An Idaho decide sentenced Lori Vallow Daybell on Monday to a few consecutive phrases of life in jail with out parole for murdering two of her youngsters and for conspiring to homicide her husband’s former spouse in a case that drew nationwide consideration for what prosecutors described as her “doomsday” beliefs.
Judge Steven Boyce of the Seventh Judicial District mentioned on the sentencing, which was streamed on-line from a packed Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, that Ms. Vallow “chose the most evil and destructive path possible.”
“The most unimaginable type of murder is to have a mother murdering her own children, and that’s exactly what you did,” Judge Boyce mentioned, including that permitting Ms. Vallow to serve her phrases concurrently “would not serve the interest of justice.”
Relatives and individuals who knew the victims learn statements earlier than the decide issued his resolution. The state had requested for a sentence of life in jail with out parole.
The sentencing follows a jury’s responsible verdict in May within the murders and the conspiracy. Ms. Vallow Daybell had initially been declared not competent to face trial and was required to endure psychiatric remedy. The trial in Boise, Idaho, started on April 3 after years of delays.
At the beginning of the trial, prosecutors described Ms. Vallow Daybell as a negligent mom who believed that her “religious mission” took priority over caring for her youngsters.
Ms. Vallow Daybell, in accordance with prosecutors, believed that her youngsters have been “zombies” possessed by evil spirits.
About 60 witnesses have been referred to as by prosecutors to testify, in accordance with Fox 10, a Phoenix news station.
A grand harm indicted Ms. Vallow Daybell, 50, and her husband, Chad Daybell, 54, in reference to the deaths of two of Ms. Vallow Daybell’s youngsters, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua Vallow, 7, referred to as J.J.
Ms. Vallow Daybell pleaded not responsible however didn’t testify in her personal protection, and her legal professionals rested their case with out calling a single witness, Boise State Public Radio reported. Her legal professionals informed the decide that they didn’t consider the state had proved its case. The verdict was streamed on-line.
Ms. Vallow Daybell was additionally discovered responsible of conspiracy to commit first-degree homicide within the loss of life of Tammy Daybell, Mr. Daybell’s former spouse. Mr. Daybell, who additionally pleaded not responsible, has been charged with first-degree homicide in that case. Mr. Daybell’s trial was set for April 2024.
In November 2019, Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow have been reported lacking by J.J.’s grandparents, who had change into involved after they have been unable to succeed in him by telephone.
Officers with the Rexburg Police Department in Idaho tried to conduct a welfare examine and later executed search warrants on the residence advanced the place Ms. Vallow Daybell and her husband lived. The authorities mentioned the couple appeared unconcerned with the kids’s whereabouts.
In February 2020, Ms. Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii on a warrant issued by the authorities in Idaho, after, they mentioned, she had not cooperated with the trouble to search out the lacking youngsters.
In June 2020, investigators discovered human stays buried on Mr. Daybell’s property in Idaho that have been later recognized as belonging to his spouse’s lacking youngsters. He was arrested and charged with concealing proof.
At the trial, Detective Ray Hermosillo of the Rexburg Police Department described pictures of the kids’s stays. A DNA analyst testified {that a} hair discovered caught to duct tape used to wrap J.J.’s physique matched his mom’s, in accordance with The Associated Press.
Detective Hermosillo additionally mentioned on the trial that Tylee’s stays had been burned and packed right into a bucket that was buried elsewhere on Mr. Daybell’s property.
Both Mr. Daybell and Ms. Vallow Daybell have been in custody for the reason that arrests.
In October 2019, Tammy Daybell was discovered lifeless in her Idaho house. The authorities had initially mentioned that she appeared to have died of pure causes, however her physique was exhumed that December after the authorities started to query the circumstances of her loss of life and its potential connection to the disappearances of Ms. Vallow Daybell’s youngsters.
At the beginning of the trial, prosecutors revealed in court docket that an post-mortem decided that Ms. Daybell died of asphyxiation.
The murders have been the main target of a Lifetime film, “Doomsday Mom: The Lori Vallow Story,” and a Netflix documentary sequence, “Sins of Our Mother.”
Michael Levenson and Jesus Jiménez contributed reporting.
Source: www.nytimes.com