'Supermum' to murderer: How Lori Vallow became the 'Doomsday' killer

“Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case," Lori said in court. 

In January 2020, authorities ordered Lori Vallow Daybell to produce her two youngest children, after they had not been seen since September 2019. 

But instead of doing that, Lori and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, fled to Hawaii. 

Just a month later, Lori was arrested for failing to comply with their demands. 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow were still nowhere to be seen and Lori refused to say anything.

It wasn’t until months later, in June 2020, that police found the bodies of Tylee and JJ in her husband Chad’s backyard, buried in shallow graves.

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From “supermum” to killing her children

When Lori married Charles in 2006, it was her fourth time down the aisle.

The two shared children from previous marriages, including Tylee. In 2014, they welcomed JJ into their family, adopting him from one of Charles’ family members. 

People around Lori say that she was a loving and caring person, with one neighbour even describing her as a “supermum”. 

"She was always well put together. Dressed nicely, organised, unflappable. I wanted to be just like her,” the neighbour told PEOPLE.

However, family members say that Lori started to change in 2017 when she began reading books by her future husband, Chad. In the local area, he ran a small publishing house and wrote a collection of religious novels that predict the ending of the world.

One of Lori’s former in-laws described her shock at the change in Lori. 

"I thought Lori was great, very loving," she said. "But there was a tectonic shift in her, and she went over the edge."

Chad and Lori continued to get closer, despite the both of them being married to other people. They eventually met in 2018, and would appear on podcasts helping members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to prepare for “doomsday”. 

During this time, their beliefs spiralled, convincing themselves that her two children were “zombies”. Lori told a close friend that herself and Chad were on a religious mission to “rid the world of zombies”. 

Joshua “J.J.” Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Insert: Lori Daybell and Chad Daybell. Image: Rexburg Police Department.

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Lori and Chad conspire to to kill

In 2019, Lori’s then husband Charles approached police because of his wife’s radicalised views, saying she had professed that she was a “god”. 

"[She said she was] a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020."

Only a month later, Charles filed for divorce, claiming he feared for his life and the safety of Tylee and JJ. 

In July of the same year, Charles went to the house where Lori was living with the two children to take JJ to school. He went inside to collect his son, but was shot dead by Lori’s brother, Alex. 

At the time, Alex alleged that it was self-defence, after the two got into a heated argument. Lori said that her estranged husband chased her with a bat, which led to the shooting. 

In the following months, Lori’s behaviour continued to escalate and become more erratic. 

She moved closer to Chad in September, which was the same month both Tylee and JJ were last seen. 

In October, Chad’s then-wife, Tammy, was found dead in her bed. At the time, her family thought she had died of natural causes and declined an autopsy to be conducted on her body. 

Only two weeks later, and while the children are still unaccounted for, Chad and Lori married on the beaches of Hawaii. 

Meanwhile, JJ’s grandparents had become seriously concerned about where their grandson was. Their regular calls with him had dropped off, with Lori waving away their requests to speak to him. Reportedly, she told them that he had been acting like a “zombie” and Chad had to deal with him. 

They became so worried that they called the police and demanded the seven-year-old be checked on. 

When the police asked Lori about her son, she became evasive and lied, telling them he was staying with a friend. Quickly, they worked out that her Tylee was also missing. 

Innocent lives taken

After that fateful call from JJ’s grandmother, it took authorities almost six months to uncover the bodies of JJ and Tylee. 

They found the siblings buried in a “pet cemetery” on Chad’s property, finding that Tylee had been stabbed and her body later burned. JJ’s body was wrapped in rubbish bags and tape, which would have suffocated him.

Lori and Chad were arrested in May 2021 for the murder of the two children, with Chad also being charged with the murder of his wife, Tammy. Despite her family initially thinking she had died from ill health, her body was exhumed after the children went missing.

According to the ABC, authorities found that she had been asphyxiated to death, also finding bruises on her body which indicated she had fought back. 

Chad and Lori Daybell. Image: Rexburg police

In 2023, Lori was found guilty and sentenced to three life sentences, for killing Tylee and JJ and conspiring to kill Tammy. The judge overseeing the case said that he was haunted by images of the dead children. 

“[It’s the most shocking thing really that I can imagine," Judge Boyce shared with the court. 

“I don't think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused," he directly told Lori.

Throughout the trial, she continued to deny that she had anything to do with their deaths. Instead, she quoted Bible verses and described the events as a “family tragedy”. 

“I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy,” Lori said. 

“Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.”

She also alleged that she was regularly visited by Tammy, who she described as an “eternal friend”.

Now, only recently at the end of April 2025, Lori was also found guilty for conspiring to murder her former husband, Charles, and handed another life sentence.

The prosecution alleged that she was motivated to kill him for the payout on his life insurance policy and so that she could marry Chad. 

Lori is preparing to stand trial again in June for conspiring to murder the ex-husband of her niece, and faces a fifth life sentence,

Originally published as 'Supermum' to murderer: How Lori Vallow became the 'Doomsday' killer