Lori Vallow trial: 'Cult mom' who desired ‘money, power and sex’ killed children as they were 'obstacles', says prosecutor
MADISON COUNTY, IDAHO: On Monday, April 10, prosecutors alleged that ‘Doomsday cult mom’ Lori Vallow allegedly desired “sex, money and power” and killed her children because they were “obstacles” in her path. Vallow, alongside her husband, Chad Daybell, have been accused of killing the former’s children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, in September 2019. The duo is also facing charges for the alleged killing of Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy, 49, who died less than a month before Vallow and Daybell’s marriage.
Jury selection for Vallow’s case reportedly began on April 3. During the opening statements of the trial, prosecutors claimed Vallow and her husband collected social security and life insurance money following the three deaths. Joshua and Tylee were reported missing by their extended family after they were last seen in September 2019. Their burned remains were eventually discovered on Chad Daybell’s property on June 9, 2020.
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Both Vallow and Daybell were charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the children’s death but are facing separate trials. They are also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the death of Tammy.
‘It didn’t matter what obstacles she had to remove’
Prosecutor Lindsey Blake accused Vallow of murdering her children for “sex, money and power” during the opening statements of the latter’s murder trial, as per the New York Post. “The defendant Lori Vallow Daybell used money, power and sex, or the promise of those things, to get what she wanted. It didn’t matter what obstacles she had to remove to get what she wanted,” the prosecutor alleged.
“Tylee Ryan had her whole life ahead of her... Tylee had money. Lori wanted it. And now Tylee’s gone. JJ also had a whole life ahead of him but was tough and took time. JJ had also lost his father, and when JJ lost his father, he became that much more difficult to take care of. She didn’t want to take care of JJ. She wanted money, now JJ is gone,” she added.
The prosecutor also addressed Tammy Daybell’s death and claimed that she died cause of asphyxiation. Blake said Vallow was a “fan” of her husband and his religious fiction books when they first met in October 2018. She alleged that the duo had an “instant connection” despite being married to other people at the time and bonded immediately over their beliefs on doomsday.
Blake alleged that Daybell and Vallow both thought people had either “light” or “dark” within them and believed those with evil spirits could become a zombie and had to be “destroyed.” She claimed Vallow thought her own daughter had “dark light.” The prosecutor added, “The defendant and Chad used their self-proclaimed religious beliefs and teachings to justify their actions to others.”
Defense attorney says Lori Vallow has alibi to clear name from crime scene
During his opening statement at the trial, Lori Vallow’s defense attorney, Jim Archibald, claimed that his client has an alibi to prove she was “nowhere near her two children” when they were murdered. “Lori Vallow was in her own apartment in Rexburg, Idaho when JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan died in the apartment of Alex Cox,” he said. The prosecutor also added that Vallow was in Hawaii during the time of Tammy’s death.
The attorney went on to say that Vallow was a “good, responsible” mother with an interest in “the end of times” through her religion but she loved her children. He alleged that Vallow began to change when she met Daybell but claimed she was innocent of the charges. “Thankfully in this country, we get to worship how we choose. You said you would be fair and impartial. You said you would have an open mind. Do not judge her until you have heard all the evidence in this courtroom,” Archibald told the jurors.
Lori Vallow’s trial is expected to continue for up to 12 weeks. She can face up to a life sentence in prison if found guilty of the charges.