In a case that attracted worldwide attention due to what prosecutors called Lori Vallow Daybell's "doomsday" religious views, an Idaho jury convicted her guilty on Friday, May 12, of killing two of her children and of plotting to murder her husband's previous wife.
She was accused of thinking her kids were zombies possessed by the devil, as stated by the prosecution.
According to The Straits Times, the date of the sentence has not yet been determined. Judge Steven Boyce of Idaho's 7th Judicial District agreed to a plea by Vallow Daybell's attorneys to dismiss the death sentence before the trial's commencement.
The attorneys for Vallow Daybell had requested that the judge keep the courtroom free of cameras, yet, he let Friday's decision be broadcast live online.
Unable To Stand Trial
After years of postponement, the trial finally got underway on April 3 in Boise, Idaho. Vallow Daybell had to undergo mental therapy after being found unable to stand trial.
Prosecutors portrayed her as a neglectful mother in their opening comments. She was preoccupied with a "religious mission," which she considered more essential than her children, The New York Times reported.
Boise State Public Radio stated that 49-year-old defendant Vallow Daybell did not take the stand and that her attorneys did not present any witnesses in her defense. Her attorneys argued before the court that the state had failed to provide sufficient evidence.
Guilty as Charged
In connection with the murders of their children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua (JJ), 7, Lori Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, were indicted by a grand jury and pled not guilty.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty of first-degree murder in the children's murders, grand theft, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the killing of Chad Daybell's ex-wife, Tammy. This man is facing first-degree murder charges in connection with that death.
The Proceedings of the Trial
In November 2019, JJ's grandparents reported both Tylee and JJ missing. Authorities in Rexburg, Idaho, carried out a welfare check and subsequently executed search warrants at the apartment complex where Vallow Daybell and her husband resided. Police were worried, but the parents reportedly did not care where the kids were.
Authorities in Idaho reportedly filed a warrant for Vallow Daybell's arrest in Hawaii in February 2020 as she had refused to assist in the search for the missing kids.
Human remains were discovered in a shallow grave on Chad Daybell's Idaho ranch in June 2020. DNA testing confirmed that they belonged to his wife's lost children.
According to AP News, a DNA expert testified that a hair recovered in the duct tape used to wrap JJ's corpse belonged to his mother. A detective also testified that he had found Tylee's charred bones put into a bucket and buried somewhere on Daybell's property.
On trial, Vallow Daybell's former acquaintances discussed the couple's supposed religious views. Melanie Gibb told the media that Vallow Daybell called JJ and Tylee zombies and thought bad spirits could possess humans and convert them into zombies.
