Lori Vallow appears in court; her dead children, JJ Vallow, on the right, and Tylee Ryan, on the left, appear inset, on April 13, 2023. (Courtroom pool sketch artist; Fremont County Sheriff’s Office)
The triple murder trial for Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, a “doomsday cult”-connected mother of two dead children and two dead former husbands continues with a fifth day of testimony in Ada County, Idaho, on Friday morning.
Vallow and her fifth and current husband, Chad Daybell, 54, stand accused of murder over the 2019 deaths of Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, 17. The children disappeared on different dates in September of that year. Vallow was initially arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 on charges of child desertion. Daybell was arrested later that year after the children’s bodies were found buried at his property. The two defendants were indicted for the murder of Vallow’s children and Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, in May 2021. Initially being prosecuted as husband-and-wife co-defendants, the couple’s cases were recently severed and will be tried separately.
Last week, jury selection wrapped up with 12 jurors and six alternates being chosen from nearly 2,000 Ada County residents who received a summons. The trial is being overseen by Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce, who previously explained to would-be jurors that the complicated case is expected to last as long as eight weeks.
On Thursday, jurors heard explosive testimony from Vallow’s friend Lori Gibb and Chandler Police Detective Nate Duncan, along with emails and phone calls involving the defendant.
LISTEN: FULL AUDIO of Day 4 – ‘Zombies’ and ‘Bodies’: Lori Vallow Daybell’s Ex-Best Friend Reveals Weird Details During Trialhttps://t.co/nBXLN2vrpa #LoriVallowTrial #MelanieGibb #Daybell
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 14, 2023
They viewed emails and texts on his phone. In the weeks and months following his death that he was killed because he was a zombie, there was infidelity (Lori and Chad) #LoriVallow @LawCrimeNetwork
— Pretty Lies & Alibis🎙 (@PrettyLiesAlibi) April 13, 2023
More Law&Crime coverage: Judge rejects Lori Vallow demand to leave when autopsy photos of her murdered children are shown
Law&Crime correspondent Gigi McKelvey will provide rolling updates as the case progresses Friday and throughout the trial:
I have a good seat today and can see Lori. Detective Duncan will still be on the stand when we resume here in a few minutes.
— Pretty Lies & Alibis🎙 (@PrettyLiesAlibi) April 14, 2023
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