Lori Vallow: 'Doomsday cult' mom demanded recruits to join after leaving their children
BOISE, IDAHO: A former friend of Lori Vallow Daybell testified that she required recruits to "be separated" from their children if they wished to join her cult. The 'Doomsday mom' is currently standing trial for the second week in an Idaho court in connection to the murders of her son Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, 7, and daughter, Tylee Ryan, 16.
Vallow and her fifth husband Chad Daybell are also charged in the murder of his ex-wife, Tammy. April Raymond, an ex-pal of Vallow who met her in 2016 in Hawaii through her church testified on Wednesday, April 19. They kept in touch throughout the years and met again in 2019. Raymond said that the suspect had changed drastically by the time they reunited, reported New York Post.
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Lori was a 'goddess' and her rivals were 'zombies'
Raymond said that Vallow's typical religious beliefs were replaced eventually as she considered herself a "goddess" and believed her rivals were "zombies." In February 2019, the accused killer visited Raymond and attempted to convince her in joining the cult which was a new interpretation of the Christian religion.
"She had come to gather me. She said I had fulfilled my role in their lives and I had a greater mission to fulfill with her," Raymond told the jury. However, Vallow said, "I would need to be separated from my children," to join the cult.
The accused couple believed God wanted them to lead people into doomsday
According to prosecutors, Chad Daybell and Lori said that they got God's calling to shepherd the 144, 000 followers into doomsday and for Jesus Christ's second coming. The cult woman believed that each person represented light or dark. She also believed that the people who represented "dark" had to die or go through spiritual castings to lose the evil spiritual attachments.
The remains of her children JJ and Tylee were found in shallow graves in 2020 on Daybell's property in Idaho. Tylee's burnt remains were discovered near the family's 'pet cemetery' while JJ's remains were buried under a tree.
On day six of the trial, the courtroom heard a disturbing jailhouse conversation between Vallow and her surviving son Colby Ryan. The 27-year-old was heard accusing her mother of murdering his younger siblings. "I have prayed for you in my worst moments. I have prayed for my siblings who you swore to me were okay. I thought I could trust you. I thought that you were a completely different person," Ryan told Vallow in the call.