After being found guilty of killing his first wife and Lori Vallow’s two children, Chad Daybell’s fate has been sealed.
Daybell was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the murders of Tammy Daybell, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and Tylee Ryan on May 30.
On June 1, Daybell was then sentenced to death.
Originally published: May 26, 2021 9:00 am PDT
On May 25, 2021 Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell were indicted on conspiracy to commit murder charges and first-degree murder charges. This comes more than a year after they were arrested, and her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan’s bodies were discovered on Chad’s property.
In addition to the murders of J.J. and Tylee, Daybell was also indicted for the murder of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and two counts of insurance fraud for life insurance policies he had on her, People reports. As Mamas Uncut reported, roughly a month after JJ and Tylee went missing in 2019, Daybell’s first wife Tammy passed away suspiciously.
It was just two weeks after Tammy died that Daybell and Vallow wed in Hawaii.
Daybell is a gravedigger by trade, who authored religion-based books about “prophecy and the end of the world.” Vallow reportedly believed she was the reincarnation of God and that her children were Zombies.
Vallow was also indicted on the charge of Grand Theft related to Social Security Survivor benefits over $1,000 allocated for the care of minors Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow “that were appropriated after the children were missing and ultimately found deceased,” People reports.
In a past interview with Lori’s former sister-in-law, Annie Cushing told People that she “thought Lori was great, very loving. But there was a tectonic shift in her, and she went over the edge.”
That’s when her former father-in-law, JJ’s grandfather, Larry Woodcock said, “I saw a change in 2018. It was … just crazy. I couldn’t believe that she was falling for it.”
In a joint press release from Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake and Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood, they believe “all three homicides and the related financial crimes were committed as part of a continuing criminal scheme.”
”The unprecedented cooperation among law enforcement has been a model of cooperation, diligence, and commitment. Every person who has worked on this case is to be commended for their diligence and steadfast pursuit of justice for Tammy, Tylee, and JJ.
Local, state, and federal law enforcement professionals and local and state prosecutors have worked tirelessly for nearly a year and a half to gather the facts and evidence necessary to bring forward charges on behalf of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy. Due to the ongoing safety restrictions imposed by the courts during the pandemic, we just recently were given permission to present information to the Grand Jury for their review.
They deliberated and determined there is probable cause to believe that the Daybells willfully and knowingly conspired to commit several crimes that led to the death of three innocent people.”
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, hours before J.J. and Tylee’s bodies were found, Vallow and Daybell talked on the phone. According to the Daily Mail, who obtained a copy of the phone conversation, it began with Vallow saying “Hi, Babe” before asking Daybell if he’s okay. “No, they’re searching the property,” Daybell responded.
After asking if those who were searching the property were in the house and if they were seizing stuff again, Daybell again said, “They’re searching.” The next few seconds of their conversation is unintelligible before he tells Vallow that he’s glad she called him.
“So we’ll see what transpires,” Daybell says before Vallow adds, “Okay. So what do you want me to do? Pray?” It sounds like he says yes before the conversation becomes unintelligible again. Daybell then tells Vallow, “I love you so much.”
Prior to the discovery of JJ’s and Tylee’s bodies in June of 2020, they hadn’t been seen since September 2019. JJ’s grandparents reported them missing two months later in November. At a court hearing, Rexburg police Detective Ray Hermosillo described what the children were wearing when they were found.
J.J. was reportedly “dressed in red pajamas and placed inside a black plastic bag, with his ankles and wrists bound by duct tape. Several layers of duct tape also secured a white plastic bag around the boy’s head.” Tylee was then found in a nearby pet cemetery, which was also in Daybell’s yard. “Authorities recovered a mass of burned flesh and bone held in a melted green bucket, and under the bucket, a partial human skull.”
Prior to their most recent indictment, which included murder charges, Daybell had been charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, and two felony counts of destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence. And Vallow had been charged with two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence.
To get the entire rundown of everything that took place around Vallow and Daybell prior to them being arrested, you can scroll through the timeline Mamas Uncut created here.