Earlier this Monday, Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty on charges relating to the deaths of her two children.
Lori first made headlines in 2019 when two of her children went missing for months and she refused to cooperate with Idaho police. While a multi-state search happened, she jetted off to Hawaii to marry her fifth husband Chad Daybell.
One month after the children disappeared, Mr. Daybell’s wife Tammy was also murdered in her home. At the time, her death at 49 was ruled natural causes. However, an exhumation and autopsy revealed she actually died by asphyxiation. The remains of Lori’s children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, were eventually found nine months after their disappearance, buried deep on Chad’s Idaho property.
RELATED: Texas Mom Arrested After Holding Her Infant Son Out The Window From Third Story Apartment
In April 2021, Lori and Mr. Daybell were ultimately charged over their murders, with prosecutors alleging that the couple conspired with Lori’s brother Alex Cox to kill the victims. (Cox also mysteriously died three months after the children’s disappearance.) A jury in May found Lori guilty on all charges including two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths of the children and Tammy Daybell. After hours of harrowing statements and testimonies, Lori decided to speak this Monday. Dressed in an orange-and-white striped prison jumpsuit, Lori immediately teared up as she began to speak in her own defense at the sentencing trial in Fremont County Court today. She said, “Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy. Jesus Christ knows what happened here. No one was murdered. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen.” During her 10-minute shocking rant, she went on to say…
“I have access to heaven and the spirit world. I have had many communications from people now living in heaven, including my children, my sisters, my aunts and my uncle, and my grandparents. I’ve had many communications with Jesus Christ and our heavenly parents, and many angelic visitors. ‘Because of these communications, I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world. I know my friend Tammy Daybell is also very happy and extremely busy.”
As CNN notes, Lori’s sentences will be served consecutively, the judge ruled, with two additional life sentences and a sentence of 10 years for grand theft to also be served concurrently. According to the indictment, she was collecting Social Security benefits on behalf of her children after their deaths.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.