Trial begins for cult mom Lori Vallow for murders of children
Criminal defense attorney Brian Claypool discusses Lori Vallow's defense and Idaho's unique laws,
Lori Vallow's murder trial adjourned early Wednesday afternoon after the prosecution announced that there had been a death in one of its lead attorney's families, according to local reports.
Vallow is on trial for the 2019 murders of her two children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow, and her husband Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell.
"There has been a death in the family of one of the prosecutor’s lead attorneys. The court and defense have been gracious in allowing the prosecution to adjust to this personal situation," the prosecution team said in a statement, according to FOX 10 reporter Justin Lum.
Earlier Wednesday, the prosecution had asked to adjourn early and skip proceedings to Monday, which the defense did not dispute, Lum reported.
Vallow is on trial for the 2019 murders of her two children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow, as well as husband Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell. (Lisa C. Cheney via AP)
Wednesday's proceedings included testimony from three law enforcement witnesses who described the discovery of Tylee and J.J.'s bodies on Chad Daybell's Idaho property in June 2020 after they disappeared from Lori's Idaho home in September 2019.
Prosecutors also presented a 2020 phone call Daybell made to Vallow while investigators searched his property June 9 of that year, according to Lum.
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In the call, Daybell tells Vallow, "They’re searching the property."
Idaho prosecutor Lindsey Blake argued Vallow would have done anything to get Tammy Daybell out of the picture and have Chad Daybell "all to herself." (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP)
"The house," Vallow says. "Are they seizing stuff again?"
"They’re searching … [inaudible] the kids," Daybell says, to which Vallow responds, "OK."
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Vallow added, "What do you want me to do? Pray?" And Daybell responded, "Yeah, pray."
The defense team for Lori Vallow, who allegedly killed her two children with help from her husband, Chad Daybell, does not believe she "actually participated" in the murders. (Fox News )
They told each other "I love you" before the call ends, Lum reported.
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Investigators eventually found J.J.'s body rolled up in a plastic bag and buried on Daybell's Rexburg property beneath rocks and wood paneling. They found Tylee's burned remains buried in what Daybell described as a pet cemetery in his yard.
Lori and Chad Daybell are accused of killing 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
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The couple known for extreme religious, apocalyptic beliefs were arrested that year. They are each charged with murder and grand theft after they allegedly tried to steal Tylee and J.J.'s Social Security benefits after their deaths.
Daybell has written several apocalyptic novels based loosely on Mormon theology. Both were involved in a group that promotes preparedness for the biblical end times. Vallow and Daybell bonded over their religious beliefs after initially meeting in 2018, when they appeared together for the first time on a podcast discussing theories about the end of the world.
