Trial begins for 'cult mom' for murders of children
Criminal defense attorney Brian Claypool discusses Lori Vallow's defense and Idaho's unique laws.
So-called "cult mom" Lori Vallow researched wedding dresses on the same day that husband Chad Daybell's first wife was buried in Idaho following her Oct. 19, 2019, death, according to local news.
Vallow and Daybell are charged with killing two of Vallow's children, J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan, around September 2019, and Tammy Daybell in October 2019. Prosecutors in Vallow's murder trial revealed on April 10 that Tammy died of asphyxiation.
On Oct. 22, 2019 – the day of Tammy's funeral, three days after her death – the user of a Gmail account associated with Vallow searched "wedding dresses" and "wedding dresses in Kauai," where Vallow and Daybell were married in Hawaii on Nov. 5, 2019, according to East Idaho News.
"What also caught my attention was this was being looked at on the same day as Tammy’s funeral," Rexburg Police Department Detective David Stubbs testified on Monday.
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell are facing murder charges. (Facebook and Tony Blakeslee / East Idaho News)
Months prior to Tammy Daybell's death, which was originally determined to be natural, the account user researched "wedding bands made of malachite." The user then ordered two rings that totaled more than $800.
"We were thinking it was odd for her to be looking at wedding rings at that time," Stubbs said.
LORI VALLOW TRIAL: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ‘CULT MOM’ ACCUSED OF KILLING 2 KIDS, HUSBAND'S FIRST WIFE
Prosecutor Lindsey Blake previously argued that Vallow would have done anything to get Tammy Daybell out of the picture and have Chad Daybell "all to herself."
Idaho prosecutor Lindsey Blake argued that Vallow would have done anything to get Tammy Daybell out of the picture and have Chad Daybell "all to herself." (John Roark / The Idaho Post-Register via AP)
The couple first met in 2018 at a Preparing a People conference and shared the belief that they had been married in a past life. They also believed people emit light or dark spirits – sometimes so dark that certain people could be considered zombies, Blake said earlier this month, as FOX 10 reporter Justin Lum reported.
"Defendant will move any obstacle in her way to get what she wants, and she wanted Chad Daybell," Blake argued.
J.J. and Tylee went missing in September 2019 – around the time investigators believe they were murdered on Chad Daybell's Idaho property.
In this aerial photo, investigators search for human remains at Chad Daybell's residence in Salem, Idaho, on June 9, 2020. (John Roark / The Idaho Post-Register)
On Oct. 9, 2019, a masked gunman appeared outside Tammy Daybell's home as she was getting home from work and fired multiple times. Investigators believe Lori Vallow's late brother, Alex Cox, was behind the attempted shooting, Blake said, according to Lum.
Ten days later, on Oct. 19, 2019, Tammy died of asphyxiation, though a medical examiner initially listed her cause of death as natural, resulting from cardiac arrest, according to FOX 10.
Authorities eventually found J.J. and Tylee's bodies buried on Daybell's property in rural Idaho in June 2020.
Lori and Chad Daybell are charged with killing 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
Tylee and J.J.'s respective causes of death have not been released. Investigators found Tylee's remains dismembered and burned while J.J.'s body was wrapped in plastic and tied with duct tape.
Vallow and Daybell allegedly collected J.J.'s and Tylee's Social Security benefits between Oct. 1, 2019, and Jan. 22, 2020, after their murder.
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Authorities arrested Vallow in February 2020 and Daybell in June 2020.
The couple was indicted in late May 2021 on multiple counts each of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, and first-degree murder related to the deaths of Tylee, J.J. and Tammy Daybell, officials announced at the time. Arizona officials in June 2021 also indicted Vallow in the July 2019 murder of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow.
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