As the Independent explains, Lori Vallow Daybell’s children, JJ and Tylee, went missing back in September 2019. Their bodies were discovered in June 2020 in the yard of Chad Daybell, Lori’s lover-turned-husband. USA Today describes the prosecution’s depraved findings. Tylee was “burned and buried in Chad Daybell’s backyard. What was left of her body they dumped in a green bucket and buried in a pet cemetery on top of a piece of her skull.” JJ, meanwhile, had duct tape strapped around his mouth and a plastic bag tied around his head.
Back in 2018, Lori Vallow — as she was then named — met Chad Daybell for the first time. As NBC News says, Daybell grew up Mormon but split from the church and started preaching his own, fringe apocalyptic teachings. He launched his own website, wrote books about near-death experiences and being able to glimpse “the Spirit World,” and East Idaho News says, drafted a colossal chart about the past lives of friends, family members, celebrities, and ranked them according to their “dark” and “light” spirits. Vallow was apparently a fan of Daybell’s, and eventually, the two started a relationship and got married.
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The prosecution’s closing arguments claimed that Lori Vallow “groomed” and “manipulated” Chad Daybell into helping her murder her children in order to steal Social Security and life insurance money. The defense, meanwhile, blamed Chad Daybell and said, “One year after meeting Chad, four people are dead.”