BOISE, Idaho (NewsNation) — A verdict has been reached in the trial of Lori Vallow, who is accused of killing her two youngest children.
The trial lasted for weeks, and more than 60 witnesses were called to testify. Vallow herself did not testify, nor did her defense team call any witnesses.
Vallow’s sonJJ Vallow, 7, and daughter, Tylee RyanChad Dabyell’s wife, Tammy, died in October 2019, of what authorities initially said were “natural causes.” “However, investigators got suspicious when Vallow and Chad Daybell got married just weeks after Tammy Daybell’s sudden death. A second autopsy ended up finding Tammy Daybell died of asphyxiation.”
Chad Daybell also faces charges in connection to the kids and Tammy Daybell’s deaths, but he and Vallow are being tried separately.
During the trial, more information came out about the apparent affair between Vallow and Chad Daybell, as well as the couple’s extreme, “cult-like” doomsday beliefs.
Chad Daybell was a follower of“Preparing a People”and took their teachings to an extreme. Speaking about “zombies” and demons possessing people, Chad Daybell would tell his followers the world was going to end.
Texts between Vallow and Chad Daybell that revealed more of these beliefs were shown at trial, including messages that spoke about Tylee and JJ’s “death percentages,” demons “possessing” the children, and relatives around the couple being “obstacles.”
Also revealed during the trial were the causes of death for JJ and Tylee, Ada County Coroner Dr. Garth Warrensaid JJ died of asphyxia from a plastic bag being put over his head while Tylee was declared a victim of “homicide by unspecified means.”
That term is used when a forensic pathologist examines a case and determines it was a homicide, but can’t pinpoint exactly what caused it.
