Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders

Rexburg, USA · 2020

solved Terrorism / extremism June 9, 2020

Perpetrator

Lori Vallow Daybell

Lori Vallow Daybell, a mother and adherent of doomsday religious beliefs, was convicted in May 2023 of the first-degree murders of her two children and conspiracy in the death of her new husband's previous wife. She and Chad Daybell held apocalyptic beliefs and characterized victims as 'zombies' or 'dark' spirits. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole in Idaho and later convicted in additional Arizona cases.

Victims

Joshua 'JJ' Vallow (7)
Tylee Ryan (16)
Tammy Daybell (49)
Charles Vallow (62)

Location

Rexburg, USA

Summary

Lori Vallow Daybell murdered her two children and conspired in the death of her husband's wife amid apocalyptic doomsday beliefs; the children's bodies were found buried in Idaho in June 2020.

Details

Lori Vallow Daybell's children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, were last seen in September 2019 in Idaho. Their remains were discovered in June 2020 buried on property belonging to Lori's new husband, Chad Daybell, in Salem near Rexburg, Idaho. The couple shared apocalyptic religious beliefs and reportedly labeled the children and others as 'zombies.' Lori was convicted in May 2023 of first-degree murder and conspiracy, including conspiracy in the death of Chad's previous wife, Tammy Daybell, and sentenced to life without parole. She was later convicted in Arizona of conspiracy in the deaths of her former husband Charles Vallow and an attempt on a relative.

Background

Lori Vallow was born in 1973 in California and spent much of her adult life moving across the western United States, ultimately settling in Arizona and later Idaho. She had been married several times and was the mother of several children, including her adopted son Joshua "JJ" Vallow and her biological daughter Tylee Ryan. By the late 2010s, Vallow had become deeply involved in fringe apocalyptic religious beliefs that drew loosely from offshoots of Latter-day Saint culture, including ideas about the imminent end of the world, the assignment of "light" and "dark" labels to people, and the notion that certain individuals had become "zombies" possessed by evil spirits.

Around 2018 to 2019, Vallow met Chad Daybell, an Idaho author who self-published fiction and doomsday-themed books and ran a small publishing company. Daybell shared and promoted similar apocalyptic teachings and claimed prophetic insight, including the ability to rate people's spiritual standing. The two formed a relationship while both were still married to other people. Their shared beliefs would later form the ideological backdrop prosecutors used to explain a series of deaths surrounding the couple.

The Deaths and Disappearances

In July 2019, Lori's brother Alex Cox shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona. Cox claimed self-defense at the time, and no charges were initially filed; Charles had reportedly sought to have Lori committed and was pursuing divorce. In October 2019, Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell's wife, died at her Idaho home in what was first attributed to natural causes. Her death drew renewed scrutiny after Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow just two weeks later, in November 2019. Tammy's body was later exhumed, and authorities concluded she had been asphyxiated.

The couple's two youngest children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow, were last seen in September 2019. When relatives and authorities sought to check on the children in late 2019, Lori and Chad gave conflicting and false accounts of their whereabouts and then left Idaho for Hawaii. The children's prolonged disappearance triggered a national search and intense media attention throughout early 2020.

Investigation and Discovery

Investigators grew suspicious as Lori repeatedly failed to produce the children or explain their absence. In early 2020 she was charged in Idaho with crimes related to abandoning and concealing her children, and she was arrested in Hawaii in February 2020. Her brother Alex Cox, considered a person of interest, had died in December 2019 of what was ruled natural causes, removing a key potential witness.

In June 2020, investigators searching Chad Daybell's rural property near Rexburg, Idaho, discovered human remains buried on the land. The remains were identified as JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. JJ had been wrapped in plastic and bound, and Tylee's remains had been burned and dismembered. The grim discovery transformed the case from a missing-children investigation into a multiple-murder prosecution and prompted authorities to pursue conspiracy and murder charges against both Lori and Chad.

Charges and Trial

Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were indicted on charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy in the deaths of JJ Vallow, Tylee Ryan, and Tammy Daybell. Prosecutors argued that the couple's apocalyptic beliefs, combined with financial motives such as life insurance and Social Security benefits, drove them to eliminate people they had labeled obstacles or "zombies." Lori's case was delayed after she was found mentally unfit to stand trial in 2021 and was committed for treatment before being restored to competency.

Lori Vallow Daybell's trial took place in Idaho in the spring of 2023. In May 2023, a jury found her guilty on all counts, including the murders of her two children and conspiracy in the death of Tammy Daybell. She was sentenced to multiple terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Chad Daybell was tried separately in 2024; he was convicted of murder and, unlike Lori, was sentenced to death.

Aftermath and Legacy

Lori Vallow Daybell faced additional prosecution in Arizona related to the 2019 shooting death of her former husband Charles Vallow and an alleged conspiracy to kill a relative. In 2025 she was convicted in Arizona proceedings and received further life sentences, and she chose to represent herself in some of those hearings, drawing additional public attention.

The case became one of the most widely covered American true-crime stories of its era, spawning extensive news coverage, documentaries, podcasts, and books. It drew particular interest because of the intersection of fringe doomsday religious ideology, family annihilation, and the deaths of two children. For many observers, the case underscored how extremist apocalyptic beliefs can be invoked to rationalize violence, and it left lasting grief among surviving relatives, including the children's extended family who had pressed authorities to search for them.

Video Coverage

Frequently asked questions

What was the Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders case?

Lori Vallow Daybell murdered her two children and conspired in the death of her husband's wife amid apocalyptic doomsday beliefs; the children's bodies were found buried in Idaho in June 2020.

Who was responsible for Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders?

Lori Vallow Daybell. Lori Vallow Daybell, a mother and adherent of doomsday religious beliefs, was convicted in May 2023 of the first-degree murders of her two children and conspiracy in the death of her new husband's previous wife. She and Chad Daybell held apocalyptic beliefs and characterized victims as 'zombies' or 'dark' spirits. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole in Idaho and later convicted in additional Arizona cases.

Who were the victims of the Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders case?

The named victims were Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Tammy Daybell, Charles Vallow.

Where and when did the Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders case take place?

It took place in Rexburg, USA in 2020.

Was the Lori Vallow Daybell Doomsday Cult Murders case solved?

This case is recorded as solved.

Sources & further reading

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