USA– Lori Vallow Daybell craved “money, power and sex” and killed her two kids because they were “obstacles” to her desires, prosecutors said Monday.
The so-called “Doomsday Mom” looked somber as she appeared in an Idaho court for the opening statements of her murder trial.
Prosecutors said Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad, killed her children, 7-year old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, 16, in September 2019.
They also allege Vallow Daybell and her husband killed Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy, 49.
The couple — who believe the end times are upon the world and we must prepare for doomsday and the second coming of Christ — collected life insurance money and social security related to the three deaths, prosecutors charged.
“The defendant Lori Vallow Daybell used money, power and sex, or the promise of those things, to get what she wanted,” said prosecutor Lindsey Blake to jurors. “It didn’t matter what obstacles she had to remove to get what she wanted.
She added, “Tylee Ryan had her whole life ahead of her. .. Tylee had money. Lori wanted it. And now Tylee’s gone. … JJ also had a whole life ahead of him but was tough and took time. JJ had also lost his father, and when JJ lost his father, he became that much more difficult to take care of. She didn’t want to take care of JJ. She wanted money, now JJ is gone.”
Vallow Daybell and her husband were charged with two counts of first-degree murder. They also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, who died Oct. 19, 2019 — less than a month before Lori and Chad married.
On Monday, Blake made a bombshell revelation that Tammy Daybell died of asphyxiation.
The prosecutor added that when Vallow Daybell first met Chad in October 2018, she was already “a fan” and was familiar with his many religious fiction books. Both were still married to other people but the pair had an “instant connection.”
They bonded instantly over their doomsday beliefs and thought people either had “light” or “dark” light, and those who had evil spirits could become a zombie and had to be “destroyed,” Blake said.
Vallow Daybell thought her own daughter Tylee had “dark light.” the prosecutor said.
“The defendant and Chad used their self-proclaimed religious beliefs and teachings to justify their actions to others,” leading them from an affair to murder, Blake said.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were indicted on murder charges nearly a year after investigators discovered the children’s remains on a property belonging to Chad Daybell. The children hadn’t been seen since September 2019 and were reported missing by extended family.
Charles Vallow, Vallow Daybell’s former husband, detailed in divorce papers that his former wife thought she was a god-like figure. He alleged Vallow Daybell thought she was leading 144,000 believers for the apocalypse, he wrote in an affidavit.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Jim Archibald said Vallow Daybell has an alibi and was nowhere near her two children when they were killed.
“Lori Vallow was in her own apartment in Rexburg, Idaho when JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan died in the apartment of Alex Cox,” Archibald claimed. He added his client was in Hawaii when Tammy Daybell died.
Archibald said Vallow Daybell was a “good, responsible” mother who loved her children and had an interest in “the end of times” through her religion. He said once the mother of three met Chad Daybell, she began to change but she was innocent of the charges
“Thankfully in this country, we get to worship how we choose,” Archibald said to jurors. “You said you would be fair and impartial. You said you would have an open mind. Do not judge her until you have heard all the evidence in this courtroom.”
Chad Daybell is facing the same charges as his wife but will face trail separately at a later date. Vallow Daybell’s trial is expected to last up to 12 weeks.
