Lori Vallow Daybell’s upcoming trial: Get to know the doomsday couple
Lori Vallow Daybell & Chad Daybell’s day in court is finally coming, and a judge ruled the couple will be tried together. Their case has kept people from around the world on the edge of their seats, as this high-profile case involves the murder of children, suspicious deaths, and an unusual belief system involving zombies & the apocalypse.
The saga starts back in 2015 when Lori Vallow first heard of Chad Daybell and his work involving the apocalypse. Over the years, Lori’s beliefs escalated, coming to a peak when she finally met Chad in 2018. However, their arrest earlier in 2020 came after Lori Vallow’s daughter & adopted son were found buried on Chad Daybell’s property in Idaho.
Here’s a brief overview of their alleged crimes & an update on their upcoming criminal trials, scheduled to start in early 2021.
Lori Vallow’s children
Lori Vallow & Chad Daybell’s charges primarily cover the deaths of seventeen-year-old Tylee Ryan & seven-year-old J.J. Vallow, both of which are Lori Vallow’s children. While it’s unclear when they died, Tylee & J.J. were last seen & heard from in September 2019, according to a local Idaho newspaper, Post Register. In October 2019, the couple rented a storage room and reportedly stored some of Tylee & J.J.’s belongings.
By November 2019, Vallow & Daybell traveled to Kauai to get married and denied J.J. & Tylee’s existence, according to the Post Register. When police started to be suspicious of Vallow & Daybell in December 2019, they failed to comply with investigators and police began to obtain search warrants. Shortly after a computer including documents stating the couple’s beliefs was found, police began issuing arrest warrants.
Lori Vallow was arrested on February 20, 2020 on charges including desertion of a child & various misdemeanors, according to the Post Register. Since she was still in Kauai, Vallow was eventually extradited back to Idaho in March. On June 9, 2020, after two sets of human remains were found on Daybell’s property in Idaho, police arrested Chad Daybell. The next day, police positively identified the remains belonged to Tylee & J.J.
Other strange deaths
Before the deaths of Lori Vallow’s children, Charles Vallow, Lori Vallow’s estranged husband, was murdered. In June 2019, Alex Cox, Lori Vallow’s brother, shot & killed Charles Vallow while they were still in Arizona. At the time, Lori Vallow was separated from & about to file for divorce, reportedly due to her apocalyptic beliefs, according to Fox News.
Joseph Ryan, one of Lori Vallow’s ex-husbands & Tylee Ryan’s father, had previously died of a heart attack in April 2018. But, according to the Post Register, his death is now being investigated by the FBI.
Additionally, Tammy Daybell, Daybell’s ex-wife, died of natural causes in October 2019, according to Fox News. However, while the cause of death seems innocent, events surrounding her death seem suspicious. Ten days before she died, Tammy was assaulted with what appeared to be an unloaded paintball gun. Police concluded it was a prank. The Post Register reported the police have since called Tammy’s death “suspicious”.
Standing trial together
Lori Vallow & Chad Daybell have both pleaded not guilty on their charges of conspiracy to hide the bodies of J.J. & Tylee. According to Fox News, the judge presiding over the couple’s case ruled they would stand trial together, despite Chad’s objection. Oxygen reported the judge ruled this way for multiple reasons, with one being the issue of the pandemic making scheduling much more difficult.
The prosecution argued having two trials could result in prejudice during the second trial, according to Fox News, while Chad’s attorneys argued the couple was being treated unfairly. Oxygen reported Lori’s attorneys didn’t object to a joint trial. Chad’s trial won’t be held until January & Lori’s trial for her felony charges will be held in March 2021, but Oxygen reported the dates are subject to change.
Unusual beliefs
One of the defining features of this complicated case was Lori & Chad’s strange beliefs. Lori Vallow had first heard of Chad in 2015, when a friend said Lori started to be “obsessed” with Chad’s books, according to Fox News. They started correspondence in 2018 and would appear on podcasts together, including the apocalypse & doomsday-prepper podcast, Preparing a People.
While their belief system isn’t specifically clear, reports have said the couple believes in dark spirits, zombies, & possession. In January 2019, Lori told Charles she believed she was sent from God and would assist god with Christ’s second coming, according to the Post Register. Lori & Chad also predicted the date of the apocalypse. Their last prediction was July 22, 2020, according to the Post Register.
According to Fox News, the Daybells thought the only way to stop the possession was to kill the person. Fox News reported Lori Vallow believed her children were possessed and NBC’s Dateline found an email between Lori & Chad with the subject, “Demon with a name, Nick Schneider”, from January 2019. Shortly after, Lori told a friend Tylee turned into a zombie, as she was “difficult to deal with”, according to the Post Register.
