'Doomsday cult' mum turns on 'nutty' lover in last ditch murder trial bid
As the jury prepared to deliberate the fate of 'cult mum' Lori Vallow Daybell, accused of murdering two of her children and her husband's ex wife, she turned on her husband, fellow cult member and alleged accomplice in a last-ditch attempt to avoid life in prison.
After weeks of evidence and testimony from the prosecution, Vallow Daybell's legal team offered no defence, with the trial instead moving on to closing arguments on Thursday, May 11.
Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and grand theft relating to the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, adopted son Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, seven, and her husband's first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49.
Tylee and JJ were last seen in September 2019 before their remains were found the following summer, June 2020, buried on Chad Daybell's property.
Tammy Daybell died in October 2019, just a month after the kids were last seen, and mere weeks before Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell tied the knot.
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The remains of Tylee Ryan (left) and JJ Vallow (right) were found on Chad Daybell's propertyAt the Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, Vallow Daybell's attorney Jim Archibald tried to paint her as a "good mum" in his closing argument, saying she had been hardworking but her life had suddenly changed after meeting doomsday cult leader Chad Daybell.
"One year after meeting Chad, four people are dead," he told the jury. "Who is Lori Vallow? What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Why did it happen?
"That's what you've been asked to figure out."
Life 'changes dramatically' after Lori met Chad
He talked through the timeline of Vallow Daybell's life, how she grew up in California, raised under the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), marrying her high school boyfriend at just 19.
Vallow Daybell, of Idaho, went on to marry three more times, ending up with fourth husband Charles Vallow - who's death she faces separate charges related to in Arizona. The couple adopted JJ and lived together with Tylee, with Mr Archibald calling Charles Vallow and Lori Vallow Daybell a "good fit" for JJ, who had autism.
"Then the story about Lori Vallow changes dramatically in October 2018," he said.
Lori Vallow Daybell faces life in prison for the murders of daughter Tylee Ryan, son JJ Vallow and her husband's first wife Tammy Daybell (Rexberg Police Dept/ Handout)
Chad Daybell had Lori Vallow Daybell under the "spell" of his religious teaching, according to her defence (Rexberg Police Dept/ Handout)That's when Lori Vallow Daybell first met Chad Daybell at a religious conference. Despite both being married, the pair grew close quickly, with friends saying she quickly became fascinated with author Daybell's religious teachings and beliefs.
Prosecutors have said that this relationship was the catalyst, with cult beliefs and murderous plans stemming from their love affair.
After Charles was shot dead by Vallow Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, in July 2019, Vallow Daybell moved with JJ and Tylee from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho - where Chad Daybell lived.
From their first meeting, Mr Archibald claimed Vallow Daybell was "under the control" of the author, and under the spell of the "craziness" of his cult beliefs and teachings. "Why can't people escape religious leaders?" he asked.
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"Why can't Lori escape and get back to her good mum life? Lori is not a leader in Chad's new church - the Church of the Fireborn.
Lori Vallow Daybell (right) with daughter Tylee Ryan (left) whose remains were found in Chad Daybell's back garden (Chandler Police Dept)"Lori so wants to testify of Jesus. She wants to tell the world how much she loves Jesus. She wants to tell you she personally met him on more than one occasion."
He asked the jury to question whether Vallow Daybell was a "leader" or a "follower". "Is Lori a leader or a follower of Chad?" he asked.
"She so wants to be a leader but she's not leading anyone. She's following Chad. She thinks Chad is following Jesus but he's not. He's unfortunately being led by the storm - not the first guy to be led by the storm."
He pointed out that while some may question "how can someone have that much control over you?" that reason and common sense "go out the windows sometimes when religious principles are involved."
No evidence putting Vallow Daybell at murder scene
The defence attorney carried on to directly blame the murder of Tylee and JJ on Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell's brother Alex Cox. He argued that while it's undeniable the two kids were murdered, there's no evidence putting Vallow Daybell at their murders or on Chad Daybell's property when their remains were buried there.
"Look for the lack of evidence of who's doing what," he said. He explained there was no mention of murders in the 15,000 texts submitted into evidence, but cellphone data did place Cox in Chad Daybell's back garden the day JJ was buried there.
"Chad knew what was in his backyard," he said, talking of Daybell's reaction when investigators began to dig up his property.
Last photo of JJ Vallow, left, and Tylee Ryan, middle, at Yellowstone National Park with Lori Vallow Daybell's brother Alex Cox, right (FBI)When it came to evidence of Vallow Daybell's hair being found on duct tape used to wrap a plastic bag around JJ's head, he said it wasn't a "smoking gun", and would actually be expected when JJ's clothes and pyjamas were also found in the bag.
"I would hope all of you who are mothers, I hope your hair is somewhere on your kid's pyjamas, socks, or blanket," he told the jury of seven men and five women.
He also argued there was no evidence of Vallow Daybell being involved in the planning of any of the murders. "Lori didn't have a plan. The state wants you to think that this was Lori's plan, to kill her kids," he said.
Lori Vallow Daybell's defence turned on Chad Daybell during their closing arguments (JOHN ROARK/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Mr Archibald compared Chad Daybell's appearance to Charles Vallow's as well, saying it "wasn't about sex", but Vallow Daybell buying into Chad Daybell's religious beliefs and claims.
He said: "She's reading his books during a hard time in her life and this guy is telling her she's a goddess... 'and by the way, we've already been married in previous life so it's not really cheating. And we were best friends with Jesus and Jesus approves so everything is okay'
"That's quite the pickup line by Chad to Lori and it worked. Pretty scary that the pickup line from Chad to Lori worked."
'Lori Vallow is the one that ties this all together'
The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that: "Lori Vallow is the one that ties this all together". Prosecutor Rob Wood told the jury Vallow Daybell was driven by "money, power and sex" and she used those tools to manipulate her alleged accomplices to do her bidding.
"They used religion as a tool to manipulate others," he told jurors. "Lori manipulated Alex Cox through religion. She manipulated Chad through emotional and sexual control. They manipulated their friends."
Mr Wood hammered the point home, arguing that Vallow Daybell was the "one common thread" tying together the suspects and killings. "The evidence in this case points to one common thread and that thread is Lori Vallow," he said.
The prosecution argued that Lori Vallow Daybell was the 'common thread' in the murders (AP)"The defence says she's not a killer. She is a killer. Lori is the connection to the deaths. What connection does Chad Daybell have to Charles Vallow? Lori. Why did we talk about Charles Vallow? The motive."
The jury heard how Vallow Daybell and Daybell believed they were on a religious mission to gather the 144,000 and believed in a "rating system of light and dark" for ranking the spirits of those around them. Over time, this evolved into the belief that some people, including her children, were "zombies". The only way to get rid of the zombies was to destroy the human body.
Mr Wood pointed out that the beliefs are not a crime. But the way they used the beliefs to "justify" murdering three people are.
Vallow Daybell will learn her fate (AP)"It does not matter what they believed. It matters what they did," he said in his closing argument. "They can believe whatever they want. But when they use that to justify homicide, that changes."
Vallow Daybell faces life in prison on the charges. Chad Daybell has also been charged over the murders, and while the pair were originally due to be tried together, a judge severed the cases and he is now set to stand trial at a later date.
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