‘Doomsday prophet’ Chad Daybell was sentenced to death for killing the two children of his ex-wife and co-conspirator Lori Vallow in a chilling triple murder case that shook the state of Idaho.
Daybell, 55, was stoned when the Idaho jury unanimously agreed to impose the death penalty on Saturday.
After a nearly two-month trial, he was found guilty of killing Tammy Daybell, Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, on Thursday.
During the summer of 2020, the children’s remains were discovered on Daybell’s property in Fremont County, Idaho.
Police said they believe the bodies were buried by Daybell sometime between September 2019 and June 2020.
Daybell, 55, was stoned as the verdict (pictured) that he should be sentenced to death was read on Saturday.
The jury reached a verdict Thursday in the bizarre and horrifying case of the end-of-the-world author (pictured), accused of murdering his ex-wife and two minor children.
Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, pictured here in February 2024, the mother of the deceased children, received a life sentence without parole for the murders.
Tammy Daybell died in 2019, just weeks before Chad and Lori Vallow’s wedding.
Although her death was initially believed to be due to natural causes, her body was later exhumed and, following an autopsy, it was determined that she had been asphyxiated.
Daybell and Lori Vallow were indicted in 2021 for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand larceny by deception in the children’s deaths.
The couple received several additional charges related to Tammy’s death.
Last year, Vallow was convicted and sentenced to multiple life sentences behind bars without the possibility of parole.
During his trial, Daybell was accused of creating an alternate reality in order to satisfy “his desire for sex, money and power.”
“When he had the opportunity for what he considered his rightful destiny, he made sure that no person or law stood in his way,” said prosecutor Rob Wood.
Prosecutors, who called 67 witnesses throughout the trial, said the couple justified the three murders by creating a detailed, apocalyptic belief system, part of an elaborate plan to remove any obstacles to their relationship and obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurances.
Joshua Vallow, 7, left, and Tylee Ryan, 17. They were last seen on Sept. 23, 2019, in Rexburg, Idaho, before their remains were discovered on the Daybell property nine months later.
Tammy Daybell with a grandson in a photo on her Facebook page. Tammy Daybell died mysteriously in her sleep in Idaho on October 19, 2019. Her death was initially believed to be from natural causes, but after an autopsy was performed, it was determined that she died from asphyxiation.
Lori Vallow Daybell, center, sits between her attorneys during a hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on Aug. 16, 2022. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole last year.
In this aerial photo, investigators search for human remains at Chad Daybell’s residence in Salem, Idaho, on June 9, 2020; They found the remains of Vallow’s two youngest children, JJ and Tylee.
Daybell’s defense attorney, John Prior, presented a different picture to jurors: He noted that Chad Daybell was a religious person, but suggested that his belief in things like premonitions was quite common.
Prior also explained to jurors that Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, had a violent history. He had previously been convicted of attacking Vallow Daybell’s third husband and shooting and killing her fourth husband.
“Every time there was a problem with Lori Vallow, Alex Cox ran to the rescue,” Prior said in his opening statements.
Daybell’s attorney also argued that his client lived a normal, faith-centered life before meeting Lori Vallow Daybell, who he said showered Daybell with attention.
Her legal team described her as a “beautiful and vivacious person” who lured Daybell into an extramarital relationship.
Daybell’s attorney also said he would present several experts in DNA, forensic science and pathology who would testify that it is impossible to determine what caused Tammy Daybell’s death and that none of Chad Daybell’s DNA was found on the children’s bodies.