Verdict reached in ‘doomsday cult mom’ Lori Vallow’s murder trial

A verdict has been reached in the murder trial of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow.

The 49-year-old mother-of-three is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy  to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7.

She is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell, 49.

JJ and Tylee vanished without a trace back in September 2019, with their mother refusing to reveal their whereabouts to authorities for months.

Nine months later in June 2020, the children’s remains were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.

JJ, who had autism, had been smothered with a plastic bag taped over his mouth, his little body still dressed in a pair of red pyjamas.

Tylee’s cause of death has been impossible to establish as the teenager’s dismembered, charred bones and body parts were found scattered in the ground on Mr Daybell’s pet cemetery.

One month after the children were last seen alive, Tammy – an otherwise healthy 49-year-old – also died suddenly.

Her death was initially ruled natural causes before authorities grew suspicious and exhumed her body that December for an autopsy. The autopsy revealed that she had actually died by asphyxiation.

Following a dramatic six-week trial and almost seven hours of deliberations, jurors informed the court on Friday morning that they had reached a verdict on all charges.

The verdict will be read out in Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, at 12.45pm local time.

Over the course of the trial, jurors heard from over 60 state witnesses as prosecutors laid out their case that Vallow was motivated by both her doomsday cult beliefs but also by her lust for Mr Daybell and financial greed when she conspired with him and her brother Alex Cox to kill the three victims.

Jurors then heard from zero defence witnesses after Ms Vallow’s attorneys made the bombshell move on Tuesday to announce that they would not be giving any defence case or calling any witnesses.

During closing arguments on Thursday, prosecutors argued that Ms Vallow was driven by “money, power and sex” to kill the three victims – and then steal their money when they were dead.

Prosecutor Rob Wood argued that Ms Vallow was the ringleader of the murderous plot, and that she “groomed” and “manipulated” both Mr Daybell and Cox to commit the murders.

“They used religion as a tool to manipulate others. Lori manipulated Alex Cox through religion,” he said.

“She manipulated Chad through emotional and sexual control.”

Jurors heard how Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell met at a religious conference in October 2018 when they were both married and began an affair.

The couple’s beliefs became more extreme, believing that they were on a religious mission to gather the 144,000 and that there was a “rating system of light and dark” for the spirits of the people around them.

In the weeks and months before the murders, Ms Vallow allegedly told friends JJ and Tylee had become “demons”.

Prosecutors said that Ms Vallow used these beliefs to “justify” the murders of her children and love rival.

Mr Wood argued that the murders were “premeditated” and “planned” – pointing to evidence including the stash of burner phones the three alleged accomplices had, Cox’s practice at a shooting range prior to a botched attempt on Tammy’s life and what he said was a deliberate plan for Ms Vallow to be in Hawaii at the time of Tammy’s murder.

Days before each child was killed, Ms Vallow then allegedly altered their Social Security payments so that the money would be paid directly into her accounts.

After the horrific murders, Ms Vallow flew to Hawaii to marry Mr Daybell on a beach.

“When the whole word is out looking for your kids, does a good mom dance on the beach in Hawaii?” asked Mr Wood.

In the closing rebuttal, Mr Wood hammered the point home that Ms Vallow was the “one common thread” tying all the suspects and killings together.

“The evidence in this case points to one common thread and that thread is Lori Vallow,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the defence’s closing statement, Ms Vallow’s attorneys flipped the narrative, arguing that – instead of being the leader – Ms Vallow was the “follower” of her new lover Mr Daybell.

In what marked the first time Ms Vallow has turned on her lover, her attorney Jim Archibald sought to paint her as a hardworking “good mom” whose life suddenly changed when she met Mr Daybell.

“One year after meeting Chad, four people are dead,” said Mr Archibald.

The defence attorney argued that “the story about Lori Vallow changes dramatically in October 2018” when she met Mr Daybell in person for the first time at a religious conference.

From then on, he claims that Ms Vallow was “under the control” of the doomsday author, under the spell of the “craziness” of his cult beliefs.

“Why can’t people escape religious leaders? Why can’t Lori escape and get back to her good mom life?” he asked.

The defence attorney went on to blame the murders of Tylee and JJ squarely on Mr Daybell and Cox saying that there was no evidence placing Ms Vallow at any of the three murders or on Mr Daybell’s property when the children were buried there.

“Look for the lack of evidence of who’s doing what,” he said.

Ms Vallow faces life in prison on the charges while her alleged co-conspirators are yet to face justice.

Mr Daybell was due to stand trial with Ms Vallow but the cases were severed weeks before her day in court.

He is now due to stand trial in 2024 over the three murders.

Meanwhile, Cox died before he could ever stand trial.

On 11 December 2019 – hours after Tammy’s body was exhumed – he died suddenly at the age of 51. His death was also ruled natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs. However the overdose drug Narcan was also found in his system.

Separate to the Idaho case, Ms Vallow is also facing charges in Arizona of conspiring with Cox to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow.

Vallow was shot dead by Cox in Arizona in July 2019.