On Monday, Lori was sentenced to multiple consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
Content warning: This story contains disturbing details.
Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, was convicted Friday of murdering her two children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, and conspiring to murder her fifth husband Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell.
While the verdict was read,Loridisplayed no visible emotion. She looked at the clerk reading the verdict and looked down at times. Her hands were clasped in front of her. She wore a black jacket, a black top and black pants.
After the verdict was delivered, she calmly walked out of the courtroom without saying anything to her attorneys.
Chad is also charged with murder in connection to Tylee, J.J. and Tammy’s deaths, but will be tried separately. Chad has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Here are the biggest bombshells from her just-completed trial.
1. Lori Used “Money, Power, Sex” to Get What She Wanted, Prosecutor Said
“Money, power and sex,that is what this case is about,” Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake said during opening statements on April 10. “Lori used money, power and sex or the promise of those things to get what she wanted.”
During opening statements, Lori sat in between her defense attorneys, Jim Archibald and John Thomas, inside the Boise, Idaho, courtroom.
Lori Vallow (center).Lisa Cheney of Boise, Idaho
2. Tammy Daybell’s Cause of Death Revealed
During opening statements, Blake alsorevealed Tammy Daybell’s cause of death, saying that she was asphyxiated and “died at the hands of another.”
“[Lori] will remove any obstacle in her way to get what she wanted and she wanted Chad Daybell,” Blake added.
On Oct. 19, 2019, Chad Daybell reported Tammy’s death, saying she had gone to bed with a cough and didn’t wake up. The manner of death was initially ruled as “natural causes,” and no autopsy was done. However, Tammy’s death was later deemed “suspicious.”
In December of 2019, Tammy’s body was exhumed for an autopsy to be conducted, but the results were not made public. But in 2021 Chad and Lori were charged in connection with her untimely death.
From left: Lori Vallow Daybell, J.J. Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell.
3. Grisly Excavation of Children
On April 11, Rexburg, Idaho, police detective Ray Hermosillo revealed chilling details about the day in 2020 he found the remains of J.J. and Tylee on Chad’s property.
As they were digging, Hermosillo said, “We eventually uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee — whom we assumed it was Tylee — that had been burned. There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart.”
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Hermosillo said investigators found more globs of burnt flesh and bone in a green bucket. He added they were only able to work for a few minutes at a time because of the smell.
Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, at left, and his sister Tylee Ryan.
He said as they continued to dig they found a partial skull. The remains of J.J. were found wrapped in black bags underneath a tree in the backyard.
4. Chad Claimed He ‘Hardly Knew’ Lori — Even Though They Were Married
On April 11, Hermosillo testified that Chad told cops he “hardly knew” Lori — even though they were married at the time.
When Hermosillo visited Chad’s Rexburg home in 2019 after J.J. had been reported missing, he asked Chad for Lori’s number. But Chad said he didn’t have it.
“I assumed he was lying because they were close,” Hermosillo testified.
And when Hermosillo asked Chad about his relationship with Lori, “He said he hardly knew her,” Hermosillo testified, adding that he was suspicious because authorities “knew that Lori and Chad had been married two weeks prior to contact.”
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell in Hawaii.Eric Grossarth/ EastIdahoNews.com
Subsequently, Hermosillo got multiple search warrants, including one for Lori’s home.
5. Jurors Hear Phone Call Between Chad and Lori as Police Searched for Slain Children
On April 12, jurors heard a recording of a phone conversation between Chad and Lori that took place while authorities searched Chad’s property for J.J. and Tylee.
During the call,Loriasked Chad if he was okay.
“They are searching the property,” Chad told her. “There was a search warrant.”
Later in the call, Lori asked, “Are they seizing stuff again?”
Chad responded: “They are searching… We’ll see what transpires.”
Lori asked if she can do anything for her husband.
“I’m feeling pretty calm,” responded Chad, who then told Lori that he loved her.
6. Lori Talked About ‘Dark’ Spirits of Kids: Friend
On April 13, Lori’s friendMelanie Gibbtestified that Lori had told her both of her children had “dark” spirits.
According to Gibb, Lori believed that people existed on a scale of “light” and “dark” — with those that “signed contracts” with Jesus Christ being light and those who did the same with Satan as dark.
Lisa Cheney of Boise, Idaho
Gibb said that Lori told her in September 2019 that J.J. had become “dark” that month, and that Tylee had become dark earlier that year.
7. Chad and Lori had ‘Attraction from the Very Beginning’
Gibb testified that Chad and Lori met at a conference in Utah in 2018 — and there was"an attraction from the very beginning."
According to Gibb, Lori told her that at the conference, Chad had told her they had been married in “previous lives.”
Chad Daybell, left, with his defense attorney John Prior in court Aug. 3, 2020.John Roark/Post Register
“She shared with me that he told her that they had been married in another time period,” Gibb testified.
8. Lori Vallow Daybell’s Brother Alex Cox Said, ‘I Think I Am Their Fall Guy’ the Night Before He Died
On Friday, Alex Cox’s wife,Zulema Pastenes, testified during Lori’s trialand said her husband was speaking to Lori and Chad on the phone the night before he died.
That night, Pastenes said she came home from work around 7:30 p.m. and found Cox on the phone with Lori and Chad, who were telling Cox that Tammy’s body was being exhumed.
“I was very confused about the reason why they would be exhuming Tammy’s body, and I was asking why would they be exhuming her body if she died of natural causes,” Pastenes testified. “And I asked [Cox] if he was involved in anything to do with Tammy’s death. He said no.”
“He was very quiet and unresponsive,” Pastenes continued. “He said, ‘I think I am being their fall guy.’ I said, ‘Fall guy for what? What have you done that you would be the fall guy?’ I kept pressuring him because he wasn’t answering me.”
The next day, Dec. 12, 2019,Cox diedin the home he shared with his wife of less than two weeks. In May 2020, a medical examiner ruled that his cause of death was bilateral pulmonary thromboemboli and the manner of death was natural,East Idaho Newsreports. Cox was 51.
Lori’s trial is ongoing. In March, it was ruled that she would not face the death penalty in the slayings. She faces life in prison if convicted.
9. Lori Was “Unemotional” and “Nonchalant” in the Moments After Charles Vallow’s Death
Ynclan was the one who gave the death notification to Lori, she testified.
“She didn’t have much of a reaction,” Ynclan said.On July 11, 2019, Cox shot and killed Charles, 62. Cox claimed self-defense and was never charged.
Charles and Lori Vallow.
“She appeared calm, very non-emotional … At one point she was laughing,” the detective added.“She was calm,” Ynclan said, referring to Lori’s behavior as she and Tylee were escorted to the police station. “Unemotional. I would say, not upset. The conversation revolved around Tylee and her school and Tylee’s future plans. She was almost nonchalant about the conversation.”
Lori is now charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Charles' death in the state of Arizona. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her.
10. Lori’s Surviving Son Cries on Stand at Photos of Siblings
When Tylee’s face came across the screen, Ryan said: “That’s my sister Tylee.” He also confirmed that J.J. was his adopted brother and that he had a good relationship with his siblings.
Ryan testified that throughout his childhood, he loved his mother and didn’t think she could hurt someone — until she met her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, an author who wrote about religious doomsday scenarios.
11. Chad Said Couple Had ‘No Pets or Children’ in Email
“We are interested in seeing this property,” Chad wrote. “Would the owners be interested in leasing this property to a clean couple with no pets or children?”
12. Lori Said J.J. Knocked Over Picture of Christ During ‘Episode’ — Then Boy Vanished
The husband ofLori Vallow Daybell’sformer friend testified during the Idaho mother’s ongoing trial on Thursday and described the last time he saw Lori’s 7-year-old sonJoshua “J.J.” Vallowalive.
David Warwick, the husband ofMelanie Gibb, took the stand and said the last time he saw J.J. was on Sept. 22, 2019 during a long weekend visit with his wife at Lori’s Rexburg, Idaho, apartment.
Prosecutors said during the trial they believe J.J. died either Sept. 22 or Sept. 23,East Idaho Newsreports.
13. J.J.’s Cause of Death Revealed
14. Alex Cox’s Fingerprints Were Found on Plastic That Was Found With J.J.’s Remains
On April 27, a forensic scientist who testified during Lori’s ongoing murder trial revealed that usable fingerprints were found on plastic that was recovered with Lori’s son’s remains.
15. Lori’s Hair Was Discovered on Duct Tape Found With J.J.’s Remains
16. Lori’s Former Friend Testifies She Threatened to ‘Cut Her Up’
Audrey Barattiero testifiedon May 3 that her former friend Lori threatened to kill her during a visit to Lori’s apartment in October 2019, which is when Barattiero says she packed her bags and tried to leave after ending her friendship with Lori, according toEast Idaho News.
“She said she would cut me up and wasn’t in the mental place to do it but would get herself in a place to do it,” Barattiero said in court, reportsEast Idaho News. “There would be blood and bleach and something about trash bags. She would bury me in a place nobody would ever find me.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
