CNN
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[Breaking news update, published at 3:09 p.m. ET]
A jury has found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty on all counts of killing her two children and conspiring to kill her husband’s ex-wife.
Vallow Daybell, who pleaded not guilty, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the 2019 deaths of her sons, Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, of 7 years, as well as Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her husband Chad Daybell.
She faces up to life in prison when convicted.
[Original story, published 12:48 a.m. ET]
A jury has returned a verdict in the murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the Idaho mother accused of killing her two sons and conspiring to kill her husband’s ex-wife.
The verdict reached by a jury of seven men and five women will be read at 2:45 pm ET, according to a statement from the Idaho State Judiciary.
Vallow Daybell, who faces up to life in prison, pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the 2019 deaths of her sons Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua.” JJ”, 7 years old. Vallow, as well as Tammy Daybell, the ex-wife of her husband Chad Daybell.
Vallow Daybell’s charges include grand larceny for allegedly switching bank accounts to collect Social Security benefits on behalf of her children after her death, she has reported. a May 2021 indictment. Prosecutors said Thursday that she did not report her children missing to continue collecting the money, the East Idaho News reported.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Chad Daybell, who also pleaded not guilty to the charges, will be tried separately.
Tammy Daybell died in her sleep in October 2019: Vallow Daybell married Daybell weeks later.
Law enforcement authorities discovered the remains of Daybell’s stepsons in his backyard in Fremont County, Idaho in June 2020. He is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction; tampering with or concealing evidence; and two counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood urged the jury to convict Vallow Daybell on all charges against him in closing arguments, which concluded Thursday after a month-long trial.
“You have to convict him,” Wood said Thursday as the courtroom watched footage of Vallow Daybell and Tammy Daybell’s children, the East Idaho News reported.
Before resting its case on Tuesday, the defense filed a so-called Rule 29 motion seeking an acquittal before handing the case over to a jury, because the case lacked sufficient evidence to support the charges, the affiliate reported CNN KBOI-TV. Judge Steven Boyce denied the motion in all cases Thursday.
“Nobody here believes Lori killed anybody, that’s why she’s being charged with conspiracy,” Jim Archibald, Vallow Daybell’s attorney, said Thursday.
“If you find her guilty, will she bring the kids back? No. If you find her not guilty, will she bring the kids back? No,” Archibald said, according to the East Idaho News.
People familiar with the couple, who married shortly after Vallow Daybell’s children disappeared, have described them as members of a doomsday cult with extreme religious beliefs, the East Idaho News reported.
The couple “endorsed and advocated religious beliefs for the purpose of” justifying or encouraging the murders of the children and Tammy Daybell, the May 2021 indictment stated.
His story was featured in a Netflix true-crime documentary last year.
