The Dark Tale Of Lori Vallow And Chad Daybell: A Cult Murder Case Unveiled

It looked every inch the fairytale wedding. Dressed in white with pink flower garlands around their necks, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier as they exchanged vows on a paradise beach in Hawaii. Photos captured the apparently blissful day as they toasted their nuptials, embraced, and she danced to him playing the guitar. But behind the photos, something much more disturbing was going on.

Her two children had not been seen alive in two months. His wife of three decades – the mother of his five children – had died suddenly just two weeks earlier. And her husband had been shot dead by her brother (who would also soon be dead) not long before. In the four years since the November 2019 wedding of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, a deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths, and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies has come to light.

In total, five people close to the couple have wound up dead. Now, Vallow – infamously dubbed the “cult mom” – has finally been brought to justice. On 12 May 2023, Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven. She was also found guilty of conspiracy to kill Mr. Daybell’s first wife, Tammy. Vallow was sentenced to life in prison without parole for those crimes on 31 July. And now, Mr. Daybell is also on trial for the murders.

JJ and Tylee's Disappearance and Murder

JJ and Tylee were last seen alive in September 2019, shortly after Vallow had moved the two children from Arizona to Idaho to be closer to Mr. Daybell. Chilling photos captured a smiling JJ, Tylee, and Vallow’s brother Alex Cox on a visit to Yellowstone National Park on 8 September. This photo is now believed to be the last proof of life for 16-year-old Tylee; after that day, she was never seen or heard from again.

Days later, on 22 September, JJ was also seen for the last time – at his school in Rexburg and by his mother’s friends at her apartment that night. By the next morning, the seven-year-old – who had autism – had vanished. When asked where he was, Vallow told friends Melanie Gibb and David Warwick that he had to be taken away because he was “being a zombie.” Cellphone data places Vallow’s brother Alex Cox in the yard of Mr. Daybell’s property in the hours after both of the children’s disappearances. The morning after Tylee was last seen alive, Mr. Daybell also sent a text to his wife to say that he had shot a raccoon and buried it in the pet cemetery on the grounds of their property.

The Investigation and Discovery of the Bodies

It would be many months before investigators, and the children’s desperate family members, knew what had happened to the two siblings. JJ’s grandparents raised the alarm after they were unable to get in touch with their grandson, but Vallow refused to tell authorities where either of the children was. According to Vallow’s friends, she had claimed that her children were “zombies” and that the only way to free someone’s soul from evil spirits was to kill them.

In June 2020, the children’s family members’ worst fears were realized when JJ and Tylee’s remains were discovered buried in Mr. Daybell’s backyard. JJ’s body was found in a black plastic bag wrapped in duct tape, while Tylee’s body had been dismembered and burned in a fire pit before being buried in the pet cemetery. The discovery of the children's remains brought to light a series of other mysterious deaths connected to the doomsday couple, revealing a pattern of people close to the pair dying suddenly.

Charles Vallow’s Death: Self-Defense or Murder?

Two months before prosecutors say Vallow and Mr. Daybell murdered JJ and Tylee, Vallow’s brother Alex Cox shot and killed her husband Charles Vallow. It was the morning of 11 July 2019, and Charles had gone to his estranged wife’s home in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up JJ. Charles and Vallow had been married since 2006 and had adopted JJ – who was the biological grandson of Vallow’s sister. Cox claimed that Charles attacked him with a baseball bat, so he shot him in self-defense.

However, Cox did not perform CPR on Vallow and waited 43 minutes to call police. Investigators say that Charles was already down on the ground when Cox shot him a second time. Charles’ death came months after he filed for divorce from Vallow, saying that he feared for the safety of himself and the children and that Vallow had threatened to kill him. An intervention was being planned by Charles and his family over Vallow’s troubling beliefs at the time of his death.

The Cult Beliefs

At the center of the string of murders and mysterious deaths stands the couple’s bizarre doomsday cult. Mr. Daybell ran a publishing company that put out books about apocalyptic scenarios loosely based on the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vallow had been a follower of his books for some time before they met in person at a religious conference in Utah in October 2018. As their relationship grew more intense, so too did their apocalyptic beliefs, leading them to believe they could drive out evil spirits and seek revelations from beyond the spiritual veil.

Vallow even believed she could teleport between Arizona and Hawaii. Most chillingly, the couple reportedly believed that individuals, including JJ and Tylee, had become “zombies.” They allegedly had a scoring system for ranking how far people’s souls had gone from good to evil, with the only solution being death for those deemed irredeemable.

The Trial and Aftermath

Vallow and Mr. Daybell were charged with the murders of Tylee and JJ in May 2021, nearly one year after their bodies had been discovered. Prosecutors alleged that the couple conspired with Cox to kill the children and Mr. Daybell’s wife as part of their doomsday beliefs, but also to collect life insurance money and the kids’ social security and survivor benefits. Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and grand theft on 12 May 2023.

The trial of the doomsday cult couple has faced numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental incompetence, and legal wrangling. Vallow has been behind bars since January 2020, while Mr. Daybell awaits trial. The chilling case continues to unfold, capturing the nation’s attention and raising questions about the depths of human belief and the lengths people will go to protect their ideologies.