By Basant El-Faramawy
Lori Vallow Daybell has asked the Idaho Supreme Court to overturn her convictions for the murders of her two youngest children and the conspiracy to kill a romantic rival, with the court scheduled to hear her appeal on Monday.
Convictions and sentences
Vallow Daybell was convicted in Idaho for the killings of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her current husband Chad Daybell. She received three life sentences. Chad Daybell, an author of doomsday-themed religious novels, was sentenced to death for the same three killings. The children disappeared in 2019 and their bodies were later found buried on Chad Daybell’s property in rural Idaho.
Appeal arguments
Her attorney argues that a lower court denied Vallow Daybell a speedy trial and prevented her from retaining her chosen counsel after the judge ruled a conflict of interest because the lawyer had represented both her and her husband. The defense also contends that jurors should not have been allowed to hear evidence about shootings involving Charles Vallow and Brandon Boudreaux in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Related Arizona convictions
Separately, Vallow Daybell was convicted in Arizona for conspiring to murder her estranged husband Charles Vallow and her niece’s ex-husband Brandon Boudreaux. Charles Vallow was fatally shot in July 2019 in Chandler by Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense. Months later, a gunshot was fired at Boudreaux in Gilbert, narrowly missing him. Prosecutors allege Vallow Daybell conspired with Cox to kill Charles Vallow to collect life insurance and marry Chad Daybell. Cox later died of a blood clot. Vallow Daybell received two life sentences for the Arizona convictions and has appealed those as well.
Doomsday beliefs
Vallow Daybell has espoused doomsday religious beliefs and claimed that people in her life were possessed by evil spirits. Chad Daybell’s writings on prophecies and the end of the world were cited during the trials.
