Lori Vallow trial – live: ‘Cult mom’ turns on Chad Daybell in closing argument as murder verdict looms

Oliver O'Connell and Rachel Sharp

The fate of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is in the hands of the jury as her dramatic murder trial draws to a close.

Closing arguments concluded in Ada County Courthouse, Boise, Idaho, and the jury of seven men and five women began deliberations on Thursday afternoon before concluding four hours later.

While the judge banned cameras from the courtroom, the hotly-anticipated verdict will be livestreamed.

Ms Vallow, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell, 49.

Tylee and JJ were last seen in September 2019. In June 2020, their remains were found buried on the Daybell property. Tammy died one month after their disappearance in October 2019.

Over the last six weeks, prosecutors laid out their case that Ms Vallow conspired with Mr Daybell and her brother Alex Cox to kill the three victims – as part of their doomsday cult beliefs and greed.

Ms Vallow, meanwhile, made the shock decision not to offer any defence in the trial. Instead, turning on Mr Daybell via her attorney during closing arguments.

Key points

Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp catalogues the most important revelations from the trial.

Lori Vallow story: Key revelations from ‘cult mom’s’ murder trial

Watch: Have Chad and Lori had any contact with each other?

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Who is Lori Vallow? ‘Doomsday cult mom’ on trial for the murders of her two children

Jury going home

01:35 , Megan Sheets

The jury has concluded its first day of deliberation, putting in just over four hours.

They will return at 9am local time (11am ET) on Friday.

Watch: What about Chad Daybell’s children?

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors assumed to have resumed deliberation

Friday 12 May 2023 00:53 , Megan Sheets

While there has been no official update from reporters inside the court, the jury is assumed to have resumed deliberation following the short dinner break.

Still no word on how long the night will go.

Lori Vallow’s disturbing texts revealed

Friday 12 May 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell exchanged texts in which they discussed inflicting pain on children and giving them “a reason to scream”, the jury at her trial for murder heard on Monday.

Read more:

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell’s disturbing texts revealed

Jurors on 15 minute dinner break

Friday 12 May 2023 00:28 , Megan Sheets

Jurors have paused deliberation for 15 minutes as they eat dinner - pizza delivered to the courthouse.

It still remains unclear when they intend to finish for the night.

We only know one side of the Lori Vallow story

Friday 12 May 2023 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

As the jury deliberates, the only story they have about what happened to Lori Vallow’s children and Tammy Daybell is the one laid out by the state of Idaho. Rachel Sharp explains.

Lori Vallow is facing life in prison for murder. We only know one side of the story

Closing argument: Vallow turns on ‘nutty’ Daybell in final bid to avoid murder conviction

Thursday 11 May 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow turned on her lover, fellow cult member and alleged accomplice Chad Daybell in a dramatic closing statement where she made a final bid to avoid life in prison for the murders of her two children and Mr Daybell’s first wife.

In Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday, Ms Vallow’s attorney Jim Archibald sought to paint her as a hardworking “good mom” whose life suddenly changed when she met Mr Daybell.

Read more:

Lori Vallow turns on ‘nutty’ Chad Daybell in final bid to avoid murder conviction

Closing argument: Lori Vallow ‘groomed’ and ‘manipulated’ Chad Daybell and Alex Cox to kill, prosecutor says

Thursday 11 May 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow “groomed” and “manipulated” her new lover Chad Daybell and brother Alex Cox to murder her two children and Mr Daybell’s first wife, according to the prosecution’s dramatic closing statement.

Read more:

Lori Vallow ‘manipulated’ Chad Daybell and Alex Cox to kill, says prosecutor

Lori Vallow trial verdict will be livestreamed

Thursday 11 May 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The judge presiding over Lori Vallow’s murder trial has ruled that the court will stream the verdict of the high-profile case once it’s reached.

The decision was made public on the fourth week of Ms Vallow’s trial over charges of conspiracy to kill her children JJ Vallow, seven; and Tylee Ryan, 16; as well as his doomsday preacher husband Chad Daybell’s wife Tammy Daybell.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Lori Vallow’s murder trial verdict will be livestreamed, judge rules

JJ’s grandfather plays his favourite song in courtroom as verdict watch continues

Thursday 11 May 2023 22:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Law&Crime Network breaks down key moment of closing arguments

Thursday 11 May 2023 22:11 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow didn’t put on a defence case, so we’ve only heard half the story

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp reports that as jurors retire for deliberations, the only story they have about what happened to her children and Tammy Daybell is the one laid out by the state of Idaho.

Lori Vallow is facing life in prison for murder. We only know one side of the story

Key evidence: Lori Vallow’s DNA found on duct tape wrapped around son JJ’s corpse

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow‘s hair was found on duct tape wrapped around the corpse of her seven-year-old son, according to new evidence presented at the start of the fifth week of her murder trial.

Read more:

Lori Vallow’s DNA found on duct tape wrapped around son JJ’s corpse, jury hears

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:14 , Oliver O'Connell

The final jury consists of seven men and five women.

Judge Boyce asks attorneys on both sides for their contact information in case something comes up.

“With that, we will be adjourned until we hear back from the jury.”

The jury is officially deliberating as of 2:13pm MT.

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:07 , Oliver O'Connell

The state rests its case.

Judge Boyce addresses the jury and reminds them that only 12 of them will deliberate.

The clerk will draw six numbers of who the alternates are. These people will go home and be dismissed but need to be reachable should they need to be recalled and cannot discuss the case until it is over.

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

“When Lori would tell her friend [Zulema] that nothing she did in this life counted for her, that she could do whatever she wanted, she made a little motion [he taps the podium and raises his hand] ‘Doesn’t count for me’.

“Well make it count for Lori Vallow that Tylee Ryan will never go to college. That her remains were buried and put in a bucket. Make it count for Lori Vallow that JJ Vallow, a boy with special needs, had a plastic bag over his head and fought for his life.

“And make it count for Lori that Tammy Daybell had to die so Lori could get to that money. Ladies and gentlemen, reason and common sense. Reason and common sense. You must convict her.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 21:03 , Oliver O'Connell

“If she didn’t intend for their children to die, what mother doesn’t go report that they are missing or dead? It makes no sense to say she is a good mom when she’s not reporting the deaths of her children or that her children are missing. She intended the deaths. You have the evidence. You must convict her.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood says: “When Chad Daybell is texting her about going into the light, we all know what that means. And what does she say? ‘Let’s not kill kids’ - no, she says, ‘That is sweet.’ Lori’s own words hold her words against her. Think about the times she says she has no more patience.”

She gets upset when the kids are at two or three per cent and not at zero, says Wood and reminds the jury she asked: “Do you think there’s a perfectly orchestrated plan to take the children?”

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood reminds the jury of the jailhouse call from Chad to Lori telling her the police are searching his property.

“You will hear the guilt and the fear in her voice because she and Chad both know what the police are going to find.”

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

He tells the jury to rewatch the body camera footage of when Lori was served the order to present her children.

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood addresses the lack of insurance policies for the children and notes that to for a policy to pay out, there needs to be a body. There could be no bodies.

“Lori was tired of the obstacles. She was tired of JJ. She didn’t want to deal with him so she found someone else who could and they buried him in the ground.”

A graphic is shown on the screen that says: “Lies Lori told - tell is what REALLY happened.”

There are 14 circles with statements in each circle. They range from Tylee Ryan attending BYU Idaho to Charles Vallow dying of a heart attack to telling Melanie Gibb that JJ was with Kay.

“Remember the last thing Summer testified to you? Her own sister? When she was asked if Lori had been honest with her about the kids? Her response was Lori had lied. Lori lied to cover her crimes. Repeatedly. Does a good mom jet off to Hawaii when the rest of the world is looking for her kids?”

“The innocent don’t need to lie. The guilty lie.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood tells the jury to listen to the call with Summer Shiflet again.

Summer brings up Lori dancing on the beach when her kids were dead. Lori says “yeah” months after this event.

Wood says it’s an admission of guilt. “She knew her children were dead because she encouraged it.”

Here’s Rachel Sharp’s report on that key bit of evidence.

Did Lori Vallow make a key confession about children’s deaths in a jail call?

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:47 , Oliver O'Connell

“When the whole word is out looking for your kids, does a good mom dance on the beach in Hawaii? No. Does a good mom bury her children in her ground and go marry a recent widower? No.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood begins: “The state has met its burden with reason and common sense… The defence says Lori Vallow is not a killer. She is a killer.”

“The defence says the math doesn’t add up. But they didn’t give you all the numbers and you know that.”

Lori was the common thread between Chad and Charles. We have proven our case. Lori believes she was getting $1M - not social security. What you see consistently is when Lori wants something she will make it happen.

She learned her lesson with Charles when she didn’t get the money. When she needed more money she went after Tylee - she killed Tylee after the money hit Lori’s bank. Same with JJ. They killed them after.

Court resumes

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce has returned to the bench and the jurors are brought back in.

Attorney Rob Wood will now give the state’s rebuttal to the defence’s closing argument.

Back in the courtroom, Lori appears to be crying

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow turns on ‘nutty’ Chad Daybell as defence makes closing arguments

Thursday 11 May 2023 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow turned on her lover, fellow cult member and alleged accomplice Chad Daybell in a dramatic closing statement where she made a final bid to avoid life in prison for the murders of her two children and Mr Daybell’s first wife.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow turns on ‘nutty’ Chad Daybell in final bid to avoid murder conviction

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald says that before Lori met Chad she believed in the compassionate Jesus who forgave sinners. He gets choked up.

“No one here thinks Lori actually killed anyone. That’s why she’s being charged with conspiracy. So they want you to be convinced that she’s part of this plan — that there’s a specific plan to kill. If you find her guilty, will that bring the kids back? Nope.

“If you find her not guilty, will that bring the kids back? Nope. You can’t be concerned about that. You need to be concerned with following the law and the lack of evidence.”

“If there is anything we’ve learned about a storm, you hide from a storm. You seek shelter from a storm. Lori spent her whole life protecting her children. Thank you again.”

The court breaks for lunch for 45 minutes.

There will then be a rebuttal from the state.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald is going full in on Chad being to blame. Is Lori a leader or just one of his followers?

“Why can’t people escape religious leaders? Why can’t Lori escape and get back to her good mom life? Lori is not a leader in Chad’s new church — the Church of the Fireborn. Lori so wants to testify for Jesus. She wants to tell the world how much she loves Jesus. She wants to tell you she personally met him on more than one occasion. But is Lori a leader or a follower of Chad? She so wants to be a leader but she’s not leading anyone. She’s following Chad. She thinks Chad is following Jesus but he’s not. He’s, unfortunately, being led by the storm — not the first guy to be led by the storm.”

We heard testimony that Lori and Chad referred to his penis as “the storm”.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald says Chad is “making it up as he goes. He can’t remember if it’s zero per cent when people die or 100 per cent when people die.”

“What’s going on in Chad’s brain? You and I wouldn’t believe it - but some people do. Some people follow religious leaders when others don’t. Was it proven who killed Tylee? No — but Alex and Chad were in the backyard. Chad had said, ‘Tylee doesn’t like me.’ ... Did they prove that Lori conspired? Of the 15,000 texts they have in evidence, show me one from Lori that says, ‘So when are you killing Tylee?’”

Archibald continues: “Was it proven who killed JJ? No but Chad got in a scratch fight with JJ the day before. Maybe those were the scratches on JJ’s neck. Alex was only at the gravesite for JJ for 17 minutes. That’s not enough time to find a board, find rocks and line them up. I’m guessing Alex had help from Chad. Of the 15,000 texts you have in evidence, show me one where Lori is part of that conspiracy. ‘When are you killing JJ by the way? There is no such text.’”

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald brings up Audrey’s testimony and says he thought she was “making up stuff.” What did we learn about her?

“That she was married to Jesus, that kind of cool. That I’ll follow you to five different states even though I didn’t really follow you.”

Archibald then apologises to the jury for getting a little “excited” with Audrey because he didn’t believe her.

“You have to sort through that and decide what is credible and not credible with these witnesses. What is real and what is imaginary?”

Audrey claimed that Lori had threatened to cut her up and bury her.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Describing Tammy’s death as “up in the air”, Archibald says: “Was she even murdered? Was it a natural death? To believe she was murdered, Chad is so smooth that he convinced a county coroner, a deputy coroner, and a police officer that it was all natural causes and convinced his kids. Remember the kids showed up, ‘Oh my. What happened to Mom.’ Chad convinced them all - Sorry kids, mom died in her sleep. Ok dad.”

“You’re being asked to convict Lori on killing Tammy when Lori’s in Hawaii. You’re being asked to convict Lori on killing Tammy when it isn’t even a homicide.”

Archibald talks about the prophecy Chad told the neighbors about - that Tammy would die before she was 50.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to the physical evidence and the autopsy pictures he is sure are burned on the juror’s brains, he zeroes in on Lori’s hair being found on the duct tape used to restrain JJ.

“Is that a smoking gun? No, not at all. Why not? Because decomposition fluid was also in that bag, the pajamas were also in that bag, kids socks were also in that bag, a kid’s blanket was also in that bag. To say Lori is a killer because they found a piece of her hair on duct tape, that’s not true. I would hope all of you who are mothers — I hope your hair is somewhere on your kid’s pajamas, socks or blanket.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald references Summer Shiflet’s testimony and the phone call.

“I have supported you your whole life. Chad has lied to you. Chad has deceived you,” he quotes.

Moving on to Alex Cox, he remind the jury that Alex was an adult man with a 16-year-old’s brain and maturity following his car accident growing up.

He also mentions that Summer testifies that Lori was a good mother.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald argues that Lori lied to protect Chad.

“How can someone have that much control over you? We’ve heard how reason and common sense go out the windows sometimes when religious principles are involved,” Archibald says.

“They say she’s cunningly coming up with a plan to knock off all these people. Why not go get insurance policies on the kids? She didn’t go get an insurance policy on the kids. Does that tell you she wasn’t planning to kill her kids or she would have gotten policies,” Archibald says.

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald says on Lori’s rental application for her Rexburg home, she listed JJ and Tylee as her kids. “Why tell everyone you had two kids? Why enroll them in school? Why hire a babysitter? The only thing that makes sense to me if she didn’t have a plan. She wanted to be with Chad. They were obviously having an affair. Chad told her all the time about life and dark things but there was no plan by Lori to kill her kids.”

Thursday 11 May 2023 19:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald talks about how Colby Ryan said his mother was a great mom who protected them from their dad, describing the phone call testimony as “painful” and choking up.

He talks about Lori’s friend from Hawaii April Ryan who declined to get involved in the gathering of the 144,000.

Archibald moves on to say how Lori has sought out a babysitter for JJ.

“If Lori has all these plans to kill her kid, why hire a babysitter and bring her over and introduce her and why check JJ into school? You’re going to kill your kid next week. Why do that? Because Lori didn’t have a plan. The state wants you to think that this was Lori’s plan to kill her kids.”

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