BOISE, Idaho — A judge rejected doomsday mom Lori Vallow Daybell’s plea to leave the courtroom during her own murder trial Tuesday as witnesses gave graphic details about her children’s remains.

Vallow Daybell’s lawyer Jim Archibald told Idaho District Court Judge Steven Boyce that his client “wishes to waive her presence at the testimony for the remainder of the day.”

Archibald cited the emotional difficulty of the testimony from earlier Tuesday, where Rexburg Police Department Det. Ray Hermosillo testified about discovering the rotting bodies of Vallow Daybell’s children.

Boyce denied the request, saying the accused murderer must be present for her own trial.

“Walking through the rule, presence is required … at every stage of the trial, including the impaneling of the jury and the return of the verdict,” he said.

Boyce added the rule was more general about whether presence could be waived during the trial proceedings when a defendant is voluntarily absent.

“I do think this court has the authority to override that request of the defendant to voluntarily excuse herself from certain portions of the trial and not others,” he said. “I am denying her request to excuse herself.”

The 49-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two charges of first-degree murder. Prosecutors claim she killed her children Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, in September 2019 and buried them at her husband Chad Daybell’s home. 

The alleged killer mom espoused doomsday-themed beliefs involving the existence of “zombies” and contact with other realms.

She was seen wiping away tears Tuesday afternoon after Hermosillo testified that JJ’s pajamas “were soaked with body decomposition.” The detective said the little boy “still had on his pull-up nighttime diaper” and “sketcher socks.

“His ankles are also bound with duct tape,” Hermosillo said.

Earlier in the day, the detective detailed excavating the children’s bodies from shallow graves on the property and discussed finding Tylee’s burnt remains.

Hermosillo said he and his colleagues were overcome with the smell of body decomposition during the process.