BOISE: mother of Idaho Lori Vallow Doorbell was convicted on Friday of the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, a verdict that concludes a three-year investigation that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to inaugurate the biblical apocalypse.
For the relatives of the victims, the verdict is only a temporary balm: Vallow Daybell is to be sentenced and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell herself is also facing another murder trial in Arizona – this one for conspiracy to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
” This is not the end. Ninety days from today we will be in Fremont County” sentencing Vallow Daybell, said Larry Woodcock, the grandfather of the youngest victim. “And I’ll be like, ‘Why, Lori? For what?'”
Prosecutors in the case described Vallow Daybell as a power-hungry manipulator who would kill her two youngest children for money, while the defense team said she was a normally protective mother who fell under the romantic grip of a budding cult leader.
The jurors sided with the prosecution, convicting Vallow Daybell of conspiracy to commit the murders of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and Tammy Daybell. She was also convicted of grand larceny as well as the first degree murder of the two children, a charge that points to a more direct role in the crimes.
JJ’s grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock, held an emotional press conference following the sentencing. When they first walked out of court, the crowd of onlookers who had gathered to support the family and watch the verdict cheered. Some started singing “We Will Rock You” – JJ’s favorite song.
“JJ, I love you. Daddy wishes you were here,” Larry Woodcock said, choking on the name JJ used to call him. “Tylee, daddy loves you. Tammy, I’ve never met you, but you’re part of our lives. I’m sorry for what happened.
When asked if he had a message for Vallow Daybell, Woodcock recited the lyrics to a Willie Nelson song.
“Turn off the lights, the party is over. They say all good things must come to an end,” he sang before speaking again. “Lori, it’s over.”
He also thanked the jurors, noting that the graphic evidence they had to see was “breathtaking” and something that could never be unseen.
The Tammy Douglas Daybell Foundation, established by members of her family a year after her death, wrote in a press release that the verdict would bring “some measure of closure” for everyone. Tammy Daybell was a school librarian and the foundation works to raise money for libraries and literacy programs in Idaho and Utah.
“We love you Tammie. You will never be forgotten,” the foundation wrote in a post on Twitter. “It’s been a long road, but we’re grateful this chapter is closed.”
Prosecutors said they were unable to comment on the verdict due to pending charges against Chad Daybell. In a statement, they thanked the jurors for their service and said they “remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell.”
Vallow Daybell wanted the victims’ money, so she used sex and power to manipulate her brother and lover into committing the crimes, Madison County District Attorney Rob Wood told jurors during closing arguments. finals.
“Money, power and sex,” Wood said, echoing arguments made by his team at the start of the trial. He claimed that Vallow Daybell saw the three victims as obstacles to his goals.
“What does justice require for these victims? It requires a conviction on every count,” Wood said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald countered that there was no evidence linking his client to the murders, but plenty showed she was a loving and protective mother whose life took a drastic turn when she met her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, and fell in love with the “weird.” apocalyptic religious claims of a cult leader. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, was responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her that they had been married in several past lives and that she was a “sex goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
At times, the testimony in the case has been heartbreaking – such as when Vallow Daybell’s only surviving child, Colby Ryan, accused her of murdering her siblings in a recorded prison phone call.
Other testimonies have been bizarre, such as when Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified that Vallow Daybell believed the people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into ‘zombies’ – including including JJ and Tylee. Four of the people the defendant described as “zombies” were later killed or shot, according to testimony.
It was also gruesome, like when law enforcement officers testified to finding the remains of JJ and Tylee buried in Chad Daybell’s yard.
“Tylee’s body was burned beyond recognition. His body was dismembered in such a grotesque and extreme manner,” that the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death, Wood said.
“JJ Vallow’s voice was silenced forever by a strip of duct tape over his mouth,” Wood said. “A white plastic bag was placed over his head and taped around and around his forehead to his chin.”
Tammy Daybell’s death was first reported to be of natural causes, after Chad Daybell told authorities she died in her sleep and had recently been coughing, vomiting and suffering from occasional tremors. Investigators became suspicious when Chad Daybell married Vallow Daybell two weeks later, and they eventually had Tammy Daybell’s remains exhumed. An autopsy revealed that she was asphyxiated.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by his brother, Alex Cox, at his home in a suburb of Phoenix. Husband and wife were separated, and Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, so moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police found they were missing a month later after an extended family member became concerned. Their bodies were found the following summer.
For the relatives of the victims, the verdict is only a temporary balm: Vallow Daybell is to be sentenced and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell herself is also facing another murder trial in Arizona – this one for conspiracy to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
” This is not the end. Ninety days from today we will be in Fremont County” sentencing Vallow Daybell, said Larry Woodcock, the grandfather of the youngest victim. “And I’ll be like, ‘Why, Lori? For what?'”
Prosecutors in the case described Vallow Daybell as a power-hungry manipulator who would kill her two youngest children for money, while the defense team said she was a normally protective mother who fell under the romantic grip of a budding cult leader.
The jurors sided with the prosecution, convicting Vallow Daybell of conspiracy to commit the murders of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and Tammy Daybell. She was also convicted of grand larceny as well as the first degree murder of the two children, a charge that points to a more direct role in the crimes.
JJ’s grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock, held an emotional press conference following the sentencing. When they first walked out of court, the crowd of onlookers who had gathered to support the family and watch the verdict cheered. Some started singing “We Will Rock You” – JJ’s favorite song.
“JJ, I love you. Daddy wishes you were here,” Larry Woodcock said, choking on the name JJ used to call him. “Tylee, daddy loves you. Tammy, I’ve never met you, but you’re part of our lives. I’m sorry for what happened.
When asked if he had a message for Vallow Daybell, Woodcock recited the lyrics to a Willie Nelson song.
“Turn off the lights, the party is over. They say all good things must come to an end,” he sang before speaking again. “Lori, it’s over.”
He also thanked the jurors, noting that the graphic evidence they had to see was “breathtaking” and something that could never be unseen.
The Tammy Douglas Daybell Foundation, established by members of her family a year after her death, wrote in a press release that the verdict would bring “some measure of closure” for everyone. Tammy Daybell was a school librarian and the foundation works to raise money for libraries and literacy programs in Idaho and Utah.
“We love you Tammie. You will never be forgotten,” the foundation wrote in a post on Twitter. “It’s been a long road, but we’re grateful this chapter is closed.”
Prosecutors said they were unable to comment on the verdict due to pending charges against Chad Daybell. In a statement, they thanked the jurors for their service and said they “remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell.”
Vallow Daybell wanted the victims’ money, so she used sex and power to manipulate her brother and lover into committing the crimes, Madison County District Attorney Rob Wood told jurors during closing arguments. finals.
“Money, power and sex,” Wood said, echoing arguments made by his team at the start of the trial. He claimed that Vallow Daybell saw the three victims as obstacles to his goals.
“What does justice require for these victims? It requires a conviction on every count,” Wood said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald countered that there was no evidence linking his client to the murders, but plenty showed she was a loving and protective mother whose life took a drastic turn when she met her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, and fell in love with the “weird.” apocalyptic religious claims of a cult leader. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, was responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her that they had been married in several past lives and that she was a “sex goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
At times, the testimony in the case has been heartbreaking – such as when Vallow Daybell’s only surviving child, Colby Ryan, accused her of murdering her siblings in a recorded prison phone call.
Other testimonies have been bizarre, such as when Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified that Vallow Daybell believed the people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into ‘zombies’ – including including JJ and Tylee. Four of the people the defendant described as “zombies” were later killed or shot, according to testimony.
It was also gruesome, like when law enforcement officers testified to finding the remains of JJ and Tylee buried in Chad Daybell’s yard.
“Tylee’s body was burned beyond recognition. His body was dismembered in such a grotesque and extreme manner,” that the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death, Wood said.
“JJ Vallow’s voice was silenced forever by a strip of duct tape over his mouth,” Wood said. “A white plastic bag was placed over his head and taped around and around his forehead to his chin.”
Tammy Daybell’s death was first reported to be of natural causes, after Chad Daybell told authorities she died in her sleep and had recently been coughing, vomiting and suffering from occasional tremors. Investigators became suspicious when Chad Daybell married Vallow Daybell two weeks later, and they eventually had Tammy Daybell’s remains exhumed. An autopsy revealed that she was asphyxiated.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by his brother, Alex Cox, at his home in a suburb of Phoenix. Husband and wife were separated, and Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, so moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police found they were missing a month later after an extended family member became concerned. Their bodies were found the following summer.
