'Sins of our Mother': How to watch the Lori Vallow documentary on Netflix
The sad, sordid saga of Lori Vallow Daybell sounds perfect for a true-crime documentary series, and so it is.
“Sins of Our Mother” is the latest true-crime show streaming on Netflix (it dropped on Sept. 14, 2022), a mostly gripping document of death, delusion, shattered families, exhumed bodies, religion as fanaticism and apocalyptic visions — the tale of a life gone wrong in so many ways.
And part of the story takes place in Arizona, so there’s a local angle. Truly, this has everything the genre requires and then some.
But you can’t help shake the feeling: should I be watching this? Because this is ugly, disturbing stuff, start to finish.
Learn more: Who is Lori Vallow Daybell?
The sordidness of Vallow's story is what attracts some viewers
Of course for many people, that’s the attraction. You can’t stop yourself from watching it once you start. But the question remains, as it does with any true-crime series. Our interest is prurient but also limitless.
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Vallow and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, were charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of J.J. Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, Vallow’s youngest children. Their bodies were found in shallow graves in Daybell's backyard.
Vallow was convicted in the murders of Vallow and Ryan, as well as her husband's former wife, Tammy Daybell. She was sentenced on July 31, 2023, to life in prison.
None of this is a spoiler. The story has been well covered. True crime is predicated on knowing what happened; the journey of how we get there is the draw. And in this case, the journey is complex and full of twists.
The story unwinds with plenty of visuals and no reenactment
Netflix takes three episodes to unravel the story. It winds its way through Arizona; Charles and Lori Vallow were living in Chandler when Charles was shot to death.
There are numerous threads, but one real subject: Vallow’s decline, as she fell deeper and deeper into cult-like beliefs — some espoused by Daybell — though she was leaning in that direction before she met him, according to this narrative.
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We hear from her only living child, Colby Ryan, a lot as he chronicles his crumbling relationship with his mother as her grip on reality seemingly dwindles.
What we don’t hear is that Ryan was arrested in September 2022 and charged with two counts of sexual assault against his now-estranged wife — who also appears several times in the series — after she accused him of raping her. The charges have been dropped. Just another twist.
Justin Lum, a reporter with Fox 10 in Phoenix, walks the audience through some of it (he has covered the case extensively).
And of course, we see a lot.
This kind of series used to have to rely on awkward reenactments. No more. Now everyone records everything. Investigators have access to text messages. Police cams have been a godsend for the genre.
For instance, we can follow along with Chandler police as they enter the Vallow's home and discover Charles’ body (thankfully blurred out).
It gives everything legitimacy, a feeling that it’s OK for us to be there, too. It seems so official.
Some aspects of the story play like a real-life horror movie
But when the story comes back to Vallow, as it must, it’s just upsetting.
We see her as a young woman as a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune.” She obviously likes the camera. She sings songs with her family on drives. You’re naturally drawn to her — she has an outsized presence.
Yet we also hear her talking about personal encounters with the angel Moroni (she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Charles Vallow, in bodycam footage before his death, tells a police officer that she believes she is a resurrected god, and he fears for the safety of himself and his children — well-founded fears, it turns out. Her mother, Janis Cox, helps navigate her daughter's decline in interviews.
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Daybell believes he can rate people on a numerical scale of whether they have light or dark spirits. He and Vallow come to believe that some people are zombies — physically dead, with demons inhabiting them. Evidently, they decide this is true of J.J. and Tylee.
How did it come to this?
That’s what “Sins of Our Mother” attempts to answer, though no easy answers are available. Perhaps the trials will offer some. Perhaps not. Maybe there aren’t any. But the interest in seeking them won’t subside, no matter how grisly the details.
How to watch 'Sins of Our Mother'
Streaming on Netflix
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Netflix's Lori Vallow Daybell documentary 'Sins of Our Mother' shocks
