Lori Vallow trial - live: Friend explains why ‘cult mom’ and Chad Daybell believed JJ and Tylee were zombies

The high-profile trial of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is underway in Boise, Idaho.

Ms Vallow, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried on Ms Vallow’s new husband Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020.

Ms Vallow is also charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy, who died suddenly in October 2019.

She has pleaded not guilty in a dramatic case spanning murders, unexplained deaths and bizarre cult beliefs about killing zombies.

On Thursday, her former best friend Melanie Gibb testified about the bizarre beliefs and rituals the couple engaged in, and how she unwittingly became a key part of the search for JJ, and how they called people they wanted out of their lives “zombies” who had been taken over by Satan.

In court on Wednesday, jurors heard a jailhouse phone call between Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell on the day that the children’s remains were found.

Key points

• Shocked court hears how JJ was found buried in red pyjamas

• Lori Vallow ‘upset’ after trial hears grisly details about crime scene

• Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home

• Lori Vallow trial hears how Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy was killed

• Lori Vallow driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder: prosecutor

• Timeline of the cult mom’s case and mystery deaths

19:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Similarly, Gibb says she only somewhat believed the light and dark scale.

Thomas asks her to describe “castings” which Gibb says involves everyone standing in a circle and reciting a prayer led by Lori. It sounds remarkably like something a group of teenage girls might do for fun at a slumber party.

Thomas moves on to “zombies” and asks Gibb if she believed it mean people were going to die.

Gibb says: “No. It was a bizarre teaching and Lori thought it was bizarre too in the context to how it was explained to her by Chad.”

Chad told Lori, who then told Gibb, that Tylee became a zombie when she was 12 or 13 years old but they only knew this when she was 16.

Gibb said Brandon was deemed dark by Lori and Chad and evolved to a higher level of darkness — being in Hitler’s army. She met Brandon before Charles’s murder.

Asked if she ever prayed for Tylee and JJ (in a casting?), Gibb says no.

Judge Boyce calls the lunch break and Court resumes at 12.45pm MT.

18:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas asks Gibb if she thought it was odd that Jesus Christ and Moroni had sealed Chad and Lori in the temple.

She agrees it was but never asked Lori to show her the place in the temple where Lori married Chad.

Gibb says Lori and Chad tried to convince her she was part of the 144,000 but she never felt that was her calling.

Thomas describes “casting” as sounding like witchcraft but Gibb says it wasn’t as they used prayer, not spells.

18:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas asks about the meeting at Lori’s house when Chad first spent the night there and asks if Gibb did too. The court hears that as many as five or six people spent the night which Thomas characterises as not romantic.

Gibb says she didn’t know what their desires were, but there was an attraction. The others did not know what was going on.

18:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas moves on to after Charles Vallow was shot and asks Gibb if she saw Lori that day or the next day. She replies no.

The court hears that part of the morning routine with JJ was to buy him chicken fries before school at Burger King.

Gibb says that Lori believed she [Gibb] had been on earth four to five times, and sometimes she bought into the idea.

Gibb says she wasn’t sure but Lori was very convincing and tried to encourage her to believe it.

18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back into the courtroom and cross-examination of Gibb continues.

Thomas asks how she met Lori. Gibb says it was at an LDS evening event Lori attended with her niece Melani. She got to know about Tylee and JJ and their relationships with Lori as she became a close family friend who would see them often.

They would often meet up at temple or at lunch.

Asked how she knew about the normal temperament of a seven-year-old with autism, Gibb says she has seen children with autism and knows the symptoms. She says she does not know much about JJ’s morning or evening routines but that he went to a special private school.

18:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce denies the motion to strike Melanie Gibb’s testimony.

18:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas wants Melanie Gibb’s testimony struck from the record because he says the prosecutor did not furnish statements from Gibb to the defence team.

He says the state received statements from Gibb and she said she met with the state and the state didn’t turn them over.

The state responds that this was previously litigated and the defence is interpreting things differently — all statements have been turned over and if any new statements are made they would be too, but nothing new was learned.

18:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination of Gibb is conducted by defence attorney John Thomas who asks her about how she met with prosecutors and when.

He asks about a seven-page document she created with her testimony and she says she completed it in 2020.

Thomas asks to strike the witness. The prosecution objects and a sidebar is called.

Judge Boyce says the motion will be argued outside the presence of the jury who are then dismissed.

18:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says Lori had also told her about “vibrations” that rated your level of spirituality. If you were at 1,000, you were at the terrestrial level. The more your vibrations increased, the closer your body was to being “translated” and it would change. Lori claimed she would not have to eat, would get younger, but would still experience the menstrual cycle.

All of these teachings were also shared with Alex Cox, Gibb says, and he believed the people Chad and Lori were hoping would die were zombies, including Charles, Tylee, JJ, and Tammy.

Gibb says she didn’t 100 per cent believe in the zombie teachings, but Alex did.

When she asked him what happened to JJ, Alex replied: “You don’t want to know.”

No further questions in direct examination.

18:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb learned about Tammy Daybell’s death the day after it was reported when a friend sent her a screenshot from Chad’s Facebook account announcing the death.

She called Lori and told her. Lori said she knew through other friends. Gibb asked what happened and Lori said Tammy had a dark entity in her and they [Chad and Lori] had to do what they could to get the spirit out of her.

Gibb says Tammy had been suspicious about an affair between Lori and Chad for less than two weeks and during that time had turned dark.

Tammy died on 19 October 2019 and Lori indicated she was eager to move to Idaho to be with Chad. Gibb says Lori never expressed any sorrow or sadness about Tammy and had the same demeanour as when Charles was killed on 11 July that year.

18:03 , Oliver O'Connell

In the call, Lori says of Gibb “for someone who know so much as you” referring to the teachings of Chad and her.

Gibb tells the court that these are things that are not taught in the LDS faith and she believes the “multiple probations”, light and dark etc all came from Chad.

She said there was deception and lying from Lori and her behavior with Chad didn’t tally with someone who would know Christ on a higher level.

Lori said she actually saw Jesus in the temple.

Court resumes

17:59 , Oliver O'Connell

The trial resumes after the morning recess and Melanie Gibb, former best friend of Lori Vallow is back on the stand.

Gibb says she recorded the call with Chad Daybell and Lori on 8 December because she wanted to know where they were and where JJ was.

Lori has never told her where JJ was from the night she stayed over at their house onwards (22 September).

17:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce calls the morning recess.

17:26 , Oliver O'Connell

The call ends with Lori saying Jesus is protecting her.

17:22 , Oliver O'Connell

On the call, Lori and Gibb quote scriptures at each other with Gibb challenging her with “God doesn’t work in darkness” and Lori saying she is “hiding in the cavity of a rock”

Gibb then says: “If you really loved me, you would not have told the police I had JJ with me.”

She tells Lori that she think she has been deceived by Satan, with Tammy and Charles dead, and that she has felt weird about it.

Lori responds: “You know me, Mel. This sounds like you have been influenced by somebody dark and obey dark things.”

Chad comes on the call and says that his own children said Tammy had been getting weak and sick and that her heart was failing her.

Gibb says, “You can understand my concern, can’t you?”

Chad says from an outsider’s perspective, he can but Dave, her boyfriend, seems to be putting doubts in her mind.

The verbal back and forth continues with more scriptures about who has been true to them and who has succumbed to natural desires.

Gibb says Lori’s salvation is in trouble.

17:11 , Oliver O'Connell

The call is played to the court and Gibb asks why they told the police JJ was with her in the first place.

Lori says it was because Kay threatened to kidnap him and that people are after her.

Gibb asks if JJ is safe and is told he is “safe and happy”.

She then asks how it could hurt her to know where JJ is and is told: “I’m just not telling anybody so that nobody has to say where he is or get questioned where he is so I can keep him as safe as possible.”

Gibb says that she hopes he is OK and that Chad and Lori are OK. They won’t tell her where they are.

17:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says she eventually spoke to police at the end of November and said JJ had not been with her.

She confronted Chad and Lori over the phone in Hawaii and recorded the call.

Here’s the call courtesy of Nate Eaton of East Idaho News.

17:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says Chad called her a few days before Thanksgiving and said that the Rexburg Police Department would be calling her and she should not answer.

He told her the police were questioning Lori about JJ’s whereabouts and when Gibb asked whether he was with Kay, Chad sounded nervous and said he was not.

Chad said Lori would call her.

Lori called and said the police came by and she told officers that JJ was with Gibb watching Frozen 2. She asked her to take photos of random kids at the movies and send them to the police, who she said were “dark and translated beings”.

When the police called she did not answer and told the court: “I wasn’t sure what in the world to do.”

Lori also told her that JJ’s life was in danger and Kay was trying to kidnap him.

16:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb recalls that she asked Lori why she thought Charles wanted to kill her and was told it was because she had a million-dollar life insurance policy. He had a policy too, but all of the money would go to Kay.

Asked why she didn’t get a divorce, Loris said that was not God’s plan and if Chad got a divorce he would be “penalised” and would “lose his exaltation or standing with God”.

16:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says Chad and Lori were very affectionate that weekend and she went for a walk with them at BYU-Idaho and they explored the campus. The couple would hug, kiss, sing, and dance.

Lori and Gibb left separately from Chad.

Gibb heard Chad tell her boyfriend David he would appreciate him not telling anyone about him and Lori as he was still married to Tammy and she was a good wife.

Lori told Gibb that Moroni appeared to her in a temple on 22 September, which was also the last day she saw JJ.

She and David left the next day and she does not recall seeing JJ.

16:48 , Oliver O'Connell

In September 2019, Gibb says Lori asked her to come visit her in Idaho and attend a seminar in Rexburg.

Gibb and her boyfriend David Warwick went up together and stayed at Lori’s house where there was no sign of Tylee. She was told the 16-year-old had moved in with roommates at the BYU-Idaho dorms.

She asked about Tylee’s belongings and was told they were in storage.

Lori also told her that JJ had an evil spirit in him. She said his behaviour was more difficult and he would say things like “I love Satan.”

JJ would also climb up on the fridge and on top of the cabinets and was acting aggressively.

“Lori tried to explain how he was changing into a more negative type of demeanour,” Gibb says, adding that he seemed like a typical seven-year-old with autism. In her eyes his behaviour was normal.

At one point, JJ acted out and Chad took him upstairs. When they came down JJ’s neck was red and Chad said JJ had scratched his neck.

16:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb tells the court that right before JJ was killed, Lori said he was difficult to handle and it was hard for her to take care of him as well as being with Chad.

Lori indicated she was going to ask JJ’s biological grandmother, Kay Woodcock, if she could take care of the boy going forward.

Gibb says she last saw Tylee in July or August 2019 before Lori and Alex moved with the kids to Idaho. After this, Gibb says she talked with Lori on the phone and could hear Tylee in the background.

16:37 , Oliver O'Connell

After Charles died Chad visited within a week or two and he and Lori were happy together, Gibb tells the court.

She says that prior to Charles’s death, the two had communicated multiple times a day and that Lori had two or three cellphones, including one just for Chad.

Lori and Chad met up before Charles’s murder in Texas and then in Salt Lake City. They would meet in hotels and Lori told Gibb that “they were intimate” (both spouses were still alive at this point).

Lori justified this by saying that it was according to God’s will because they had been married in multiple lives.

16:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says Lori said both Charles and Tammy were going to die. Chad told Lori he knew years ago Tammy would die young.

The night before Charles died, Lori told Gibb that her brother Alex was spending the night at her house because Charles was going to kill her.

After Charles died, Lori told her that he had been argumentative with her.

In Lori’s version of events, Gibbs says that the spirit told Lori to pick up Charles’ phone from the car where JJ was and he was upset that she took it.

Lori said they argued, he threatened her, and Tylee came out with a baseball bat to protect her. Alex went to get his gun to protect him and then he shot Charles.

16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

If you’re wondering how they jury are taking all this in...

16:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Weeks after this Lori began to use the term “zombie” to refer to people who had been taken over.

There were more castings including one that Chad attended after the murder of Charles. Gibb believes this may have been for Brand Boudreaux who Lori had said was dark.

Lori told Gibb he evolved into a high-level dark entity. Lori said Brandon was part of Hitler’s regime. Gibb doesn’t remember castings for anyone else.

Over time she was told that Charles, Brandon, her brother Adam and dad, as well as Tylee, Kay, JJ, and Tammy, were all dark.

Lori told her Tylee was dark in April or May of 2019, and JJ in September 2019.

16:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Around this time Lori introduced Gibb to “castings” — prayers to cast out the evil spirit from someone. She participated in a casting with Lori and a group of women at the house of Zulema Pastenes (who was at one time married to Alex Cox).

Gibb says the first time the group thought they had cast an evil spirit named “Ned” out of Charles’ body. But Charles was still alive so the teachings changed and now a spirit named “Garrick” or “Garrett” entered his body.

Lori cast this spirit out of Charles but then the final spirit “Heblows” entered Charles’ body.

16:17 , Oliver O'Connell

In January 2019, Lori told Gibb that Chad had said Charles was taken over by an evil spirit and was now dark.

Lori said she had a dream where Charles was in a car accident in Texas and would not be coming back home in January.

JJ was with Charles at that time and would have been traveling back with him. There was no accident.

Gibb asked Lori what happened and was told: “He didn’t because Satan interfered with the plan.”

16:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Getting deeper into Chad and Lori’s beliefs, Gibb says she was told by her friend about the 144,000 people who will be here during the return of Jesus Christ to earth.

She was told that Chad and Lori would be leading the group and had a lot of missionary work to do ahead of the Second Coming.

Gibb describes the light and dark scale that Lori told her about after she met Chad. People who were light had signed contracts with the Saviour and those who were dark had signed contracts with Satan before coming to earth.

Lori claimed people could switch from dark to light and from light to dark and would teach others about the scale.

Brandon Boudreaux and Charles Vallow were not present for these meetings and were not told about these teachings. Melanie says Lori would not have considered Charles part of their inner circle, which consisted of her, Alex Cox, Melani Pawlowski (Boudreaux), and others.

16:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Two weeks after their first meeting, Chad came to Arizona for another event which Gibb says she and Lori attended. Lori held a meeting at her house prior to the conference but Gibb does not remember if Chad was there, but the two interacted at the main event.

Chad stayed at Lori’s house over the weekend as Charles was out of town, she tells the court.

Lori told her that she had been married four or five times as other “characters” and Chad had been too.

She also told Gibb that on that weekend they had met up at the LDS temple together and were sealed together by Moroni and Jesus Christ.

“That relationship of multiple lives was reunited,” Gibb recalls.

Lori was open about her feelings for Chad but only told people in her group of friends about him.

16:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb explains the term “multiple probations” which was part of Chad and Lori’s belief system.

The definition changed the longer they knew each other but the basic belief was you could live multiple times on the earth and it would be different for everyone.

Chad often spoke about this, she tells the court.

16:03 , Oliver O'Connell

In a conversation with Gibb about her first meeting with Chad, Lori told her that they had been married in another time period and she believed that as it she already believed in people having multiple lives.

Gibb says Lori told her she had been married to the prophet Moroni from the Book of Mormon.

After their initial meeting, Lori and Chad kept in touch by phone and both were still married to Charles and Tammy respectively.

15:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says she and Lori went on a trip with a group of other ladies for a conference in Utah.

She was there when Lori and Chad first met. The conference was Friday and Saturday. On Sunday most people went home.

The two of them were very friendly and talked a lot about their beliefs, and there was definitely an attraction from the beginning.

Lori was very interested in Chad and she was “flirty-like” with him.

She had read some of his books.

15:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Gibb says she met Tylee at Lori’s house within a week or two of meeting, and that Tylee seemed upset with her mother most of the time. She also met JJ at the same time.

She tells the court that Lori was very loving towards JJ and would sing bedtime songs to him. Over time this changed and he seemed to get frustrated, and the relationship changed.

Gibb says she and Lori would see each other several times a week, even daily until about January 2019. Lori then decided to move from Arizona and go stay with Alex.

Lori then went to Hawaii, then to Texas, and then back to Arizona by July 2019 when Charles Vallow was killed.

New witness: Melanie Gibb

15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

The first new witness of the day is Lori Vallow’s best friend Melanie Gibb.

Lori stares at her as she takes the stand. It is believed that the pair have not seen each other since 2019.

Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake will question Gibb.

She tells the court that she first met Lori in Arizona at a church event and that she also met Chad Daybell at a similar event a year or two earlier and they were casual friends.

Court resumes

15:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Steven Boyce has entered the courtroom and the jury is seated.

Lori has been chatting with her lawyers.

Melanie Gibb, Lori’s best friend, seen entering courthouse

15:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Nate Eaton of East Idaho News saw a woman with a hat pulled over her face escorted into the courthouse by police and noted that it appeared to be Melanie Gibb, Lori Vallow’s best friend.

Gigi McKelvey of Law & Crime also spotted Ms Gibb heading into the prosecution room.

Lori Vallow arrives at court for day four of testimony

14:58 , Oliver O'Connell

LISTEN: Audio from Wednesday’s court session in Lori Vallow trial

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Lori Vallow’s trial is not being livestreamed. However the court is releasing audio from the day’s proceedings each night.

Listen below to the court session from Wednesday 12 April.

Will the doomsday couple turn on each other?

13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Lori Vallow has been behind bars since January 2020 when she was arrested in Hawaii and extradited to Idaho for failing to meet a court order to present her children to authorities.

Chad Daybell has been in prison since the children’s remains were discovered in June 2020.

The case was largely put on hold when Ms Vallow was found not mentally competent to stand trial. She then spent almost a year at a mental health facility before she was ruled competent in May 2022 and the case proceeded through the courts.

So far, the pair are yet to turn on each other and have both pleaded not guilty.

However, that could all be about to change.

In March, an Idaho judge ruled that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell will be tried separately for the murders – prompting Mr Daybell’s case to be pushed back to an unconfirmed date while jury selection began on 3 April in Ms Vallow’s trial.

The death penalty has now been taken off the table for Ms Vallow but not for Mr Daybell.

If found guilty, Ms Vallow faces life in prison.

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

13:20 , Rachel Sharp

In the three years since the November 2019 wedding of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, a deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies has come to light.

Five people close to the couple have wound up dead.

And the couple are now charged with murder.

On 3 April 2023, Ms Vallow’s murder trial began in Idaho.

Infamously dubbed the “cult mom”, she is charged with the murders of her two youngest children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, whose remains were discovered on the grounds of Mr Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho, in June 2020 – nine months after their last signs of life.

She is also charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell.

Separately, Ms Vallow is also facing charges in Arizona for the murder of her fourth husband Charles Vallow.

Following a last-minute ruling from an Idaho judge last month, the doomsday couple are standing trial separately with Mr Daybell’s trial postponed to a later date.

It’s a bizarre and tragic case that has captured the attention of the nation, leaving many with one big unanswered question: how could a woman who for years appeared to be a loving, doting mother allegedly murder her children in the belief that they had turned into “zombies”?

That is just one of the questions her trial could now untangle as more disturbing details are expected to come to light over the coming weeks.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

Lori Vallow previously made several TV appearances

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Before finding herself at the centre of a doomsday cult and murder case, Lori Vallow made several TV appearances – including as a contestant in the Mrs Texas Beauty Pageant where she spoke about the importance of being “a good mom”.

“Being a good mom is very important to me,” she said, adding she is also a “good wife and a good worker”.

In a chilling foreboding statement, she added: “Being all those things together is not easy... I’m basically a ticking time bomb.”

That 2004 appearance came around the same time that she appeared on game show Wheel of Fortune where she gushed about then-husband Joseph Ryan.

Last photos of Lori Vallow’s children

12:40 , Rachel Sharp

8 September 2019 – Lori Vallow, Alex Cox, JJ and Tylee visit Yellowstone National Park. A photo of the family members there mark the last signs of life for Tylee.

22 September 2019 – JJ is last seen alive. He attends Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg, Idaho, in the day and is also seen at Lori Vallow’s apartment that night by her friends Melanie Gibb and David Warwick who were staying with her that weekend. This picture shows him dressed in red pyjamas – believed to be the same pyjamas he was wearing as officials pulled his body from his shallow grave.

Cause of court day’s abrupt end revealed

12:22 , Rachel Sharp

Lori Vallow’s high-profile murder trial came to an abrupt end on Wednesday, after jurors had heard a jailhouse phone call between Ms Vallow and Chad Daybell on the day that the children’s remains were found.

Following a short break, the prosecution team said that due to unforeseen circumstances, they were requesting a dismissal for the day.

The defence team did not object and so the trial was adjourned early.

The cause of the day’s abrupt end was later revealed to be due to a death in Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake’s family.

“There has been a death in the family of one of the prosecutor’s lead attorneys. The Court and defense have been gracious in allowing the prosecution to adjust to this personal situation,” a spokesperson for the prosecution team said in a statement.

Ms Blake had been absent for the day’s proceedings.

The court will resume on Thursday morning at 8.30am MT.

Key players: Who is Tammy Daybell?

11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Tammy Daybell was Chad Daybell’s first wife who he allegedly murdered in October 2019.

The couple married in 1990 and founded Spring Creek Book Company together in Utah – the company which published Mr Daybell’s doomsday books. They had five children together and moved to Salem, Idaho, in 2015.

In October 2019, Tammy called 911 after a man allegedly shot at her with a paintball gun in the driveway of her home. She took to Facebook to describe the incident. Just 10 days later, Tammy died suddenly in her sleep at the age of 49. Her death was initially ruled natural causes and Mr Daybell declined an autopsy.

However, following the disappearance of Tylee and JJ, law enforcement officials grew suspicious. Her body was exhumed that December for an autopsy to be completed. Now, Mr Daybell is charged with her murder while both he and Ms Vallow are charged with conspiring to murder her.

Key players: Who is Charles Vallow?

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Charles Vallow was Lori Vallow’s fourth husband. The couple married in 2006 and adopted Joshua “JJ” Vallow together.

In July 2019, her brother Alex Cox shot and killed Vallow at Ms Vallow’s home in Chandler, Arizona. Cox claimed that he shot Vallow in self-defence when Vallow tried to attack him with a baseball bat. However, Cox did not perform CPR on Vallow and waited 43 minutes to call the police.

At the time, the case was closed as self-defence, but after it was reopened, investigators found that Cox and Ms Vallow allegedly conspired to kill Vallow.

His death came after he had warned – in divorce filings and police complaints – that he feared his wife would kill him and that she believed she was a god preparing for a second coming. Ms Vallow is now facing charges in Arizona of conspiring to murder Vallow.

Key players: Who is Alex Cox?

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Cox was Lori Vallow’s brother – who mysteriously died in December 2019. Cox is also Ms Vallow and Chad Daybell’s alleged accomplice in the murders of Tylee and JJ and in the conspiracy to kill Tammy Daybell. He also shot dead Ms Vallow’s fourth husband Charles Vallow.

In December 2019, Alex Cox died suddenly aged 51. His death has been ruled natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs. However, the overdose drug Narcan was also found in his system.

Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial so far

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow is currently on trial in a case that has shocked the nation with its bizarre doomsday cult ties and the tragic deaths of almost everyone close to the mother-of-three and her new husband Chad Daybell.

Here are the key revelations from the trial – so far:

Cult beliefs and charred remains: Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Jailhouse phone call bwteen Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow played in court

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned “cult mom” Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her children’s remains were discovered buried on his property.

In the call, made on 9 June 2020 and played in court during Ms Vallow’s high-profile double murder trial on Wednesday, Mr Daybell is heard telling his new wife that law enforcement were on the scene searching his property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Brandon Boudreaux breaks down speaking about children’s remains

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow’s former nephew-in-law broke down in tears on the witness stand as he testified about the moment he had to identify the remains of her murdered seven-year-old son.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow’s nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux breaks down at murder trial

Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’, prosecutors say

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow was driven by “money, power and sex” to murder her two children and her new husband’s then-wife, prosecutors told her murder trial – as jurors were shown graphic images of the children’s charred and buried remains.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow was driven by ‘money, power and sex’ to murder kids, prosecutor says

Vallow ‘fell asleep’ in court after trial shown gruesome autopsy photos

Thursday 13 April 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

As an emotional day drew to a close on Tuesday, after graphic autopsy photos were shown to the court of the two children she is accused of murdering as part of a doomsday cult plot, Lori Vallow appeared to fall asleep.

Read more:

Lori Vallow ‘fell asleep’ in court at end of harrowing day of testimony about murders

JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper, court hears

Wednesday 12 April 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Graphic photos shown at “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s murder trial revealed how her slain son JJ was still wearing his red pyjamas and a nighttime diaper when his remains were found buried in a shallow grave on Chad Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Joshua “JJ” Vallow was last seen alive on 22 September 2019.

Rachel Sharp reports on the shocking evidence revealed in court.

Warning: GRAPHIC content.

Lori Vallow’s son JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper

ICYMI: Vallow abruptly leaves court after trial hears of unbearable smell of JJ and Tylee’s bodies

Wednesday 12 April 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow suddenly left the room where she is standing trial for the murders of her daughter and son after the court heard graphic details on how the children’s remains were recovered in a pet cemetery.

Ms Vallow’s ongoing trial in Boise, Idaho, was delayed on Tuesday when her defence attorneys asked Judge Steven Boyce for a moment to speak with their visibly upset client, KUTV reported.

Read more:

Lori Vallow abruptly leaves court after trial hears grisly details about crime scene

ICYMI: Why did court end early today?

Wednesday 12 April 2023 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Law enforcement officers shed light on developing investigation in Wednesday testimony

Wednesday 12 April 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Guns, knives and doomsday kits: What was found at Vallow’s home

Wednesday 12 April 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the first detectives investigating the disappearance of “cult mom” Lori Vallow’s son and daughter has revealed the alarming items discovered in her home months before the children were found murdered.

Andrea Blanco has the story.

Detective reveals alarming items found in Lori Vallow’s home weeks after murders

Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial so far

Wednesday 12 April 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow is currently on trial in a case that has shocked the nation with its bizarre doomsday cult ties and the tragic deaths of almost everyone close to the mother-of-three and her new husband Chad Daybell.

Rachel Sharp looks at the key revelations so far.

Cult beliefs and charred remains: Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Watch: Det Hermosillo testified in horrifying detail about discovery of the bodies of Tylee and JJ

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Statement from prosecution team on early adjournment

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:31 , Oliver O'Connell

“There has been a death in the family of one of the prosecutor’s lead attorneys. The Court and defense have been gracious in allowing the prosecution to adjust to this personal situation.”

Court dismissed for the day

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumed after the break and we were supposed to hear from another witness, but the prosecution team says that due to unforeseen circumstances, they request a dismissal for the day.

The defence team does not object and so the trial will continue tomorrow at 8.30am MT.

Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow’s jailhouse phone call revealed

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:38 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned “cult mom” Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her children’s remains were discovered buried on his property.

In the call, made on 9 June 2020 and played in court during Ms Vallow’s high-profile double murder trial on Wednesday, Mr Daybell is heard telling his new wife that law enforcement were on the scene searching his property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Court breaks for the morning recess.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination of Lt Powell begins.

He says that he only carried out surveillance on Lori and Chad that one day, following them from Madison County to Fremont County. Rexburg PD also followed them and other photos were taken.

Lt Powell says he couldn’t hear their conversation at the café as he was seated a table away from them.

As with earlier questioning from the defence team, he is asked if he is aware of Lori’s whereabouts on the day of Tammy’s death. He replies that he is not and is informed that she was in Hawaii. He is not surprised by that.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:06 , Oliver O'Connell

A search was conducted of the Daybell home after a warrant was obtained that yielded a number of items that were taken back to the sheriff’s office.

Rexburg PD and the FBI also participated in the search.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Given her lack of health issues and her husband being with another woman, it soon led police to move to exhume Tammy’s body from the cemetery in Springville, Utah.

Photos are displayed showing the exhumation of the grave site and her autopsy.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Lt Powell says an investigation was eventually conducted into Tammy Daybell’s death because at 49 she was young and in good health.

He helped with a search warrant at one of Alex Cox’s townhome, the search of the Daybell property, and the exhumation of Tammy Daybell as part of that investigation.

Lt Powell also obtained a search warrant for Tammy’s medical records, which showed that she didn’t go to the doctor much but she did get seen for depression. A search warrant for her prescription records was also obtained showing she was prescribed Fluoxetine (an anti-depressant) and Tramadol (an opioid pain reliever).

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Lt Powell has been a lieutenant for six years. He oversees patrol officers and detectives. He previously worked as a detective for four and a half years.

He tells the court he learned of Tammy Daybell’s death on 19 October 2019.

Gilbert police contacted the department on 31 October 2019 and he was asked about Ms Daybell’s death. They told him there had been an attempted murder in Arizona and that there was a connection to the Jeep Wrangler.

Lt Powell began surveillance on Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow at a few different locations including the townhomes.

By this point Charles Vallow was also dead in addition to Tammy, and Brandon Boudreaux had been shot at from a Jeep as he testified on Monday.

A photo is entered into evidence of Chad and Lori at Café Rio on 1 November 2019. Another photo shows them holding hands and walking into a Hobby Lobby.

New witness: Lt Joe Powell, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

With no further questions and no cross-examination, Lt Willmore is dismissed.

The next witness is Lt Joe Powell from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. It is believed he will speak about the exhumation of Tammy Daybell’s body.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

A USB thumb drive of a phone call between Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell from 9 June 2020 (the day the bodies of the children were found) is brought up by the prosecution.

Lt Willmore confirms he’s reviewed this USB device and the call contained on it. He’s reviewed a number of calls between the two accused parties.

After a brief discussion, it and further thumb drives are entered into evidence.

The other drives include a video visit between Lori and her sister Summer Shiflet on 24 June 2020 and between her and her elder son Colby Ryan on 3 August 2020.

The first recording is published to the court.

On the call from 11.03am, Daybell tells Lori that the police are searching the property and asks her to pray.

JJ’s body was discovered approximately an hour later.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Lt Wilmore is questioned by prosecution attorney Spencer Rammell.

He explains that the Telmate system requires each inmate to enter a unique PIN when they communicate with family or friends by video, text, or audio from a booth. Everything is recorded except communications with attorneys.

Lt Willmore can access the information with a username and password and can review any video visits or phone calls of any inmate in custody. He cannot edit or make changes to any of the information.

Everything is timestamped and dated.

New witness: Lt Jared Willmore of Madison County Sheriff’s Office

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:23 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Lt Jared Willmore of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

Lt Willmore has worked for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years. He is the captain of the Madison County Jail and oversees the Telmate phone system used for inmates to communicate with family and friends.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Attorney John Thomas asks to recross Hermosillo.

He asks if there is evidence of an attempted homicide on Tammy Daybell on 9 October 2019.

Hermosillo says they believe it was an attempted homicide but that he never investigated the case as it was the responsibility of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

Prosecutors believe Alex Cox tried to shoot her on that date.

Hermosillo’s testimony is over.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Hermosillo is asked about the examination of the fire pit and explains someone would scoop dirt and someone would sift.

They had a tarp underneath and anything too big to sift was examined. That was how they found teeth, charred bone, and flesh. Everything was photographed and logged.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Asked about the tipline and how calls were handled, Hermosillo says some of the tips were from psychics, others included photos that were not Tylee and JJ and others didn’t respond when called back.

All other tips were followed up.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Hermosillo is asked to again go over the process for getting a warrant to search the townhomes.

After first speaking with Alex Cox and Chad Daybell, they tried knocking on Lori’s door and calling her. Eventually, Lori called and was told to open the front door so they didn’t seek a warrant that day.

She told the detectives that JJ was with Melanie Gibb at the movies watching Frozen 2 which was why she was also not answering their knocks.

Ms Gibb did not have JJ and that is why the warrant was sought.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:04 , Oliver O'Connell

State’s attorney Rob Wood takes on redirect questioning of Hermosillo.

He begins by asking about the weapons found during the search of the townhomes in November 2019 and whether they belonged to Lori.

Hermosillo says he does not know and is then asked why he took photos of them.

“It was extremely suspicious to have those guns along with everything else we located. We took photographs and took the guns out of the residence because when we went inside the residence, the door was broken and unable to lock. We held on to the weapons for safety.”

He adds that hey knew there was an attempted murder on Brandon Boudreaux and another attempt on Tammy Daybell. That’s why they photographed and seized them to see if there was a connection.

Wednesday 12 April 2023 16:02 , Oliver O'Connell

After questions about the procedure for dropping off a body at a morgue, Thomas asks about the burial site where JJ was found.

Some rocks were removed and there were some boards recovered from the site. Asked if there were any matching panels or boards found at Chad Daybell’s property, Hermosillo says they found similar ones in the garage but they were not an exact match.

Thomas asks Hermosillo if any trace evidence was collected from JJ’s autopsy. He replies that he stood in the back and was not directly involved in the autopsy as the medical team was doing it.

Hermosillo says he did not ever personally take trace evidence off JJ’s body.

No further questions from the defence team.