Lori Vallow is extradited from Idaho to Arizona after being convicted of murdering her children
An occult-obsessed mother who was found guilty by a jury in Idaho on Friday of the murder of her two children and conspiracy to kill her husband’s ex-wife will be extradited to Arizona after being convicted, it now appears, of murdering her fourth husband.
Lori Vallow, 49, showed no emotion as the verdict was read in Boise, after a five-week trial.
Jurors found her guilty of the September 2019 murders of seven-year-old JJ and 16-year-old Tylee.
Shortly after the verdict was read, it was confirmed that she will be extradited to Arizona to face murder charges following her conviction in Idaho.
Vallow is charged with conspiracy to kill Charles Vallow, her fourth husband, in July 2019.
Her brother Alex Cox fired the fatal shot — Cox died of a blood clot five months later, in what coroners said was a natural death — but a grand jury found in June 2021 that Vallow should be charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Charles Vallow (left, with wife Lori) was shot dead in Arizona in July 2019 by Alex Cox, his wife’s brother. Cox died in December 2019. In July 2021, Lori Vallow was charged by a grand jury with conspiracy to kill her husband.
The 49-year-old was emotionless as the verdict was read Friday in Boise, Idaho. Her defense team did not call any witnesses or provide an explanation for how the children died
Before Charles Vallow died, he had filed for divorce.
Cox was never charged after shooting him to death, and pleaded self-defense.
Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel said the two-year gap between the crime and the decision to charge Lori Vallow was due to the complexity of the case.
He said in July 2021 that “complex, difficult cases of this nature take time to properly investigate and resolve.”
Vallow is likely to be sentenced in three months for the murder of her children, Judge Steven Boyce said Friday.
Her conviction came as no surprise.
Her defense team did not call any witnesses or provide an explanation for how the children died.
Vallow’s children disappeared in September 2019.
Their mother, who had recently met and married Doomsday cult enthusiast Chad Daybell, avoided questions and evaded authorities.
She fled to Hawaii, refusing to tell the police where her children were, or answering all sorts of questions, not only about her children, but about the vast web of death and deceit that seemed to engulf her family.
Chad Daybell is facing similar charges, but his trial was interrupted.
Vallow, who was found mentally competent to stand trial, now faces life in prison. Prosecutors previously took the death penalty off the table.
Vallow crossed her hands as some of the counts were read
Vallow is accused of killing seven-year-old Joshua (JJ), left, and 16-year-old Tylee, right
Before the verdict was read, Vallow talked to her lawyers – who didn’t try to explain how her children died
When the verdict was read, JJ’s grandfather Larry and his grandmother Kay cried.
Afterwards, prosecutors Rob Wood and Lindsey Blake said in a statement: “We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict and we would like to thank them, as well as the deputies, for their efforts over the past six weeks during this trial.
“Given the ongoing case against the co-defendant, we are unable to discuss additional interrogations or further details of this case.
“We want to assure you that we remain committed to justice for Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell.
“We also want to express sincere appreciation to the many members of law enforcement and the community who worked tirelessly to hold Lori Vallow Daybell accountable.”
The bizarre case attracted national attention in 2019 after the children disappeared. It was another nine months before their bodies were discovered in shallow graves in Chad Daybell’s backyard.
JJ was suffocated with a plastic bag, while Tylee’s corpse was so badly burned and dismembered that it’s still not clear how she was killed.
Spectators lined up at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, as early as 4 a.m. to grab a coveted seat in the courtroom and see the verdict in the case of the “cult mother” charged of three murders, including her own children.
JJ’s grandfather Larry Woodcock was delighted with the verdict
Lori was also found guilty of conspiracy to murder in the death of Chad’s wife, Tammy, who died of asphyxia in October 2019.
Match made in hell: Lori and Chad met in October 2018 at a religious conference
The state argued that Vallow was motivated by “money, power, and sex,” and that she used all three of those things to achieve her twisted goals.
Jurors heard how they saw her children and Daybell’s wife as “obstacles” to the romantic life they envisioned for themselves in Hawaii.
Prosecutors said Vallow and Daybell believed — or chose to believe — that those who stood in their way were “dark” possessed individuals they called “zombies.”
After JJ and Tylee’s disappearance, authorities began looking into all deaths associated with the couple.
Tammy Daybell was Chad’s wife when he met Lori and the mother of their children. She died suddenly in October 2019.
Initially, her death was ruled as due to natural causes.
After attention was focused on Lori and Chad, she was dug up and re-examined.
The last known photo of Tylee, center, on a family trip to Yellowstone National Park with JJ, left, her uncle Alex Cox, right, and her mother Lori, in September 2019
Lori and Chad fled Idaho to Hawaii, refusing to tell anyone where the children were. They married in a beachside ceremony, ignoring growing questions and concerns for her children
An autopsy — which Daybell had denied the night she died — shows she had died of asphyxia, the same cause of death that would later be determined for JJ.
Vallow was finally arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 – five months after JJ and Tylee were last seen alive.
The children would not be found for another four months.
Jurors heard prosecutor Lindsey Blake describe how charred remains were all that was left of Tylee.
She told jurors, “You’ll hear it explained as a mass of bone and tissue. That’s what was left of this beautiful young woman.’
Tylee’s DNA was later found on a pick and shovel in a shed on the property.
Eventually, Lori was arrested and sent back to Idaho from Hawaii
Chad, her faithful husband, was by her side. He is now also being charged
JJ’s body was wrapped in garbage bags and duct tape – the tape tied his arms in front of him and wrapped around his head. He had suffocated in a plastic bag.
Daybell’s two children and previous wife, Tammy, were all killed for getting in the way of the couple’s relationship, the state said.
“Remember, the defendant will remove any obstacle to get what she wants, and she wanted Chad Daybell,” Blake told the jurors.
“The defendant used money, power and sex to get what she wanted.”
Judges also heard from Vallow’s friends and relatives that she and Daybell thought the kids were “dark” and called them “zombies” before disappearing.
“The common theme was that the body must be destroyed,” Blake said.
“The defendant and Chad used their self-professed religious teachings to justify their actions to others — their actions from affair to murder.”