Current:Home > MyLori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children -ProfitLogic
Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children
View
Date:2025-04-17 07:51:17
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! (218)
Related
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Oregon TV station apologizes after showing racist image during program highlighting good news
- Brian Wilson needs to be put in conservatorship after death of wife, court petition says
- Tiger Woods finishes one over par after Round 1 of Genesis Invitational at Riviera
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Elkhorn man charged in Wisconsin sports bar killings
- Deion Sanders bets big on new defensive coach: What to know about his Colorado contract
- What does a total solar eclipse look like? Photos from past events show what to expect in 2024
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Don't Miss J.Crew’s Jewelry Sale with Chic Statement & Everyday Pieces, Starting at $6
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Amy Schumer Reacts to Barbie’s Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig Getting Snubbed By Oscars 2024
- Loophole allows man to live rent-free for 5 years in landmark New York hotel
- 2024 NBA All-Star Game is here. So why does the league keep ignoring Pacers' ABA history?
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- What does a total solar eclipse look like? Photos from past events show what to expect in 2024
- Blogger Laura Merritt Walker Shares Her 3-Year-Old Son Died After Tragic Accident
- Tech companies sign accord to combat AI-generated election trickery
Recommendation
Could your smelly farts help science?
3.8 magnitude earthquake hits Ontario, California; also felt in Los Angeles
Tax refund seem smaller this year? IRS says taxpayers are getting less money back (so far)
Survivors of recent mass shootings revive calls for federal assault weapons ban, 20 years later
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Rents Take A Big Bite
Brian Laundrie's parents detail 'frantic' conversations with son: 'Gabby's gone, please call a lawyer'
Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?