Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Mom accused in Kids’ Deaths

Idaho prosecutors in the case against Lori Vallow Daybell are seeking the death penalty.

Prosecuting attorneys filed a motion that they’ll seek the death penalty against Lori Daybell as a sentencing option if she is convicted of any of the counts of first-degree murder and/or any of the counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder as charged in the indictment, according to an article from Hawaii News Now.

Lori Daybell is charged with conspiring to kill her children, her estranged husband and a lover’s wife, as reported by the Associated Press. Her children were 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan were initially reported missing in September 2019.

In January 2020, a court order out of Madison County, Idaho was issued requiring Lori Daybell to produce JJ and Tylee. Lori and Chad Daybell were arrested on an outstanding warrant while visiting Kauaʻi in March 2020.

The children’s remains were ultimately found on Chad Daybell’s Idaho property in June 2020.

An Idaho judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf after she refused to enter a plea to murder and other offenses in April.

Lori Daybell and her new husband, Chad Daybell, face numerous charges in the bizarre case. Lori Daybell’s children were 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.

The AP reports investigators said Chad and Lori Daybell began espousing an unusual, doomsday-focused system of religious belief involving “zombies,” teleportation and communication with other spiritual realms starting in 2018 when both were still married to other people. The Idaho prosecutors say they used their religious beliefs to justify or encourage the murders.

According to HNN, Larry Woodcock, “JJ” Vallow’s grandparent, said during a previous news conference that he was happy that the case is moving forward, saying Lori Daybell’s “day will come.”