‘Doomsday Mom’ Lori Vallow Daybell arrived at her sentencing hearing, where she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole for the murder of two of her children.
In May, Vallow Daybell, 49, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua ‘JJ’ Daybell.
She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband’s ex-wife Tammy Daybell.
She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Her husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on for the same killings.
Vallow Daybell also faces charges in Arizona for conspiracy to murder her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, and her niece’s husband, who survived the attempt.
Vallow Daybell arrived at the Fremont County Courthouse in St Anthony, Idaho for her sentencing at 9.00am Mountain Time.
She was lead into court in shackles, wearing a red and white jail uniform. In the courtroom, she slouched in her chair, almost hiding behind her defense attorneys.
The hearing included victim impact statements before the sentence was handed down. The first was given by Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy Daybell’s sister and Chad Daybell’s sister-in-law.
Gwilliam spoke about becoming suspicious of Vallow Daybell after her brother-in-law remarried so quickly after her sister’s death.
‘Tammy’s death was unexpected and had a profound impact on all of us,’ Gwilliam said. ‘We were barely into our recovery process when we learned of Chad’s new marriage.’
‘Everything about you that you tried to tell others is a lie,’ Gwilliam said.
According to Gwilliam, Vallow Daybell told her family that ‘the children aren’t missing, they’re safe and happy. That was a lie. Your poor children were buried on Chad’s property,’ she told the court.
Gwilliam also alluded to the religious ideas Vallow Daybell used to justify her actions.
‘You planned [Tammy’s] murder as much as you planned the murder of your own children and your former husband,’ Gwilliam said. ‘You had an affair with a married man. You are not exalted beings and your behavior makes you ineligible to be one.’
The court also heard from Kay Woodcock, the grandmother of Vallow Daybell’s youngest child, JJ Daybell.
She spoke about helping to raise her grandson, who was born prematurely. Woodcock described Vallow Daybell as a caring mother, and found it ‘mindblowing’ that she would later kill her own son.
‘This all began with greed,’ Woodcock said. ‘The greed for and desire for a $1million life insurance policy. I would have given her the money. She could have let JJ and Tylee live and have $1million.’
‘Lori is undeniably a monster,’ Woodcock said. ‘A monster who has never taken responsibility.’
Woodcock called Vallow Daybell a ‘danger to society’ who was driven by ‘selfish greed and satisfaction.’
‘Only someone with no remorse tries to justify the cold blooded murder of her children with her own needs.’
Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan, also submitted a statement, which was read by prosecutors.
Ryan spoke about his siblings and expressed deep regret that his own children will never get to meet his siblings.
”JJ was the most fun, sweet, and silly kid I have ever known,’ Ryan said. ‘Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a wife, mother or have the career she was destined to have.’
‘Generations have been effected by these murders,’ Ryan said. ‘I have lost my entire family in life. I have lost the opportunity to share life with the people I love the most.’
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