Doomsday mom Lori Vallow Daybell found guilty of murder & conspiracy plot to kill her husband’s first wife as part of an extreme religious cult as the couple sought to start a new life.
It took just seven hours for a Idaho jury to find ‘Doomsday Mom’, Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of murder and conspiracy in a plot that resulted in the deaths of her two children and her third husband’s first wife.
Vallow Daybell, 49, was found guilty of killing her two children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, seven, in a trial that lasted over six weeks which documented a ‘sick and religious’ plot leading up to their September, 2019 deaths.
Vallow was also found guilty of plotting to kill her husband Chad Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, 49. The woman was found deceased at the couple’s Salem home in October, 2019. Daybell, who denies murder charges, will be tried separately.
Tammy Daybell died in her sleep in October 2019 – Vallow Daybell married Daybell weeks later.
The Doomsday Mom was also found guilty of multiple counts of grand theft by deception and grand theft.
The children’s remains were unearthed in the backyard of Vallow Daybell’s third husband, doomsday author Chad Daybell, in June 2020. Along with murder charges, and plotting to kill his wife of thirty years, Chad Daybell is charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction; alteration or concealment of evidence; and two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
Determined to ‘remove any obstacle in her way’
Within days of Tammy’s funeral, Lori and Chad decamped to Hawaii, where they were married and lived for several weeks before authorities tracked them down in January.
The prosecution described Vallow as a woman who would ‘remove any obstacle in her way’ and would use ‘money, power, and sex to get what she wanted.’
People familiar with the couple, described them as doomsday cult members with extreme religious beliefs, East Idaho News reported.
Witnesses testified the couple being deeply involved in a doomsday belief system, claiming they were seeing ‘zombies’ and demonic possession all around them.
The couple ‘did endorse and espouse religious beliefs for the purpose of’ justifying or encouraging the killings of the children and Tammy Daybell, the May 2021 indictment stated.
Vallow’s defense team, argued she was a ‘kind and loving mother to her children’ who happened to take an interest in religion and biblical prophecies about the end of the world.
What missing children?
Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood told jurors that Vallow Daybell repeatedly lied about her children’s whereabouts even after she missed a court-appointed deadline to produce them safely.
Prosecutors argued that Vallow Daybell killed the children so that she and Chad could start a new, unrestricted life together.
A jury convicted Lori Vallow Daybell in the murders of her kids, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow. She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband’s first wife, who she viewed as a romantic rival. pic.twitter.com/kUube4JKF8
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 12, 2023
Romantic rival
Text messages read in court revealed how the couple planned to ’cause pain’ to Tylee and J.J., as well as Vallow Daybell’s older son.
Her defense attorney Jim Archibold, however, countered that Chad manipulated Vallow Daybell with his apocalyptic teachings.
‘She wanted to be with Chad. They were obviously having an affair…But there was no plan by Lori to kill her kids,’ Archibold told the court.
Because of new evidence that was discovered too late to be presented at trial, Vallow Daybell is not facing the death penalty.
Daybell will be tried on similar charges at a later date.
Following the verdict reading, the judge explained that Vallow Daybell would be remanded to custody as she awaits sentencing, though no date has been set for the hearing.
In a statement, Madison and Fremont County prosecutors said they were ‘very pleased’ with the jury’s decision.
‘We want to reassure each of you that we remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell,’ they wrote, while explaining that they could not offer further comment due to the pending charges against Chad.
Vallow faces life in prison when sentenced.
