Lori Vallow trial – live: Doomsday mom texts show Chad Daybell likened himself to Harry Potter before murders

Oliver O'Connell and Rachel Sharp

The high-profile trial of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is taking a scheduled one-day break in Boise, Idaho, on Monday – after a week of upsetting and shocking revelations and bizarre insights into her beliefs and rituals.

Ms Vallow, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried on Ms Vallow’s new husband Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020.

Ms Vallow is also charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy, who died suddenly in October 2019.

She has pleaded not guilty in a dramatic case spanning multiple murders and unexplained deaths.

In court last week, jurors were shown bombshell emails and text messages between Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell as they embarked on an affair prior to allegedly conspiring to kill people in their way.

In one bizarre message, Mr Daybell compared himself to Harry Potter. “I’m a grown-up version of Harry Potter, who has to live with the Dudleys in his little space under the stairs,” he wrote in July 2019.

Key points

Lori Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing daughter

08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A former friend of Lori Vallow has revealed the “cult mom’s” chilling response after being confronted about her missing teen daughter.

Ms Vallow’s trial is in its second week at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, almost three years after she was charged with killing her son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, and daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and conspiring to murder the first wife of her doomsday preacher husband Chad Daybell.

On Friday, Ms Vallow’s former friend and former fellow cult acolyte Zulema Pastenes told the court about the ritualistic “castings” that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell performed to drive out demons from “dark spirits.”

Testifying under oath for the prosecution, Ms Pastenes opened up about Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell’s cult beliefs and their “rating system of light and dark” for how they ranked the spirits of the people around them.

Lori Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing Tylee revealed

Everything we know bout the Lori Vallow ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

It looked every inch the fairytale wedding.

Dressed in white with pink flower garlands around their necks, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier as they exchanged vows on a paradise beach in Hawaii.

Photos captured the apparently blissful day as they toasted their nuptials, embraced and she danced to him playing the guitar.

But, behind the photos, something much more disturbing was going on.

Her two children had not been seen alive in two months.

His wife of three decades – the mother of his five children – had died suddenly just two weeks earlier.

And her husband had been shot dead by her brother (who would also soon be dead) not long before.

In the three years since the November 2019 wedding of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, a deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies has come to light.

Five people close to the couple have wound up dead.

And the couple are now charged with murder.

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies and relationship with Chad Daybell

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A phone call between “cult mom” Lori Vallow and her former best friend was played in court during her ongoing trial for the murders of two of her children.

On Thursday, prosecutors played a phone conversation between Mr Daybell, Ms Vallow and her then-best friend Melanie Gibb, who was on the stand testifying for the state. In the early December 2019 call, which she recorded secretly, Ms Gibb delved into the couple’s bizarre cult beliefs and later confronted them for asking her to lie to the police about JJ’s whereabouts.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies in secret recording

Timeline of ‘doomsday cult mom’s’ case

Tuesday 18 April 2023 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

More than three years after her children were last seen alive, “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is finally on trial for their murders.

Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 8, vanished without a trace in September 2019, sparking a multi-state search while their mother appeared carefree – marrying her new husband Chad Daybell on a beach in Hawaii.

The children’s bodies were finally discovered nine months later buried in a pet cemetery on Mr Daybell’s property in Idaho.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Timeline of the Lori Vallow Daybell case

Chad Daybell warned Lori Vallow of police searching his property in jailhouse phone call

Monday 17 April 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned “cult mom” Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her children’s remains were discovered buried on his property.

In the call, made on 9 June 2020 and played in court during Ms Vallow’s high-profile double murder trial on Wednesday, Mr Daybell is heard telling his new wife that law enforcement were on the scene searching his property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Brandon Boudreaux breaks down speaking about children’s remains

Monday 17 April 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow’s former nephew-in-law broke down in tears on the witness stand as he testified about the moment he had to identify the remains of her murdered seven-year-old son.

During an emotional first day of testimony in Ms Vallow’s murder trial on Monday, Brandon Boudreaux told jurors about the moment that he learned Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan’s remains had been found buried on Chad Daybell’s property.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow’s nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux breaks down at murder trial

Lori Vallow trial hears horrifying details of her children’s murders

Monday 17 April 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Graphic photos shown at “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s murder trial revealed how her slain son JJ was still wearing his red pyjamas and a nighttime diaper when his remains were found buried in a shallow grave on Chad Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Joshua “JJ” Vallow was last seen alive on 22 September 2019.

Lori Vallow’s son JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper

Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home

Monday 17 April 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the first detectives investigating the disappearance of “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s son and daughter has revealed the alarming items discovered in her home months before the children were found murdered.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home weeks after murders

Last week: Vallow abruptly leaves court after trial hears of discovery of children’s bodies

Monday 17 April 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow suddenly left the room where she is standing trial for the murders of her daughter and son after the court heard graphic details on how the children’s remains were recovered in a pet cemetery.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Lori Vallow abruptly leaves court after trial hears grisly details about crime scene

Tammy Daybell murder revealed as asphyxiation

Monday 17 April 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The cause of death of Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy has finally been revealed as “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s high-profile murder trial gets underway in Idaho.

In opening statements in Ada County Courthouse on Monday morning, Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake told jurors that Tammy, 49, died by asphyxiation – and not peacefully in her sleep as was originally claimed.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Lori Vallow trial hears how Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy was killed

Listen: Full audio of Friday’s testimony

Monday 17 April 2023 17:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Listen to a full audio recording of Friday’s testimony courtesy of Law & Crime:

Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder her children, prosecutor says

Monday 17 April 2023 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow was driven by “money, power and sex” to murder her two children and her new husband’s then-wife, prosecutors told her murder trial.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Lori Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder kids, prosecutor says

Former friend says ‘doomsday cult mom’ saw her children’s murders as ‘mercy'

Monday 17 April 2023 15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow allegedly killed her two children in what she believed was an act of “mercy,” her former friend has said.

Ms Vallow and her doomsday preacher husband Chad Daybell are accused of killing her two youngest children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow. Ms Vallow is currently facing trial in Boise, Idaho, while Mr Daybell’s proceedings are scheduled for later this year.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Lori Vallow saw her children’s murders as ‘mercy’, former friend says

Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing daughter

Monday 17 April 2023 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A former friend of Lori Vallow has revealed the “cult mom’s” chilling response after being confronted about her missing teen daughter.

Ms Vallow’s trial is in its second week at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, almost three years after she was charged with killing her son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, and daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and conspiring to murder the first wife of her doomsday preacher husband Chad Daybell.

On Friday, Ms Vallow’s former friend and former fellow cult acolyte Zulema Pastenes told the court about the ritualistic “castings” that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell performed to drive out demons from “dark spirits.”

Testifying under oath for the prosecution, Ms Pastenes opened up about Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell’s cult beliefs and their “rating system of light and dark” for how they ranked the spirits of the people around them.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Lori Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing Tylee revealed

Chad Daybell compared himself to Harry Potter in 2019 text

Monday 17 April 2023 13:56 , Rachel Sharp

In court last week, jurors were shown bombshell emails and text messages between Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell as they embarked on an affair prior to allegedly conspiring to kill people in their way.

In one bizarre message, Mr Daybell compared himself to Harry Potter.

“I’m a grown-up version of Harry Potter, who has to live with the Dudleys in his little space under the stairs,” he wrote in July 2019.

“Every few weeks I get to escape and have these amazing adventures with my Goddess lover, but then I have to return to my life under the stairs feeling trapped.”

Full timeline of Lori Vallow case

Monday 17 April 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp assembled a timeline of the tragic and bizarre case:

Timeline of the Lori Vallow case

Vallow confronted by best friend’s secret recording

Monday 17 April 2023 10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A phone call between “cult mom” Lori Vallow and her former best friend was played in court during her ongoing trial for the murders of two of her children.

The trial of Ms Vallow, 49, continues at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, almost three years after she was charged with killing her son Joshua “JJ” Vallow and daughter Tylee Ryan and conspiring to murder her doomsday preacher’s husband Chad Daybell’s first wife.

On Thursday, prosecutors played a phone conversation between Mr Daybell, Ms Vallow and her then-best friend Melanie Gibb, who was on the stand testifying for the state.

In the early December 2019 call, which she recorded secretly, Ms Gibb delved into the couple’s bizarre cult beliefs and later confronted them for asking her to lie to the police about JJ’s whereabouts.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies in secret recording

Chad Daybell warned Lori Vallow on day children’s remains were found

Monday 17 April 2023 09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned “cult mom” Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her children’s remains were discovered buried on his property.

In the call, made on 9 June 2020 and played in court during Ms Vallow’s high-profile double murder trial on Wednesday, Mr Daybell is heard telling his new wife that law enforcement were on the scene searching his property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Rachel Sharp has the details.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Buried in pyjamas and burned beyond recognition

Monday 17 April 2023 08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Graphic photos shown at “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s murder trial revealed how her slain son JJ was still wearing his red pyjamas and a nighttime diaper when his remains were found buried in a shallow grave on Chad Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Joshua “JJ” Vallow was last seen alive on 22 September 2019.

The last proof of life showed the little boy, who had autism, sitting on a sofa dressed in a matching set of red pyjamas.

Nine months later – on June 2020 – remains belonging to him and his 16-year-old sister Tylee Ryan were found buried on the grounds of their mother’s new husband’s property.

Lori Vallow’s son JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper

ICYMI: Brandon Boudreaux breaks down speaking about children’s remains

Monday 17 April 2023 06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow’s former nephew-in-law broke down in tears on the witness stand as he testified about the moment he had to identify the remains of her murdered seven-year-old son.

Read more:

Lori Vallow’s nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux breaks down at murder trial

How did Chad Daybell’s wife die?

Monday 17 April 2023 05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The cause of death of Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy has finally been revealed as “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s high-profile murder trial gets underway in Idaho.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow trial hears how Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy was killed

Lori Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder kids, prosecutor says

Monday 17 April 2023 03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow was driven by “money, power and sex” to murder her two children and her new husband’s then-wife, prosecutors told her murder trial in their opening statement.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder kids, prosecutor says

Former friend says ‘doomsday cult mom’ saw her children’s murders as ‘mercy’

Monday 17 April 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow allegedly killed her two children in what she believed was an act of “mercy,” her former friend has said.

Lori Vallow saw her children’s murders as ‘mercy’, former friend says

Everything we know so far about the Vallow-Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

Sunday 16 April 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

It looked every inch the fairytale wedding.

Dressed in white with pink flower garlands around their necks, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier as they exchanged vows on a paradise beach in Hawaii.

Photos captured the apparently blissful day as they toasted their nuptials, embraced and she danced to him playing the guitar.

But, behind the photos, something much more disturbing was going on.

Her two children had not been seen alive in two months.

His wife of three decades – the mother of his five children – had died suddenly just two weeks earlier.

And her husband had been shot dead by her brother (who would also soon be dead) not long before.

In the three years since the November 2019 wedding of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, a deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies has come to light.

Five people close to the couple have wound up dead.

And the couple are now charged with murder.

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

Timeline of ‘doomsday cult mom’s’ mystery case

Sunday 16 April 2023 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp pieced together a timeline of the tragic and bizarre case:

Timeline of the Lori Vallow case

Secret recording: Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies and relationship with Chad Daybell

Sunday 16 April 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A phone call between “cult mom” Lori Vallow and her former best friend was played in court during her ongoing trial for the murders of two of her children.

The trial of Ms Vallow, 49, continues at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, almost three years after she was charged with killing her son Joshua “JJ” Vallow and daughter Tylee Ryan and conspiring to murder her doomsday preacher’s husband Chad Daybell’s first wife.

On Thursday, prosecutors played a phone conversation between Mr Daybell, Ms Vallow and her then-best friend Melanie Gibb, who was on the stand testifying for the state. In the early December 2019 call, which she recorded secretly, Ms Gibb delved into the couple’s bizarre cult beliefs and later confronted them for asking her to lie to the police about JJ’s whereabouts.

Andrea Blanco has the details.

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies in secret recording

Some of the key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial so far

Sunday 16 April 2023 08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

After lengthy delays – due to the pandemic and Ms Vallow’s admission into a mental health facility – her trial is finally under way in a courtroom in Boise, Idaho.

Here are the some of the key revelations from the trial – so far:

Cult beliefs and charred remains: Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Jailhouse call reveals Chad Daybell warning Lori Vallow as police searched graves

Sunday 16 April 2023 04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned “cult mom” Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her children’s remains were discovered buried on his property.

In the call, made on 9 June 2020 and played in court during Ms Vallow’s high-profile double murder trial on Wednesday, Mr Daybell is heard telling his new wife that law enforcement were on the scene searching his property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home

Sunday 16 April 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the first detectives investigating the disappearance of “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s son and daughter has revealed the alarming items discovered in her home months before the children were found murdered.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home weeks after murders

Lori Vallow trial hears horror of her children’s murders

Saturday 15 April 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Graphic photos shown at “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s murder trial revealed how her slain son JJ was still wearing his red pyjamas and a nighttime diaper when his remains were found buried in a shallow grave on Chad Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Joshua “JJ” Vallow was last seen alive on 22 September 2019.

The last proof of life showed the little boy, who had autism, sitting on a sofa dressed in a matching set of red pyjamas.

Nine months later – on June 2020 – remains belonging to him and his 16-year-old sister Tylee Ryan were found buried on the grounds of their mother’s new husband’s property.

Read more:

Lori Vallow’s son JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper

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