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| 'She started to think of herself as God,' the mother killed her two children and her husband's ex-wife |
The murder of two children and a husband's ex-wife by a woman who believed in conspiracy theories related to the end of the world has shaken the United States.
Lori Vallo and her husband Chad Daybell have been charged with murder, conspiracy,,,,,, and theft.
The 49-year-old beautician could face life imprisonment.
The remains of seven-year-old Josiah 'JJ' and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan were discovered buried underground in Chad Daybell's home in 2020.
During the trial, when the jury was convicting Laurie Vallo of murder, conspiracy,, and burglary, she sat among the lawyers.
Relatives of the victims shed tears during the closing moments of the nearly five-week trial.
The prosecution produced 60 witnesses during the trial. During this, detailed evidence was also presented on how the children were killed and how their remains were discovered.
Lori Valve's defense lawyers did not present any witnesses and they did not say anything in their defense.
The case against her husband, Chad Daybell, has yet to be heard.
It should be noted that Chad Daybell is an author who has written several novels based on the end of the world. This theme is consistent with the teachings of the Mormon sect.
Chad Daybell and Lori Valve are believed to have met because of their involvement in a similar movement that advocated being prepared for the end of the world.
Lori Valve's attorney, Jim Archibald, argued during the trial that she was a "loving mother who fell in love with a strange cult leader." There is no evidence for this.
On the other hand, prosecutors say, 'Lori Vallo met with Chad Daybell and set off a series of disturbing events that culminated in the deaths of JJ, Tilly,,,,,, and Chad Daybell's ex-wife Tammy.'
Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Black said during the hearing, "Remember that the accused can remove any obstacle that comes her way and she wanted Chad Daybell."
"The accused used money, power,,,,,, and sex to get what he wanted."
"Dark Souls"
In 2006 Lori Vallo married businessman Charles Vallo. This was not Laurie Vallo's first marriage. He had a daughter, Tylee, from a previous marriage.
In 2014 Lori and Charles also adopted JJ, the grandson of Charles' sister.
However, according to her friends, in 2017 Lori Valve's behavior started to change when she started reading novels by Chad Daybell.
Chad Daybell's novels were often about the end of the world, with the central concept taken from the ideas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Chad Daybell and Lori Valve met in 2018. The two started recording a religious podcast together.
Both were married at that time. But according to the prosecutor, his thoughts intensified.
Chad and Lori divided people into 'light' or 'dark' spirits and called those they believed to be possessed by evil spirits 'zombies'.
In their view, the only way to free one's soul from the darkness was to kill them.
Lori started thinking of herself as God.
In January 2019, Charles Vallo complained to the police that his wife was mentally unstable and that she was "thinking of herself as a god preparing for the end of the world."
Charles also told authorities that Lowry threatened to kill him.
Charles demanded a divorce from Lori and threatened her and the children's lives, according to court documents.
According to police records, Charles also visited the home to pick up his son, where his wife was staying with her brother Alex Cox.
However, there was a fight in which Alex Cox shot Charles. Alex Cox later told police he had fired in self-defense and was not charged with formal murder.
At the end of 2019, Lori Valvo moved with JJ and Tylee to a small town in the state of Idaho near where Chad Daybell lived.
A month later, Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy Daybell, died suddenly. Both of them had been married for 28 years.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallo married in Hawaii two weeks after Tammy's death.
In an interview with the CBS News program 'Forty-Eight Hours', Chad Daybell's children said that a local official told them that their mother, who was in poor health, had probably died in her sleep.
He considered his mother's death to be natural and did not get the post-mortem done. However, in December 2019, when Timmy Daybell's grave was exhumed during the inquest, it was found that he had been strangled to death.
where are the children
At the time of Chad Daybell and Lori's wedding, JJ's grandparents requested the police to investigate the welfare of their seven-year-old grandson.
The police came to know that the two were missing for several weeks, after which a nationwide search was launched for them.
For months, Chad Daybell and Lori refused to say anything about the children. That's all he kept saying to his acquaintances that the children are 'safe and happy'.
In December 2019, while the search for the children was underway, the two went on vacation to Hawaii. In February 2020, Lori was arrested in Hawaii.
Authorities discovered the remains of JJ and Tylee at Daybell's home in June 2020.
During the trial, prosecutors showed the jury a photo that said it was "the charred remains of Tilley's body."
"You will be told that these are bones and human tissue," the prosecutor said. This is all that was left of this beautiful young lady.
Investigators believe Lori Valve took the children to Yellowstone National Park on September 8, 2019. According to the police, the last pictures of these children alive were from the same place.
Police said Tylee Ryan went missing that day. During the trial, the jury was shown cell phone GPS data showing Lori Valve's brother Alex Cox was in Chad Daybell's backyard for two hours a day later.
According to the police, JJ Valve was last seen on September 22, 2019. The next day, according to investigators, Alex Cox was in the yard of Chad Daybell's home for 17 minutes, according to GPS data.
Alex Cox died of natural causes in Summer 2019.