Current:Home > NewsLori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children -GrowthInsight
Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children
View
Date:2025-04-15 02:55:59
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! (7321)
Related
- 51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
- US government to give $75 million to South Korean company for Georgia computer chip part factory
- Beach vibes, mocktails and wave sounds: Target to try 'immersive' summer spaces in stores
- To make it to the 'Survivor' finale, Charlie Davis says being a Swiftie was make or break
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- 'Unusual event': Over 250 dead sea lion pups found on California island, puzzling researchers
- Alaska mayor who wanted to give the homeless a one-way ticket out of Anchorage concedes election
- To make it to the 'Survivor' finale, Charlie Davis says being a Swiftie was make or break
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Mother bear swipes at a hiker in Colorado after cub siting
Ranking
- Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
- New to US: Hornets that butcher bees and sting people. Humans are fighting back.
- 48-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina won't make it to Paris for her ninth Olympics
- Cavaliers fire head coach J.B. Bickerstaff following consecutive playoff appearances
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Norfolk Southern agrees to $310 million settlement in Ohio train derailment and spill
- Defunct 1950s-era cruise ship takes on water and leaks pollutants in California river delta
- Jennifer Lopez shuts down question about Ben Affleck divorce: A timeline of their relationship
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Get 50% Off Old Navy, 60% Off Fenty Beauty, 70% Off Anthropologie, 70% Off Madewell & Memorial Day Deals
Suspect arrested in Florida shooting that injured Auburn RB Brian Battie and killed his brother
Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown files for bankruptcy after more than $80 million in career earnings
From bitter rivals to Olympic teammates, how Lebron and Steph Curry became friends
Nvidia’s stock market value is up $1 trillion in 2024. How it rose to AI prominence, by the numbers
South Florida officials remind residents to prepare as experts predict busy hurricane season
See Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega get their spooky on in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' trailer