Current:Home > FinanceLori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children -ThriveEdge Finance
Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced for murders of her 2 youngest children
View
Date:2025-04-27 13:48:36
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! (3652)
Related
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Minneapolis Uber and Lyft drivers due for $15 an hour under council’s plan but mayor vows a veto
- Aldi plans to open 800 new stores around the U.S.
- Annette Bening recalls attending 2000 Oscars while pregnant with daughter Ella Beatty
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Haiti's top gang leader warns of civil war that will lead to genocide unless prime minister steps down
- Karma is the guy in Singapore: Travis Kelce attends Taylor Swift's Eras concert with entourage
- The 5 Charlotte Tilbury Products Every Woman Should Own for the Maximum Glow Up With Minimal Effort
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Donald Trump will get juror names at New York criminal trial but they’ll be anonymous to the public
Ranking
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- See Little People Big World's Zach Roloff Help His Son Grapple with Dwarfism Differences
- Phone repairs can cost a small fortune. So why do we hurt the devices we love?
- Steve Lawrence, half of popular singing and comedy duo Steve & Eydie, dies at 88
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Tax season is underway. Here are some tips to navigate it
- Who is attending the State of the Union? Here are notable guests for Biden's 2024 address
- Bathroom bills are back — broader and stricter — in several states
Recommendation
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Transcript of the Republican response to the State of the Union address
New report clears Uvalde police in school shooting response
Mississippi legislators are moving toward a showdown on how to pay for public schools
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
An iPhone app led a SWAT team to raid the wrong home. The owner sued and won $3.8 million.
Women’s tennis tour and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will work to support prenatal care
Murder suspect stalked homeless man before killing him with ax, Seattle police say