Lori Vallow Daybell smiled in court several times during an Aug. 16, 2022 pretrial hearing. (Law&Crime Network)
The triple murder trial for Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, a "doomsday cult"-connected mother of two dead children and two dead ex-husbands began in earnest with opening statements in Ada County, Idaho on Monday morning.
Vallow and her fifth and current husband, Chad Daybell, 54, stand accused of murder over the 2019 deaths of Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, 17. The children disappeared on different dates in September of that year. Vallow was initially arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 on charges of child desertion. Daybell was arrested later that year after the children's bodies were found buried at his property. The two defendants were indicted for the murder of Vallow's children and Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, in May 2021. Initially being prosecuted as husband-and-wife co-defendants, the couple's cases were recently severed and will be tried separately.
On Friday, jury selection wrapped up with 12 jurors and six alternates being chosen from nearly 2,000 Ada County residents who received a summons. The trial is being overseen by Seventh District Judge Steven Boyce, who previously explained to would-be jurors that the complicated case is expected to last as long as eight weeks.
Lori Vallow works with her defense attorneys during the final day of jury selection on April 7, 2023 in Ada County, Idaho. (Pool courtroom sketch artist)
The court has barred the use of any cameras or digital recording devices throughout the process. Reporters are allowed to use Twitter from inside the courthouse and an assemblage of media outlets pooled resources for a courtroom sketch artist to provide an analog record of the events that occur.
Law&Crime correspondent Gigi McKelvey will provide rolling updates as the case progresses Monday and throughout the trial:
Update: 3:30 P.M. MST – Brandon Boudreaux IDs the Shooter and Is Cross-Examined
Update: 3:15 P.M. MST – A Detailed Retelling of the Day of the Shooting
Update: 3:06 P.M. MST – An Attempted Shooting and an Objection
Update: 2:44 P.M. MST – Brandon Boudreaux Cannot Reconcile With His Wife
Update: 1:39 P.M. MST – The State Calls Their Second Witness
More Law&Crime coverage: What to know about the Lori Vallow trial
Update: 12:26 P.M. MST – An Objection During the Lunch Break
Update: 12:11 P.M. MST – The Last Days of JJ's Life
Update 11:59 A.M. MST – Life Insurance and the JJ Factor
Update: 11:40 A.M. MST – The Death of Charles Vallow
Update: 11:16 A.M. MST – The State's First Witness
Update: 10:30 A.M. MST – The Defense Says There's No Evidence of a Crime
Update: 10:13 A.M. MST – Now We Know How Tammy Daybell Died
Update: 9:44 A.M. MST – The State Says It's All About Sex, Money, and Power