the matters without going to trial," she recalls. "I was surprised by how many people tuned into the case and felt some investment in it."
Exploring a criminal law education
Blake credits her grandfather with helping her decide on a career in law years ago.
"One day he said something like, 'You like to talk a lot, and you like to argue. Maybe you should think about being a lawyer.' It stuck with me, because I have no ties to law at all, but I was always interested in true crime," she says. "My initial thought was to try to get into the FBI and do criminal profiling, so I wanted to get a law degree to be selected as a special agent."
She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Idaho State University and applied to several law schools, including the one in her home state and in Oregon and New York, but she hadn't made a decision.
"My dad asked whether I'd thought about applying to Utah Law, and I overnighted my application to get it there in time. When I was accepted, it seemed like the right choice," Blake remembers. "I liked Salt Lake as a community and had relatives in the area, so I would have a family connection. It was a shorter distance than any other law school from my hometown, and the criminal law program was really good."
Once she began attending the College of Law, Blake was happy with the small class sizes, which she hadn't considered when applying for schools.
"You get a better, more individualized experience with smaller class sizes and meet the professors and fellow students and make connections. I was impressed that Utah Law didn't jam-pack the class to try to weed students out," she says. "Utah seemed to encompass the idea that if they accepted you, they decided you'd be a good attorney and good for the program. They tried to keep people in and offer support and encouragement and did a wonderful job of being inclusive."
Professor Linda Smith selected Blake for a negotiation team competition—"I was shocked that she would pick me, but I thought she was a phenomenal person," Blake says—and Professor Jensie Anderson also stands out from her time in law school. Blake remembers taking a victim rights class from Professor Paul Cassell and completing internships with both the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center and the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, as she was still interested in criminal law.
Serving the West in public interest law
After graduating from the S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2007, Blake worked in civil practice for a year before taking a position as a deputy public defender in Bannock County, Idaho, where she worked for six years.
"I liked the fast pace of it. I like a lot of moving parts and cases and to have them moving quickly so I can be in the courtroom. I knew in the public sector, I would be able to dive in head first," she says. "I had always been interested in working in the public sector so I could get experience quickly."
While working as a waitress before law school, Blake remembers chatting with a customer about her plans to become a prosecutor, saying she didn't know if she could defend someone she thought was guilty.
"I'll never forget this: They turned to me and said, 'What if you had to prosecute someone you thought was innocent?'" she says. "That comment opened my mind. The only way our system really functions is for someone to represent a client and do a good job. Your client may be the worst of the worst, but they are still someone's brother or sister or mom or dad. They still matter to someone, and they're still a person."
Blake next decided to try working as a prosecutor and took a position in Sublett County, Wyoming.
"When I was a public defender, I thought they didn't need so many prosecutors and that those prosecutors didn't have to meet with clients. Jumping to the other side, though, I saw so many behind-the-scenes things that gave me much more respect for them," she recalls. "The victims and law enforcement and many different people are pulling them in a million directions. It was a real eye-opener for me."
A Utah Law classmate offered her a job as chief deputy prosecutor in Teton County, Idaho, where she worked for two years before moving to the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office's Major Crimes Unit and, shortly, Fremont County, Idaho.
"As a prosecutor, you have more power to make decisions you think may be beneficial for individuals and sometimes the community as a whole. I think that's what these public service jobs should be about. It shouldn't be a notch on a belt for a victory. It should be about making a positive influence for someone. If you did that, it's a win," Blake says.
Though her job in public service has its challenges, Blake still recalls those she has met over the years who've made changes as a result of their interactions with her.
"One guy in Sublett County had multiple DUIs, and I told him he would have to plead guilty to the DUI. But to his credit, I would go into the gas station where he worked and he would go out of his way to update me on his life. He was getting treatment and doing well and was so thankful," she says. "Another woman had two back-to-back DUIs but had some things in her past that made me think recommending probation was appropriate. She went out of her way to tell me how much it meant to hear the prosecutor—not just her attorney—stand up and advocate for her. She has gotten treatment, and her life is going so much better."
Hearing these stories makes Blake grateful to be in a position to make a difference for someone.
"Even though you can't ever make things right for a victim, having them tell you that you helped them in some way—whether it's getting closure, being an ear for them, making a positive impact, or helping them get their life on a better course for healing—makes this job rewarding," she says.
Returning to her roots
East Idaho continues to be home for Blake, who was recently reelected to her position as Fremont County prosecutor.
"It's rewarding to be able to serve the community where I grew up. I had a good childhood and good memories from growing up here," she says. "St. Anthony has been supportive of me coming back. I don't know what the future will bring, but I'm definitely here for another four years."