Jury selection will begin Monday for the high-profile trial of Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell, who is accused of murdering her two children and her husband's ex-wife, with prosecutors pointing to doomsday-related beliefs as the cause of her alleged crimes.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were indicted in May 2021 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft related to the deaths of her children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, who were last seen in 2019. Vallow Daybell faces life in prison if convicted of the murders. Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty but agreed to take it off the table after deliberations between the prosecution and defense.
LORI VALLOW AND CHAD DAYBELL INDICTED ON MURDER CHARGES IN DEATHS OF TWO CHILDREN
The couple has also been charged in connection with the October 2019 murder of Chad Daybell's ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, 49. Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell married two weeks after Tammy Daybell died unexpectedly, with medical examiners initially ruling her death as a result of natural causes. However, her body was exhumed following rising suspicions surrounding the quick marriage between Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell.
Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell are both charged with the three murders but had their cases severed in March, so they will stand trial separately. Chad Daybell's trial will begin several months from now, and Vallow Daybell's trial begins Monday, with jury selection set to take a number of days.
The murders gained nationwide attention after the bodies of the children were discovered buried in Chad Daybell's yard. The trial has been moved out of Fremont County over 200 miles to Boise, Idaho. Authorities summoned 1,800 possible jurors to the courthouse in late March, having each fill out a 20-page questionnaire to determine who could impartially serve on the jury. Over the next several days, defense attorneys and prosecutors will select 12 jurors and six alternates.
Family members had reported Vallow Daybell's children were missing in November 2019, and during their disappearance, the Daybells repeatedly lied about their children's whereabouts. Vallow Daybell was charged in January 2020 with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children after authorities found her in Hawaii and she failed to "physically produce her children."
She was serving time in jail for felony charges when her children's bodies were discovered in June 2020. However, her trial was delayed in the summer of 2021. On June 8, 2021, she was committed to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. A psychologist and judge determined she was not fit for trial and could not assist in her defense.
In November 2022, she was ruled competent for trial, and the original date, set for January 2023, was pushed to April. The judge continued to deny the separation of trials for Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell until March, after he reviewed new evidence submitted related to DNA testing.
Prosecutors believe the Daybells used their doomsday-focused beliefs as a motive to kill both the children and Tammy Daybell to collect life insurance money and the children's Social Security and survivor benefits, per CBS News. Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell ran a prayer group that believed they could drive out evil spirits from people and received revelations "from beyond the spiritual veil," according to police interviews.
Larry Woodcock, the grandfather of JJ, told Good Morning America that Vallow Daybell was "not the same" person they knew after joining the "doomsday cult."
A close friend told investigators the parents believed the children were possessed by evil spirits and that they believed if they prayed, a possessed person would physically die, freeing their trapped souls from "limbo," CBS News reported.
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Vallow Daybell is also separately charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Arizona after her brother, Alex Cox, shot Charles Vallow, Vallow Daybell's first husband, to death in July 2019 in Chandler, Arizona. Those charges are on hold while the Idaho case plays out.
Cox claimed self-defense, but a medical examiner in Maricopa County ruled his death a homicide. Cox died in December 2019, with his death listed as being the result of heart failure.