Current:Home > InvestLori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children -ProfitPoint
Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children
View
Date:2025-04-28 00:26:17
An Idaho mother is set to learn her fate after being convicted in the murders of her two youngest children.
Lori Vallow Daybell will return to court in eastern Idaho's Fremont County on Monday for a sentencing hearing, according to Boise ABC affiliate KIVI-TV. She faces up to life in prison without parole. In March, before the trial began, a judge granted the defense's motion to dismiss the death penalty in her case.
Lori and her husband, Chad Daybell, were both charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the 2019 deaths of her two youngest children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua "J.J." Vallow. The children were last seen alive in September 2019 and were reported missing by extended family members that November. Their remains were found on Chad's property in Fremont County in June 2020, according to authorities.
MORE: Juror in murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell breaks silence
The couple were also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Chad's ex-wife, 49-year-old Tamara Daybell, who died of asphyxiation of in October 2019, less than a month before Lori and Chad married. Chad was also charged with his former wife's murder.
Both Lori and Chad pleaded not guilty to their charges. In April, a Fremont County judge allowed their cases to be tried separately, with Lori's first and Chad's expected to start at a later date.
Lori was deemed fit to stand trial last year following a 10-month stint at an Idaho mental health facility. Her defense attorneys had said they did not plan to raise a mental health defense at the guilt-phase portion of the trial.
MORE: Lori Vallow Daybell found guilty in murder of her 2 children
During Lori's six-week trial, prosecutors argued that she and her husband thought the children were zombies and murdered them. Chad has authored many religious fiction books and is Lori's fifth husband. The couple both reportedly adhered to a doomsday ideology, with Lori at one point claiming she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020" and didn't want anything to do with her family "because she had a more important mission to carry out," according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
The defense characterized Lori as a devoted mother who loved her children and Jesus, but that all changed near the end of 2018 when she met Chad.
Prosecutors argued that Lori set a plan for the children's murder in motion in October 2018 "using money, power and sex," and that she and her husband "used religion to manipulate others." Lori was additionally charged with grand theft related to Social Security survivor benefits allocated for the care of her children that prosecutors said were appropriated after they were reported missing and ultimately found dead. Meanwhile, Chad was additionally charged with two counts of insurance fraud related to life insurance policies he had on Tamara for which prosecutors said he was the beneficiary.
MORE: A string of family deaths surround tragedy of Lori Vallow’s children
Prosecutors also shared photographs of Lori and Chad dancing on a beach during their wedding in Hawaii when her children's bodies were buried in his backyard.
In May, a 12-member jury reached a verdict after two days of deliberations, finding Lori guilty on all charges. The defense declined to comment on the verdict at the time.
ABC News' John Capell and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- National Croissant Day 2024: Burger King's special breakfast offer plus other deals
- ‘Pandemic of snow’ in Anchorage sets a record for the earliest arrival of 100 inches of snow
- WWE's CM Punk suffered torn triceps at Royal Rumble, will miss WrestleMania 40
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Heart and Cheap Trick team up for Royal Flush concert tour: 'Can't wait'
- A sex educator on the one question she is asked the most: 'Am I normal?'
- King Charles III Out of Hospital After Corrective Procedure
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches were never tested for lead, FDA reports
Ranking
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Lions fan Eminem flips off 49ers fans in stands during NFC championship game
- Toyota urges owners of old Corolla, Matrix and RAV4 models to park them until air bags are replaced
- The mothers of two teenage boys killed as they left a Chicago high school struggle with loss
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Cher dealt another blow in her request for temporary conservatorship over her son
- Murder suspect recaptured by authorities: Timeline of Shane Pryor's escape in Philadelphia
- IMF sketches a brighter view of global economy, upgrading growth forecast and seeing lower inflation
Recommendation
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
Iranian man and 2 Canadians are charged in a murder-for-hire plot on US soil
Amber Alert issued for 5-year-old girl believed to be with father accused in mother’s death
Olivia Culpo Celebrates Fiancé Christian McCaffrey After Win Secures Spot in 2024 Super Bowl
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Man gets 40 years to life for shooting bishop and assaulting the bride and groom at a wedding
Georgia state trooper dies after hitting interstate embankment while trying to make traffic stop
Colombia and the National Liberation Army rebels extend ceasefire for a week as talks continue