Body of JJ Vallow, murdered son of 'Doomsday Mom' Lori Vallow, to be released to family

The body of Joshua "JJ" Vallow, adopted son of "Doomsday Mom" Lori Vallow Daybell, will finally be reunited with loved ones after a four year wait, an Idaho judge ruled.

The seven-year-old went missing in Sept. of 2019 and was later found buried in a shallow grave on the property of his stepfather, Chad Daybell. His mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, was convicted of murdering her son and 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.

It is believed that Vallow Daybell and her husband were under the impression that the children had been possessed by "dark spirits" and that the "end times" were approaching.

The pair have also been linked to several other suspicious deaths.

After four years of waiting, JJ's body was finally released to his next of kin, presumed to be his grandparents, who have waited for closure in the case and gives them an opportunity to settle their beloved grandchild in a proper resting place.

JJ's grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcocks, released a statement following the ruling as well as a social media post celebrating the decision.

"The last several years have been filled with pain and grief as we traveled this long arduous road. We have waited and prayed for this day for so long and are immeasurably relieved that JJ will finally be laid to rest. We have spent the past days immersed in the memories of the love and happiness that JJ shined and continues to shine on our life," read the statement.

"As we reminisce in the joy that JJ filled our life with, our hearts ache for those that love JJ and share in the immense grief and loss of such a beautiful little man. We are grateful for the love and support of everyone that has come to love JJ, Tylee and Charles. As we continue to fight for justice, the dedication and strength given has helped to carry us through. We are anxious to find out when Tylee too can be laid to rest. Our greatest wish is for JJ and Tylee to be celebrated for the joy and love they brought to this world and for them to finally rest in peace. Only then, will our hearts begin to heal," the Woodcocks said.

There has yet to be an announcement as to the status of Tylee's body.

The Woodcocks plan to hold a memorial service for JJ at a later date.

'Doomsday Mom' sentenced to life: Lori Vallow Daybell, whose children were murdered in 'evil' plot, sentenced to life

'Doomsday Mom'

Lori Vallow Daybell became known as the "Doomsday Mom" after her family's case first caught media attention back in 2019. In November of that year, police began questioning Vallow Daybell regarding the whereabouts of her children, who had last been seen on Sept. 8 and Sept. 22.

Vallow Daybell and husband Chad Daybell, who were living in Rexburg, Idaho, initially told police that seven-year-old JJ, who was diagnosed with autism and adopted by Lori and her fourth husband Charles in 2014, was staying with family friends back in Chandler, Arizona where the family had moved from.

However, authorities soon realized that neither child could be located. Likewise, they discovered a string of deaths relating back to Lori and Chad, including the suspicious deaths of Lori's estranged first husband, Chad's then-wife and the husband of Lori's niece.

Investigators spoke to family and friends of the Vallow Daybells and found that Lori had allegedly begun behaving strangely around 2017, when still married to Charles. She began reading doomsday books written by Chad Daybell and met Chad, who was also married at the time, the following year.

The two began doing religious podcasts together and speaking about unusual beliefs, such as people who were turned into "zombies" by "dark spirits," calling Charles a "demon" and the conviction that Lori herself was a god preparing for the end times. Charles eventually went to the police in 2019 to report his wife's erratic behavior, including alleged threats to murder him.

Charles later filed for divorce, citing fears for he and his children's safety, before he was shot dead by Lori's brother, Alex Cox, in July 2019. Soon after, the family moved to be closer to Chad and Lori's strange behavior continues, leading her to allegedly dub her kids and husband "zombies" who had contracts with "Satan" and were possesed by "dark" "evil spirits."

By Sept. 22, both of Vallow's children were missing. By Oct. 19, Daybell's wife was also dead from what was later found upon exhumation of her body to be strangulation. Daybell and Vallow married in Hawaii two weeks later.

A nationwide search was launched for the missing children in November after police were unable to locate either Tylee or JJ. After failing to comply with an order to produce her children, Lori Vallow Daybell was arrested in Feb. of 2020

In June, authorities searched Chad Daybell's property and arrested him after finding remains that were later confirmed to belong to the children in shallow graves.

Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii and originally found incompetent to stand trial pending mental health treatment. When she was determined competent, the judge was forced to enter a non-guilty plea on her behalf.

Vallow Daybell still appeared to stick to her Armagedón beliefs at the time of her sentencing, saying to the court, "Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy."

Her defense team has since filed for an appeal.

Lori Vallow still faces charges in AZ: Lori Vallow Daybell, convicted on murder charges in Idaho, still faces charges in Arizona

Other suspicious deaths and incidents linked to the 'Doomsday Mom'

Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison in July, more than three years after the bodies of her son, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, were discovered by authorities in her husband's backyard in rural eastern Idaho.

In July of this year, she was found guilty at trial for the first-degree murder of JJ and Tylee and conspiracy to commit murder of her husband's former wife, Tammy Daybell.

She was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for two separate charges of conspiracy to commit murder of her two children and 10 years for a grand theft charge for allegedly continuing to draw Social Security benefits for her dead children, all to run concurrent to the three consecutive murder charges.

Vallow Daybell is still facing additional charges in Arizona as well related to murders and attempted murders that prosecutors say she helped plan in 2019. She was indicted in May for conspiring in a scheme to kill her niece's husband, Brandon Boudreaux, and back in 2021 for conspiring to kill her fourth husband and JJ's father, Charles Vallow.

Vallow Daybell's fifth husband, Chad Daybell, is also charged in Idaho with conspiracy to murder and first-degree murder in the deaths of his two stepchildren and former wife, 49-year-old Tammy Daybell, who died under "suspicious circumstances" in 2019, weeks before Daybell remarried to Vallow.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Body of JJ Vallow, son of 'Doomsday Mom', to be released to family