Idaho Supreme Court Reviews Vallow Daybell's Triple Homicide Convictions
Defense counsel argues procedural errors tainted the trial of the mother convicted in the 2019 deaths of her two children and a romantic rival.
By Renata Mehta ·
Lori Vallow Daybell stands before the Idaho Supreme Court on Monday to contest her convictions for the killings of her two youngest children and a woman she considered a romantic rival. Her legal team seeks a reversal of the verdicts rendered in the deaths of Joshua “JJ” Vallow, age 7, and Tylee Ryan, age 16. The court will also review the conviction for the conspiracy to murder Tammy Daybell. Daybell is the sister of Chad Daybell, the author who married Vallow Daybell weeks after Tammy’s death.
The case traces back to 2019 when the two children disappeared. Investigators later located their bodies buried in rural Idaho on land owned by Chad Daybell. Vallow Daybell, who holds doomsday religious beliefs, has maintained that individuals in her life were possessed by evil spirits. The Idaho state court sentenced her to three life terms for these three homicides. Her husband, Chad Daybell, received the death penalty for the same crimes.
Vallow Daybell faces separate charges in Arizona for conspiring to kill her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, and his niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. Charles Vallow was shot dead in Chandler in July 2019 by Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox. Investigators questioned Cox’s claim of self-defense. About three months later, a Jeep parked near Boudreaux’s home in Gilbert fired a shot at him as he drove up to his driveway. The bullet missed him narrowly. Prosecutors identified Cox as the shooter in that incident. Cox later died from a blood clot in his lungs.
In the Arizona case, prosecutors argued that Vallow Daybell conspired with Cox to eliminate Charles Vallow to collect his life insurance policy and facilitate her marriage to Chad Daybell, who was then her boyfriend. She received two life sentences for the Arizona convictions and has filed an appeal against those as well.
Her Idaho defense team raised three main arguments for the Supreme Court. They claim the lower court denied her a speedy trial. They also argue the judge improperly allowed a conflict of interest by permitting their chosen attorney to represent both Vallow Daybell and her husband. Finally, they contend that jurors should not have heard evidence about the Phoenix-area shootings involving Charles Vallow and Brandon Boudreaux during the Idaho trial.
The Supreme Court hearing marks the next procedural step in a case that has drawn national attention due to the family’s religious background and the complex web of relationships and alleged motives. The court’s decision will determine whether the convictions stand or if the case returns to a lower court for further review or a new trial.
