Current:Home > FinanceLori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:26:08
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! (677)
Related
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Sophie Turner Makes a Bold Fashion Statement Amid Joe Jonas Divorce and Outings With Taylor Swift
- Hamas attacks in Israel: Airlines that have suspended flights amid a travel advisory
- Terence Davies, celebrated British director of 'Distant Voices, Still Lives,' dies at 77
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- NFL in London highlights: Catch up on all the big moments from Jaguars' win over Bills
- She survived being shot at point-blank range. Who wanted Nicki Lenway dead?
- 'Not looking good': Bills' Matt Milano suffers knee injury in London against Jaguars
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Another one for Biles: American superstar gymnast wins 22nd gold medal at world championships
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- 6 Ecuadorian suspects in presidential candidate's assassination killed in prison, officials say
- Why we love Children’s Book World near Philadelphia
- The Marines are moving gradually and sometimes reluctantly to integrate women and men in boot camp
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Two wounded in shooting on Bowie State University campus in Maryland
- The auto workers’ strike enters its 4th week. The union president urges members to keep up the fight
- U.S. leaders vow support for Israel after deadly Hamas attacks: There is never any justification for terrorism
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Alec and Hilaria Baldwin Bring All 7 of Their Kids to Hamptons Film Festival
Should the next House speaker work across the aisle? Be loyal to Trump?
UK Supreme Court weighs if it’s lawful for Britain to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
US demands condemnation of Hamas at UN meeting, but Security Council takes no immediate action
What was the Yom Kippur War? Why Saturday surprise attack on Israel is reminiscent of 1973
'Not looking good': Bills' Matt Milano suffers knee injury in London against Jaguars