Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial in the death of her children. Why that's linked to Arizona

The murder trial against former Arizona resident Lori Vallow Daybell in the death of her children is underway in Idaho.

It's a case that's been building since 2020, but Vallow Daybell, 49, also faces charges in Idaho related to the death of her fifth husband's wife, and in Arizona related to the death of her fourth husband.

The Idaho case is the focus of the three-part Netflix documentary “Sins of Our Mother.”

Here's what we know about the charges she faces.

Trial starts: Jury selection begins in the Idaho trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, mother of 2 slain kids

What is the Lori Vallow Daybell Idaho case about?

Vallow Daybell, a San Bernardino, California, native, faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths of her daughter, Tylee Ryan, 16, and her adoptive son, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7. The murders are believed to have happened around 2019.

The children’s bodies were found in June 2020 in the backyard garden of the Idaho home of Vallow Daybell and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell. He also was charged in connection with the children’s deaths.

Vallow Daybell also was charged with conspiracy to commit murder against her only surviving child, Colby Ryan, 26.

How is the Lori Vallow Daybell Idaho case linked to Arizona?

Vallow Daybell also is charged in Maricopa County with conspiring to kill her husband of 13 years, Charles Vallow, 62, with the help of her late brother, Alexander Cox. Vallow was shot and killed July 11, 2019, by Cox in Chandler.

Cox asserted he acted in self-defense after Vallow struck the back of his head with a baseball bat. An investigation resulted in charges against Cox and Vallow Daybell, accusing them of conspiring to murder Vallow.

A 2021 autopsy found Vallow had been shot multiple times.

Prior to his death, Vallow had filed divorce papers, writing in court filings that Vallow Daybell had a god complex and believed she would usher in a biblical doomsday. Vallow reached out to Gilbert police about concerns he had about her mental health.

Court documents say Vallow Daybell told Vallow she would kill him if he interfered and that she had “an angel there to help her dispose of the body,” prompting him to get a restraining order against her.

Investigators learned that Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell began an extramarital affair in 2018, prior to Vallow's death.

After his death, Vallow Daybell's children went missing in September 2019, while she still lived in Chandler.

What other developments have taken place in these 2 cases?

Vallow Daybell married Daybell in Hawaii two weeks after his wife, Tammy Daybell, reportedly died of natural causes in October 2019.Tammy Daybell’s remains were exhumed after the circumstances around her death raised suspicion among authorities, and both Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell face charges in connection with her death.

In September 2021, Vallow Daybell was declared unfit to stand trial by an Idaho judge.

She was found mentally competent for trial in 2022.

A not guilty plea was entered by a judge on her behalf after she refused to enter a plea.

Republic reporter Raphael Romero Ruiz contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial for murder. Here's what to know