Lori Vallow’s husband Chad Daybell slapped with new charges in death of two missing children

Doomsday writer Chad Daybell, the Idaho man accused of helping his wife hide her children’s corpses for months, appeared in a virtual court hearing Wednesday afternoon after being hit with two new charges in the case.

The 51-year-old husband of “cult mom” Lori Vallow was mostly silent as Judge Faren Eddins read a newly amended complaint against him, including charges that could result in up to 20 years in prison.

Daybell was arrested last month after remains of the two long-missing kids were found buried on his Fremont County property, ending a frantic search in a sensational case that involves several mysterious deaths, beliefs about zombies and an obsession with the end of the world.

The Latter-day Saints author, who’s written multiple novels, was initially charged with two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, but prosecutors on Tuesday added two conspiracy charges to the list. Each charge carries a penalty of up to five years behind bars and could run consecutively.

Vallow, 47, was jailed in February after blowing off a court-ordered deadline to produce 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, whose bodies were eventually unearthed from Daybell’s backyard. The woman has been charged with felony desertion and nonsupport of dependent children; conspiracy to destroy, alter or conceal evidence; and several misdemeanor offenses.

Daybell’s next hearing was scheduled for Aug. 3 while Vallow is set to return on Aug. 10. Each is being held on $1 million bail.

The young siblings went missing last fall and the multi-state search that ensued captured the attention of Idaho and much of the country, particularly because of the shocking rumors about the couple’s ties to a doomsday cult.

Emails attributed to Vallow and Daybell appear to suggest the couple believes Jesus Christ is returning this month. The messages also show them discussing “seven missions to accomplish together,” including “white camps” in Arizona, supplying provisions for “righteous members of families” and food distribution for the tribulations.

The timeline of mysterious deaths surrounding Lori Vallow

Meanwhile, authorities are also investigating the death of Daybell’s former wife, Tammy, who died two weeks before he married Vallow last year.

Also in 2019, Vallow’s former husband, Charles, was fatally shot by her brother, Alex Cox, during a fight last summer. Cox, who claimed self-defense and was never charged, was found dead in his Arizona home months later.

The scandalous case also includes a bitter divorce battle involving Lori and Charles Vallow. The woman once tried to lock him out of his own life insurance policy to stop him from removing her as his beneficiary. Court documents show that he accused her of becoming “infatuated at times obsessive about near death experiences and spiritual visions.”