Who are Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell?

"CULT mom" Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were previously arrested in Hawaii back in February 2020.

On May 12, 2023, a verdict was reached in the five-week murder trial where Vallow had been accused of killing two of her children, while Daybell's conviction came just over a year later.

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Who is Lori Vallow?

Lori Vallow, also known as Lori Daybell, 49, was the mother of two Idaho children who went mysteriously missing in September 2019: Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

Tylee is the daughter she had with her third husband, Joseph Ryan, who died of a heart attack in 2018.

Joshua is the son she adopted with her fourth husband, the late Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot in 2019.

Lori, a hairdresser, was arrested in Kauai, Hawaii, on a warrant issued in Madison County, Idaho.

She was served with a court order, directing her to bring the kids to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or face legal action.

But that didn't happen and Lori was accused of not cooperating with police in their search for her kids.

In November 2019, Chad and Lori's Rexburg, Idaho, home, was found "abruptly" vacated by police.

Chad allegedly told one person that Lori had no kids, while she allegedly told someone else that her daughter Tylee had died more than a year ago.

The puzzling case began last July, after Lori's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in an altercation at their home in Phoenix.

Who is her husband Chad Daybell?

Lori's new husband, Chad Daybell, is the author of several religious-themed fiction books about prophecies and the end of the world.

He and Lori jointly worked on Preparing A People podcasts - and both spoke alongside others about the end of the world, reports .

The small multi-media company behind the podcasts advertises its lectures, podcasts, and videos as readying people for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

At the time of their involvement with the podcasts, Lori was married to Charles Vallow, while Chad was living with his wife, Tammy Daybell.

Charles Vallow's sister, Kay, told the Associated Press that he had confided in her that he feared Lori was cheating on him with Chad.

Charles eventually filed divorce documents in an Arizona court last February claiming that Lori believed she was a “translated being” and “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020,” The Arizona Republic newspaper reported.

After Charles - her fourth husband - was shot and killed in Phoenix last July, she moved her family to Idaho in August.

Two months after Lori's move, Tammy Daybell died at her home.

Chad married Lori just two weeks after Tammy’s death.

Daybell's trial began on April 1, 2024, and was expected to last nine weeks, according to .

The  reported that he was being charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and Vallow's two children.

On Thursday, May 30, 2024, Daybell was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the deaths of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and two of his second wife's children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7.

A few days later, he sat emotionless as his sentence was read out.

The jury ultimately gave Daybell the death penalty for his crimes.

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When did their children go missing?

Investigators first determined that JJ and Tylee had not been seen since September 2019, but Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell never reported them missing.

JJ was enrolled at Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg, Idaho, on September 3, 2019.

But he only attended lessons for several weeks before being "unenrolled" on September 23, after Lori said she'd homeschool him, reports KJZZ.

It's not clear when exactly Tylee was last seen, but reports suggest it was also in September 2019.

Investigators said the couple later claimed JJ and Tylee were visiting relatives in Arizona.

After discovering the lie, detectives returned to her and Chad's home the next day — only to find the couple had left town.

It wasn't until June 9, 2020, that investigators found J.J. and Tylee's remains buried on Chad's property.

In April 2023, Dr. Garth Warren, a forensic pathologist, revealed J.J.'s cause of death to be asphyxiation by a plastic bag and duct tape over his mouth.

Meanwhile, Tylee's cause of death was determined "homicide by unspecified means."

As a result, Lori and Chad were both charged with first-degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence in connection with J.J. and Tylee's deaths.

On May 12, 2023, Lori was found guilty of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children and on July 31 she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Is Lori Vallow part of a Doomsday cult?

Divorce documents filed by the late Charles Vallow last February claimed that Lori believed she was a “translated being” and “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.”

Lori's current - and fifth - husband, Chad Daybell also appears to have unorthodox beliefs.

He has claimed in blog posts and podcasts that he had previously died or had near-death experiences that he said allowed him to receive visions about the future.

He also wrote and published several books themed around the apocalypse and at least loosely based on the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Larry and Kay Woodcock, grandparents of the missing boy JJ Vallow, have alleged that Lori and Chad have cult-like beliefs.

Julie Rowe, a self-described “visionary” and “energy worker” who says she's a long-time pal of Chad, claims he repeatedly told her he had a vision of his former wife Tammy's death.

In a video, Julie defended him, adding: “My angels tell me that Chad Daybell is being falsely accused of the suspicious death of his wife.

“I have talked to Tammy’s spirit.”

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What happened to Lori and Chad's ex-partners?

Lori Vallow’s estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in Phoenix in July 2019 by Lori’s brother, Alex Cox.

Alex told authorities that the shooting was in self-defense after Charles hit him with a baseball bat, but the case is unsolved.

Whatever the findings, Alex can't stand trial - as he died of a pulmonary blood clot in December, says the .

Chad Daybell’s wife Tammy Daybell died in October last year of what her obituary said was natural causes.

However, when Chad married Lori just two weeks after Tammy’s death, police became suspicious and had Tammy's remains exhumed.

Lori's long-awaited trial revealed the results of an autopsy performed on Tammy Daybell.

As per , her "cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, not a heart attack, as previously believed."