The Vallow-Daybell doomsday murders consist of a series of killings-including child murder, filicide, and spousal murder-committed by an American couple, Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell.
Lori Daybell behind bars Interview
Chad and Lori led a Mormon religious sect described in the media as a "doomsday cult."
The Victims
In chronological order:
- Murder of Charles Vallow
- Murders of Tylee Ryan and Joshua "JJ" Vallow
- Murder of Tammy Daybell
The case was set in motion by the children's disappearances. Tylee was last seen alive on September 8, 2019, and J.J. on September 22, 2019. As police searched for J.J., they discovered that Tylee was also missing.
Authorities in Idaho said the case included bizarre claims by Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell that the children were zombies and that Vallow Daybell was a goddess tasked with ushering in an apocalypse.
Read also: Vallow-Daybell Trial: Key Evidence
Here's a breakdown of the key individuals involved:
- Lori Vallow Daybell: The mother convicted of conspiring to murder her estranged husband and murdering her two youngest children.
- Chad Daybell: The religious author and husband of Lori Vallow Daybell, also convicted of murder in connection with the deaths.
- Tylee Ryan: Lori Vallow Daybell's 16-year-old daughter, who was murdered.
- Joshua "JJ" Vallow: Lori Vallow Daybell's 7-year-old adopted son, who was also murdered.
- Charles Vallow: Lori Vallow Daybell's fourth husband, who was shot and killed.
- Tammy Daybell: Chad Daybell's first wife, who died under suspicious circumstances.
- Alex Cox: Lori Vallow Daybell's brother, who shot and killed Charles Vallow and later died of natural causes.
Investigations revealed that Tylee and J.J.'s disappearances had been preceded and followed by the suspicious deaths of Lori and Chad's respective spouses and by the attempt on Brandon Boudreaux's life. Lori and Chad had married two weeks after the death of Chad's first wife Tammy.
The Convictions and Sentences
Lori Vallow Daybell was found guilty of conspiring to murder her estranged husband Charles Vallow in 2019. In May 2023, an Idaho jury found her guilty on all charges for her role in the deaths of her 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan; her 7-year-old adopted son, Joshua "JJ" Vallow; and her husband's first wife, Tammy Daybell. She had pleaded not guilty.
Vallow was convicted last year and received multiple life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
Chad Daybell was sentenced to death on June 1, 2024, nearly a year after his second wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. On May 30, Daybell was convicted of first-degree murder of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and two of his then-girlfriend Lori Vallow's children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, as well as for conspiracy in the murders and of insurance fraud.
Read also: Key Testimony in the Daybell Case
The jury found Daybell guilty on all counts Thursday in what prosecutors said was a plot to pursue "money, power and sex."
Chad Daybell was also found guilty of two counts of insurance fraud related to $430,000 in life insurance policies he had on Tamara Daybell for which he was the beneficiary.
Here is a summary of the sentences:
| Individual | Crimes | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Lori Vallow Daybell | Conspiracy to commit murder, murder of Tylee Ryan, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, and Tammy Daybell | Life in prison without parole, additional life sentence in Arizona |
| Chad Daybell | First-degree murder of Tammy Daybell, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, and Tylee Ryan, conspiracy to commit murder, insurance fraud | Death penalty |
The Beliefs and Motivations
At the time of the murders, Chad and Lori were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). However, their beliefs had deviated significantly from mainstream Mormonism. Chad was an apocalyptic author and publisher who claimed to have visions of the future and to have lived through multiple past lives, and prophesied the world would end in July 2020.
During the more than monthlong trial in Boise, Idaho, prosecutors painted Daybell as someone infatuated with apocalyptic thoughts and who called people “zombies” and “dark spirits.”
Read also: Inside the Daybell Trial
Chad's novels often depicted apocalyptic situations and dystopian futures, and featured characters based on his own family. In a memoir called Living on the Edge of Heaven, he claimed to have had two near-death experiences that allowed him to receive supernatural visions from "beyond the veil." A recurring theme in Chad's writings was a supernatural voice giving instructions and advice to him or to his characters.
Over time, Chad's religious beliefs became increasingly extreme. Jason Gwilliam, the husband of Tammy's sister, later recalled that Chad's views had started changing around 2006 and 2007, as he became "hyper-focused on preparing for end of times." In 2010 or 2011, Chad started claiming he had visions about how the end of the world would occur.
Chad claimed to Lori that they had been married in multiple previous lifetimes. After their initial meeting, Lori's husband went on a business trip, giving her the opportunity to hold a small overnight gathering at her home. Chad and Gibb were among the attendees, with Chad captivating Lori and the group by sharing his Mormon-influenced, but unique, beliefs. Lori developed a strong attachment to Chad and his teachings.
Reincarnation - a concept which is not accepted by the LDS Church - played a key part in Chad's religious views. He claimed to have lived thirty-one previous lives on different planets and that Lori had lived twenty-one separate lives, five of which coincided with his own experiences on Earth.
According to Chad, past lives were "multiple probations" on Earth. By February 2019, Lori reportedly informed Charles that "she no longer cared about him or J.J.". Charles sought a protective order against Lori at the advice of his attorney.
The "Dateline" Interview
Lori Vallow Daybell says "Jesus showed" her a future where she's not in prison. Lori then gave the reason why she's so confident that she'll eventually be exonerated. “I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven,” she said. “And we were not in jail, and we were not in prison, and they were still in the future, from now.”
On NBC, the newsmagazine describes the prison-set sit-down as "extensive, and often combative." In one exchange featured in a preview of the episode, titled “Lori Vallow Daybell: The Jailhouse Interview,” Morrison pointed out that Chad is currently sitting on death row for the crimes he was convicted of.
“I understand that, yeah,” Lori responded.
When Morrison questioned how she could “possibly think that Chad would be exonerated” after his convictions in the horrific murders, Lori continued to maintain their innocence.
“The same way I will be exonerated," she replied. "We will both be exonerated in the future."
Along with the prison interview with Lori, the all-new Dateline will also feature interviews with Lori’s sole surviving child, son Colby Ryan; as well as with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hart; Madison County Sheriff Ron Ball, who was the former lead detective for the Rexburg Police Department; and Detective Ray Hermosilla, a co-lead for the Rexburg Police Department.
Friday's special marks Dateline's seventh broadcast on the sensational cases.
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