Killer cult mum's evil words to judge after murdering her 2 kids and love rival
'Doomsday cult mum' Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of her two children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and JJ Vallow, seven, as well as her husband's first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49. But prior to the sentence being handed down in the Idaho courtroom, Vallow Daybell made a chilling and bizarre statement.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of the first-degree murders of her children, Tylee and JJ, as well as her 'love rival' Tammy. Tylee and JJ were last seen in September 2019, with concerns for their welfare raised in November. Tammy Daybell died unexpectedly in October 2019, with her death at first not being treated as suspicious but her body later exhumed for an autopsy to be carried out.
The autopsy revealed Tammy had died of "asphyxiation" said to be "at the hands of someone else". Tylee and JJ's remains were found on Chad Daybell's property in Salem, Idaho, in the summer of 2020.
The mum-of-three, who was sentenced on Monday, July 31 in Boise, Idaho by Judge Boyce, began her address to the court by quoting John 8:7 - "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone."
Lori Vallow Daybell (second from right) stands as Judge Boyce reads out her sentenceVallow Daybell continued her bizarre statement by saying: "Jesus knows me. And Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy. Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case.
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"Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects from medications happen. I have a different perspective in life because in 2002, when I was pregnant with Tylee, I died in the hospital, while in labour with her. They tried to stop my labour, they put me on the table and they put something in my IV and I felt my spirit falling to the floor..."
She recalled "standing by [her] pregnant body", watching doctors try to revive her. Vallow Daybell said her late sister Stacey, who was stood by her, "needed to show" her some things and then they "went to heaven."
"I later returned to my body, and because of this experience, I have access to heaven and the spirit world," she said. Vallow Daybell went on to say she has had "communication" with those "living in heaven", including Tylee, JJ, and Tammy.
"I have had many communications with Jesus Christ, the saviour of this world," she said. And "because of these communications [she] knows for a fact" that her children are "happy and busy in the spirit world", and because of her "communications" with her "friend Tammy Daybell", she knows she is "very happy".
Vallow Daybell, who is said to suffer from mental health problems including a delusion disorder, continued: "I have always mourned the loss of my loved ones, and I have lost many in this mortal world. However, I know that more than most people, I know where they are now and what they're doing. I know how wonderful heaven is and I'm homesick for it every single day."
She continued to say that she knows "we all lived in heaven" before we lived on Earth, and we "chose" to come to "this realm as mortals". Vallow Daybell said: "I do not fear death, but I look forward to it."
A jury found Vallow Daybell guilty on all counts in May 2023 (AP)She said she "did not want to return" to her body and was "ready" to stay in heaven, she said she thought her children would be "fine" without her as she was "peaceful" and "happy", and she was "home".
But, she said: "I was told by Jesus that I needed to go back and complete things I had covenanted and promised to do before I was born. This caused me a lot of distress because I knew heaven was my true home. I wanted to be there, I was free from pain, emotional and physical pain."
She continued to say she was "shown" how she would "help" people, including her children in the future, so decided to return to her body.
Vallow Daybell claimed Tylee has "visited" her, and is "happy and very busy", as well as being "free now from all the pains of her life". She said Tylee "suffered physical pain her whole life", and that she was the one who was with her in hospital when the "morphine wasn't" enough, and was there to "hold her hair" when Tylee was throwing up.
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"I am the only person on this Earth who knows how much Tylee suffered in her life", she said as she began to cry. Vallow Daybell went on to say Tylee was "sexually abused by her own biological father" from the age of three, and was "forced" to visit him. She continued: "With my whole life I tried to protect her."
Vallow Daybell with daughter Tylee Ryan, 16 (Chandler Police Dept)Vallow Daybell said JJ also visited her after he "passed away", and "put his arm around" her and said: "You didn't do anything wrong mum, I love you and I know you loved me every minute of my life."
She continued: "His life was short, but JJ's life was meaningful. JJ was a wonderful person and he touched the lives of everyone [he met]."
Referring to Tammy Daybell as her "eternal friend", Vallow Daybell also added that she has been "visited" by her husband's former wife. Saying: "She came to bring me peace and comfort... I have a great love for Tammy."
She concluded by saying: "My beautiful children, Tylee Ashlyn and Joshua Jackson rest safely this day, safely this day in the arms of Jesus. My wonderful friend Tammy Daybell rests safely this day in the arms of Jesus... I look forward to the wonderful day we are reunited and I will be in the arms of my Jesus."
Reviewing the case before handing down his sentence, Judge Boyce noted that this was Lori's "first criminal convictions you have ever had at 50-years-old", noting she has two conspiracy to commit murder charges in Arizona. He said: "It is somewhat incredible in this case seeing you have gone from no criminal history in your life to first-degree murder charges and additional counts in another state."
Judge Boyce said Lori had been a good inmate in the Madison County jail where she has served more than 1,000 days. He went on to note her "mental health issues", with the most recent diagnosis coming from February 2023.
Lori Vallow Daybell being sentenced 31 July, 2023In this diagnosis, Vallow Daybell is said to suffer from a delusion disorder with hyper religiosity and personality disorder with narcissistic features. He spoke of Vallow Daybell's move from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho, after beginning a relationship with Chad Daybell, who is being tried separately.
"You removed your children from their home in Arizona, alienated them from their friends and family," said Judge Boyce. He continued: "You had so many options... you chose the most evil and destructive path possible."
Judge Boyce went on to say: "I don't think to this day you have any remorse for the... heartache you caused." He told her: "You killed those children to remove them as obstacles and profit financially.
"You justified all this to go down a bizarre religious rabbit hole and clearly you are still there."
Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (AP)Judge Boyce said Lori had used "blood money" to fund her new life in Hawaii with her husband Chad Daybell as the police and public were searching for her missing children. Saying: "Your children were found mutilated and buried like animals".
He noted the "horrific" evidence heard and seen in court, including gruesome crime scene photos from the recovery of Tylee and JJ's bodies, saying there are images he will never get out of his mind.
"Tammy Daybell was murdered as a result of your conspiracy," continued Judge Boce. "She was by all accounts a happy, healthy mother and wife and you were out shopping for wedding rings to marry her husband while she was still alive. You were planning a wedding.
"You haven't shown any remorse for any of your actions... JJ and Tylee's lives were cut way too short because of you... It is a loss for everyone that you took them away from this world."
He continued: "It is the [among] most shocking things I can imagine that a mother killed their own children and you simply have no remorse for it. There is no remorse for what you did."
The last known photo of JJ, left, and Tylee, centre, with Vallow Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, right, at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park in September 2019 (FBI)Judge Boyce said Lori destroyed family relationships, taking away people who were loved, cared for and needed. He said: "You may not believe to this day that you've done anything wrong but I don't believe a God in any religion would want to have this happened what happened here."
Tylee and JJ were last seen together on September 8, 2019, at the entrance to Yellowstone National park with Vallow Daybell and her brother, Alex Cox. JJ was last seen alive on September 22, 2019 with the last photographic proof of him alive showing the young boy sitting on the sofa in red matching pyjamas.
The alarm was raised for the missing children on November 26, with police checking Vallow Daybell's townhome in Rexburg, but seeing no signs of the children. Vallow Daybell told police JJ was staying with her friend in Arizona, with her friend initially covering for her at the couple's behest.
However, Vallow Daybell's friend went to police on December 6, saying that she had been asked to lie about JJ's whereabouts. Two weeks later, on December 20, JJ and Tylee were formally announced as missing, with police saying their disappearance could be linked to Tammy's death.
Vallow Daybell and her fifth husband Chad Daybell were referred to as 'persons of interest' the following day. After Tylee and JJ were reported missing, and as police began to delve into Vallow Daybell and Daybell's lives and 'cult-like' beliefs, they began to question Tammy's death.
Vallow Daybell was arrested after fleeing to Hawaii to marry Chad Daybell (Rexberg Police Dept/ Handout)
Chad Daybell's murder trial has been scheduled for April 2024 (Rexberg Police Dept/ Handout)It was uncovered that on September 8, 2019, Chad Daybell had signed an application to increase the life insurance policy on Tammy to the maximum allowed. Online activity from an account linked to Vallow Daybell presented in court showed her searching for malachite wedding rings in August, two months before Tammy's death.
On the day of Tammy's funeral, evidence presented in court showed Vallow Daybell had been searching for wedding dresses in Kauai, Hawaii. With photos of the couple's wedding also shown in court.
The case shocked a nation, with people gripped by the tragedy. One of the aspects which captured people's attention was the strange 'doomsday' child beliefs which Vallow Daybell and her husband were said to follow. Chad Daybell, a religious author, was said to be the leader of the 'doomsday cult' - which took views based on the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and warped them to an extreme.
According to a police report, the couple believed in reincarnation, with Daybell telling his wife she was a "Goddess" sent to bring about the second coming of Christ. When they met, Daybell reportedly told Vallow Daybell they had been married in seven previous lives.
There was also a scoring system to determine whether people were good or evil. People were ranked on a scale of 'light' to 'dark' based on how many previous lives they had lived and whether they had made contact with God or Satan. Daybell reportedly taught that 'dark' individuals were from this earth, but followers of Satan, while those who were 'light' were "followers of Jesus Christ".
Then there were the 'zombies'. It was a term used to refer to a person who had apparently died and been possessed by evil spirits. The group would pray to try and eradicate the zombies, believing if they were successful the person's physical body would die - freeing their soul from "limbo".
Evidence found that Vallow Daybell had suspicions her two children, JJ and Tylee, were zombies.
On June 9, 2020, nine months after they went missing, Tylee and JJ's remains were found. During Vallow Daybell's trial, jurors were shown graphic images of the remains uncovered by officers that day as the state in which the bodies had been found was revealed in full, grotesque, detail.
Investigators searching Chad Daybell's property in Salem, Idaho, where they would uncover Tylee and JJ's remains (AP)Rexburg Police Department Detective Ray Hermosillo took the witness stand to talk the jury through the grisly discoveries made. Jurors were shown images of the children's remains as they were uncovered, along with autopsy photos.
Describing the search, Hermosillo said: "We started finding burnt flesh, decomposing bones. The smell was so bad we had to take turns digging.
"Eventually, we uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee, whom we assumed was Tylee, that had been burned.
"There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart."
Tylee's remains were found in a melted green bucket, which had been buried near a fire pit next to a pet cemetery on Daybell's property. She had been dismembered, burned, and her body parts scattered around the grounds.
JJ, meanwhile, was found in a shallow grave on the property. His arms and legs were bound in duct tape, and his head was wrapped in a plastic bag with layers of duct tape wrapped around it.
He was still dressed in his pyjamas and a pull-ups night diaper - which Hermosillo said was soaked from his rotting corpse. JJ's body was found in varying stages of decay, partially covered with a blue children's blanket, on top of which had been placed wood panelling and three white stones.
A murder trial for Chad Daybell has been scheduled for April 2024, set to run until the end of May.
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