From Supermom to Doomsday Killer: The Shocking Transformation of Lori Vallow Daybell
In the summer of 2019, Lori Vallow appeared to have it all. The 46-year-old mother was raising her teenage daughter Tylee and seven-year-old adopted son JJ in what seemed like an idyllic family setting. Neighbors described her as a "supermom" who was always well-dressed, organized, and devoted to her children. But beneath this perfect exterior, a deadly transformation was already underway. Within months, both children would be dead, buried in shallow graves on an Idaho property, victims of their own mother's descent into a twisted world of doomsday prophecies and murderous delusions. The case of Lori Vallow Daybell would become one of the most shocking and disturbing family annihilation cases in modern American history.
The Making of a Mother
Lori Norene Cox was born on June 26, 1973, in San Bernardino, California, into a Mormon family. Her early life seemed unremarkable, though her parents were involved in tax protests and adhered to sovereign citizen ideology, creating ongoing conflicts with the IRS. Despite these family tensions, Lori appeared to be a typical young woman with dreams of love and family.
Marriage, however, proved elusive for Lori. Her first marriage in 1992 to high school sweetheart Nelson Yanes ended quickly in divorce. In 1995, she married William Lagioia and had her first child, a son named Colby Ryan, in 1996. This marriage also ended in divorce in 1998. Her third marriage to Joseph Ryan brought another child, daughter Tylee Ryan, born in 2001. This relationship, too, ended in a bitter divorce in 2004, with Lori making allegations that Ryan had molested their children during a vicious custody battle.
For a time, Lori worked as a hairdresser and even participated in beauty pageants, including the Mrs. Texas pageant in 2004. She also appeared on the game show "Wheel of Fortune," presenting the image of a vivacious, fun-loving woman seeking her place in the world.
Finding Stability with Charles
In 2006, Lori married Charles Vallow, a businessman who seemed to offer the stability that had been missing from her previous relationships. Friends and family described this as her happiest marriage, and for good reason. Charles was a devoted stepfather to Tylee and Colby, and in 2013, the couple adopted Charles's grandnephew, Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow.
JJ's adoption was an act of love and necessity. The boy had been born with drugs in his system due to his biological parents' substance abuse and had spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit. He was later diagnosed with autism, requiring special care and attention. Lori rose to the challenge, with friends and family describing her as patient and loving with JJ, truly an ideal mother for a child with special needs.
April Raymond, one of Lori's friends during this period, described her as someone who "just made everything fun." Neighbor Leigh Tucker said Lori seemed "like a supermom," always "well put together, dressed nicely, organized, unflappable. I wanted to be just like her." The family lived comfortably, first in Arizona and later briefly in Hawaii, presenting the picture of domestic bliss.
But even during this seemingly stable period, there were signs that all was not well beneath the surface. Lori continued to display patterns of behavior that would later prove significant: she spoke frequently about death and the afterlife, showing what her brother Adam Cox later described as an obsession with "how great the next life is and how it's going to be perfect."
The Prophet Who Changed Everything
Around 2015, Lori discovered the writings of Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote apocalyptic fiction focused on near-death experiences and doomsday scenarios. Chad, born in 1968 in Provo, Utah, had grown up in a traditional Mormon household and served a mission before graduating from Brigham Young University with a degree in journalism. He was married to Tammy Daybell and had five children, living what appeared to be a conventional Mormon life.
However, Chad's writing had taken increasingly radical turns. His "Standing in Holy Places" book series attracted readers interested in extreme interpretations of Mormon doctrine, particularly those fascinated by prophecies about the end times. Chad claimed to have prophetic visions and positioned himself as someone with special spiritual insights about the approaching apocalypse.
Lori became what her friend April Raymond described as a "superfan" of Chad's work. She would promote his books and ideas to anyone who would listen, immersing herself deeper into his worldview with each passing month. This interest coincided with her consumption of podcasts by excommunicated Mormons and books about near-death experiences, gradually pulling her away from mainstream LDS beliefs.
The transformation was gradual but noticeable. Lori began talking more frequently about death, the afterlife, and apocalyptic scenarios. She started attending spiritual conferences and surrounding herself with like-minded individuals who shared her growing obsession with end-times prophecies.
The Fatal Meeting
In October 2018, Lori attended a "Preparing a People" conference in Utah where she finally met Chad Daybell in person. The attraction was immediate and intense. Chad later told Lori that they had been married in a previous life and were destined to be together. He claimed they were chosen to lead 144,000 people who would remain on Earth after the apocalypse and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
This meeting marked the beginning of a relationship that would prove fatal for multiple people. Chad and Lori began an affair, with Chad positioning himself as a modern-day prophet and Lori as his eternal companion with godlike powers. They developed an elaborate spiritual mythology around their relationship, referring to themselves as "James and Elena" in their communications.
Central to their belief system was the concept of "zombies" - people whose mortal spirits had left their bodies, allowing dark spirits to take control. According to their twisted theology, these zombies needed to be eliminated before the second coming of Christ. Chad claimed he could identify zombies and rate people's spiritual darkness, a power he shared with Lori.
The Descent into Darkness
As Lori's relationship with Chad deepened, her behavior toward her family became increasingly erratic and disturbing. Charles Vallow, still unaware of the affair, began to notice dramatic changes in his wife. In early 2019, Lori disappeared for nearly two months, abandoning Charles and JJ without explanation.
When Charles tried to understand what was happening, Lori told him something that chilled him to the bone: she claimed he was no longer Charles but had been possessed by a dark spirit named "Ned Schneider." She insisted that the real Charles had been killed and replaced by this evil entity. When Charles protested, Lori threatened to kill him if he interfered with what she believed was her spiritual mission.
Terrified for his safety and that of the children, Charles contacted police in January 2019. Body camera footage from that encounter shows a desperate man trying to explain his wife's increasingly unhinged behavior. "I've taken over Charles' body and Charles has been killed," he told officers, repeating what Lori had said to him. Charles filed for divorce and sought a protective order, clearly stating that he feared for his life.
The divorce filing revealed the extent of Lori's transformation. Charles alleged that she had stolen $35,000 from their joint account and had abandoned him and JJ for nearly two months. He described her religious beliefs as extreme and stated that she had threatened to murder him. Perhaps most heartbreakingly, he expressed concern for the children's safety, a fear that would prove tragically prescient.
The First Murder
On July 11, 2019, Charles Vallow went to Lori's house in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up JJ. What should have been a routine custody exchange turned deadly when Lori's brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles in what he claimed was self-defense. According to the official account, Charles had attacked Alex with a baseball bat, forcing Alex to defend himself with a gun.
However, text messages later recovered by investigators told a different story. Chad and Lori had been referring to Charles by code names like "Ned" and "Hiplos," the names of the evil spirit they believed possessed him. Lori had been telling members of her religious group that Charles was a zombie, and several followers had joined in prayers for his demise.
The timing of Charles's death was suspicious in other ways. Just eleven days before his murder, Charles had sent an email to Chad's wife, Tammy Daybell, informing her of their spouses' affair. The email was opened and then deleted, but Tammy never responded to Charles's desperate attempt to expose the relationship that was destroying both their marriages.
Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense in the shooting, was never charged with a crime. He would die five months later from what medical examiners ruled was a blood clot in his lungs, taking any secrets about the conspiracy to his grave.
The Children Become Targets
With Charles dead and no longer an obstacle to their relationship, Chad and Lori turned their attention to other perceived threats to their happiness. In their twisted worldview, Lori's children had also become zombies that needed to be eliminated. Chad had "evaluated" both Tylee and JJ and determined that they were possessed by dark spirits.
Sixteen-year-old Tylee Ryan was the first to be labeled a zombie. Melanie Gibb, Lori's former friend, later testified that she heard Lori call Tylee a zombie after the teenager refused to babysit JJ. According to Gibb, Tylee's response was heartbreaking: "Not me, mom." But Lori had already made up her mind about her daughter's fate.
Seven-year-old JJ, a child with autism who required extra care and attention, was also declared a zombie by his adoptive mother. Lori complained about his behavior to friends, describing normal childhood actions as evidence of demonic possession. "She was obsessed about talking about it to the point where she was saying, 'Look how he's behaving, look how hyper he is here,'" Gibb later recalled. "She was planting ideas to show me that she believed he was a zombie, and to my mind, he looked like typical JJ to me."
The Disappearances Begin
In September 2019, Lori moved with the children from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho, to be closer to Chad. Alex Cox also moved to the same apartment complex, positioning himself to help with whatever plan was unfolding. On September 8, 2019, Lori, Tylee, JJ, and Alex took what would be a final family trip to Yellowstone National Park. The last known photograph of Tylee alive was taken during this visit.
The next day, September 9, 2019, Tylee Ryan disappeared. According to cell phone GPS data, Alex Cox's phone was tracked to Chad Daybell's property for approximately two hours the morning after Tylee vanished. About fourteen minutes after Cox left the property, Chad sent an innocent-seeming text to his wife Tammy: "Well, I've had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms. While I did so, I spotted a big racoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!"
The text was a coded message. There was no raccoon. The "pet cemetery" was where Tylee's dismembered remains would later be found.
Two weeks later, on September 23, 2019, JJ Vallow disappeared. Witnesses later testified that they saw Alex Cox carry the seven-year-old boy into Lori's apartment the night before. When asked about JJ the next morning, Lori told her guests that JJ was "being a zombie" and that Cox had to "take him away." Cell phone data showed that Cox returned to Chad's property the day after JJ disappeared, this time staying for only seventeen minutes.
Clearing the Final Obstacle
With the children dead and buried, only one person remained between Chad and Lori and their apocalyptic destiny: Chad's wife, Tammy Daybell. Like Charles before her, Tammy had been declared a zombie, a demon named "Viola" who needed to be eliminated.
Chad had been preparing for his wife's death for months, speaking to friends about prophetic visions in which Tammy would die. He had even increased her life insurance coverage, setting the stage for what would happen next.
On October 19, 2019, Tammy Daybell died suddenly at home. According to Chad, his 49-year-old wife had suffered from seizures and blood pressure issues, causing her to die in her sleep. However, none of these alleged medical conditions were documented in Tammy's medical records. Chad seemed remarkably well-prepared for his wife's death, organizing a funeral so quickly and efficiently that neighbors found it suspicious.
At the funeral, witnesses noticed that Chad didn't seem genuinely grief-stricken but rather appeared to be performing the role of a grieving husband. Less than 24 hours after laying his wife to rest, Chad told his neighbors, "I've met the woman I'm going to marry."
Paradise and Exposure
On November 5, 2019, just seventeen days after Tammy's death, Chad and Lori were married in a ceremony in Hawaii. While they honeymooned in paradise, enjoying the beaches and luxury hotels, the bodies of Tylee and JJ lay decomposing in shallow graves on Chad's Idaho property.
The newlyweds' bliss was interrupted when JJ's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, became concerned about their grandson. The regular phone calls and contact with JJ had suddenly stopped after Charles's death, and their attempts to reach Lori were unsuccessful. In November 2019, they contacted police in Idaho to ask for a welfare check on the seven-year-old boy.
When police arrived at Chad and Lori's Rexburg home, they found that the property had been "abruptly" vacated. The couple had fled to Hawaii, leaving behind a house full of unanswered questions and growing suspicions. As investigators began to probe deeper into the family's circumstances, they uncovered a web of lies, deaths, and disappeared children that would shock the nation.
The Investigation Intensifies
As law enforcement agencies coordinated their efforts across multiple states, the scope of the investigation became clear. This wasn't just about two missing children—it was about a series of deaths and disappearances connected to Chad and Lori's relationship. Charles Vallow's death, Tammy Daybell's sudden demise, and the missing children all appeared to be pieces of a larger, more sinister puzzle.
The FBI joined the investigation, bringing federal resources to bear on what was clearly a complex, multi-jurisdictional case. Investigators began interviewing friends, family members, and associates of the couple, slowly piecing together the timeline of deaths and the bizarre religious beliefs that seemed to motivate them.
Text messages between Chad and Lori revealed their code names for the victims and their casual discussions of the murders. In one particularly chilling exchange, Lori texted Chad about Charles's life insurance policy, lamenting that "Ned" had probably changed the beneficiary "before we got rid of him."
The Arrests
In February 2020, Lori Vallow was arrested in Hawaii for failing to comply with a court order to produce the children. She was charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors related to JJ and Tylee's disappearance. Chad was arrested shortly thereafter on charges related to the concealment of evidence.
During her initial court appearances, Lori showed a disturbing lack of concern for her missing children. She seemed more interested in protecting Chad than in helping investigators find JJ and Tylee. Her behavior convinced many observers that the children were not simply missing—they were dead.
The Heartbreaking Discovery
On June 9, 2020, investigators returned to Chad Daybell's property with search warrants and cadaver dogs. What they found confirmed everyone's worst fears. The remains of both children were discovered buried on the property, hidden in locations that had been carefully concealed.
Tylee's remains were found dismembered and burned, buried near a fire pit in an area Chad had referred to as the "pet cemetery." The condition of her remains indicated that extraordinary measures had been taken to destroy evidence and conceal her identity.
JJ's remains were found wrapped in plastic and duct tape, buried in another part of the property. DNA evidence later revealed that a strand of hair attached to the duct tape matched Lori's DNA profile, providing direct physical evidence linking her to her son's murder.
The discovery of the children's remains transformed the case from a missing persons investigation into a double homicide. Both Chad and Lori were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft in connection with the children's deaths.
The Trials and Convictions
Lori Vallow Daybell's trial in Idaho began in April 2023. Prosecutors painted a picture of a woman so consumed by her apocalyptic beliefs and her desire to be with Chad Daybell that she was willing to murder her own children. The evidence against her was overwhelming, including DNA evidence, cell phone data, financial records, and testimony from friends and family members who had witnessed her transformation.
During the trial, recordings of jail phone calls were played in which Lori's own family confronted her about the murders. Her surviving son, Colby Ryan, could be heard calling his mother a murderer and demanding answers about what had happened to his siblings.
The defense attempted to portray Lori as a victim of Chad's manipulation, arguing that she was under the influence of a man she believed to be a prophet. However, the evidence showed that Lori was an active participant in planning and carrying out the murders, not merely a passive follower.
On May 12, 2023, after approximately six hours of deliberation across two days, the jury found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty on all charges. She was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, as well as conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell.
Judge Steven Boyce sentenced Lori to multiple fixed life terms in prison without the possibility of parole, to be served consecutively rather than concurrently. "You chose the most evil and destructive path possible," the judge told her, contrasting her enjoyment of a honeymoon in Hawaii with her children lying in shallow graves in Idaho.
The Arizona Convictions
Following her conviction in Idaho, Lori was extradited to Arizona to face additional charges related to Charles Vallow's murder and the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux, her niece's ex-husband. Remarkably, Lori chose to represent herself in these proceedings, despite having no legal training.
In April 2025, an Arizona jury found Lori guilty of conspiring to murder Charles Vallow. The prosecution successfully argued that she had orchestrated Charles's death with her brother Alex Cox, motivated by her desire to collect his life insurance money and marry Chad Daybell.
Just months later, in June 2025, Lori was convicted again in Arizona, this time for conspiring to murder Brandon Boudreaux. The prosecution alleged that in October 2019, someone—believed to be Alex Cox—had fired a rifle shot at Boudreaux outside his home, missing him but shattering his car window. Investigators connected this attempted murder to the same modified Jeep and group of conspirators involved in the other crimes.
Chad Daybell's Fate
Chad Daybell was tried separately for the murders in Idaho. In May 2024, he was convicted on all counts related to the deaths of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and his wife Tammy Daybell. Unlike Lori, Chad was sentenced to death and now sits on Idaho's death row awaiting execution.
The separate trials revealed the full scope of the couple's deadly conspiracy. Text messages, financial records, and witness testimony painted a picture of two people who had created their own reality in which murder was not only acceptable but necessary for their spiritual mission.
The Victims Remembered
In the aftermath of the convictions, it's crucial to remember the victims whose lives were cut short by Chad and Lori's deadly delusions. Tylee Ryan was a typical sixteen-year-old girl who loved her family and was particularly devoted to caring for her younger brother JJ. She had dreams and aspirations that would never be fulfilled, relationships that would never develop, and experiences that would never be lived.
JJ Vallow was a seven-year-old boy with autism who required special care and attention. Despite his challenges, he was described as a loving, happy child who brought joy to those around him. His grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, had fought tirelessly to find him and continue to advocate for justice in his memory.
Charles Vallow was a businessman who loved his family and tried desperately to protect the children from what he could see was happening to his wife. His attempts to warn others about Lori's behavior and seek help for the situation ultimately cost him his life.
Tammy Daybell was a wife and mother of five who had no idea that her husband was plotting her death. She had devoted her life to her family and community, only to be murdered by the man she trusted most.
Brandon Boudreaux survived the attempt on his life but lives with the knowledge that he came within inches of death simply because he was perceived as an obstacle to the conspiracy.
The Psychological Profile
Mental health experts who have studied the case describe Lori Vallow Daybell as someone who became completely consumed by a delusional belief system that justified the most heinous acts imaginable. Her transformation from devoted mother to child killer represents one of the most dramatic personality changes documented in criminal psychology.
Some experts believe that Lori's pattern of failed marriages and personal disappointments made her vulnerable to Chad Daybell's manipulation. When she found someone who told her she was special, chosen, and destined for greatness, she embraced that identity so completely that she lost touch with reality.
Others point to the gradual nature of her indoctrination, noting that extreme belief systems often begin with seemingly harmless ideas that become progressively more radical over time. In Lori's case, an interest in spiritual matters and end-times prophecy evolved into a murderous conspiracy that cost multiple lives.
The Aftermath and Impact
The Lori Vallow Daybell case has had a profound impact on how law enforcement agencies handle missing children cases, particularly when family members are involved. The investigation required unprecedented coordination between agencies in multiple states and demonstrated the importance of taking seemingly outlandish claims about religious beliefs seriously when they involve potential threats to public safety.
The case has also sparked discussions about the vulnerability of individuals to cult-like manipulation and the warning signs that family and friends should watch for when someone begins to exhibit extreme religious or ideological behavior.
For the surviving family members, particularly Colby Ryan and the Woodcock family, the convictions provide some measure of justice but cannot restore what was lost. They continue to advocate for the victims' memory and work to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
Current Status
As of 2025, Lori Vallow Daybell is serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole in Idaho. She has been convicted in three separate trials—one in Idaho and two in Arizona—for her role in four murders and one attempted murder. Despite overwhelming evidence of her guilt, she continues to maintain her innocence and claims to have prophetic visions showing that she and Chad will eventually be exonerated.
Chad Daybell remains on death row in Idaho, having been convicted of murdering Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and Tammy Daybell. His case is likely to go through the lengthy appeals process typical of death penalty cases.
A Legacy of Loss
The story of Lori Vallow Daybell serves as a chilling reminder of how quickly love can turn to obsession, how religious faith can be twisted into deadly delusion, and how the most vulnerable members of society—children—often pay the ultimate price for adult failures. It is a case that challenges our understanding of maternal love, religious extremism, and the capacity for ordinary people to commit extraordinary evil.
Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow should be alive today, growing up and building their own lives. Instead, they lie in graves, victims of a mother who chose apocalyptic fantasies over the children who trusted her to protect them. Charles Vallow and Tammy Daybell should be alive, continuing their lives and relationships with those who loved them. Instead, they became casualties in a war that existed only in the minds of two people who had lost all connection to reality and humanity.
The case of Lori Vallow Daybell will be studied for years to come, not just as a criminal matter but as a psychological and sociological phenomenon that reveals the darkest possibilities of human nature when unchecked by conscience, compassion, or connection to reality. It stands as a testament to the importance of protecting children, recognizing warning signs of extremism, and never underestimating the capacity for ordinary-seeming people to commit the most extraordinary crimes.
In the end, Lori Vallow Daybell's transformation from beloved mother to convicted killer represents one of the most shocking betrayals of trust in modern criminal history. The "supermom" who once seemed to have it all chose a path that led to the destruction of everything she claimed to love, leaving behind only grief, loss, and the haunting question of how someone entrusted with protecting the most innocent could become their destroyer.
Sources
- ABC News - Lori Vallow Daybell found guilty in murder of her 2 children
- NPR - Lori Vallow Daybell is sentenced in 'zombie' murders of her 2 children in Idaho
- CNN - Lori Vallow Daybell found guilty of conspiring to murder her estranged husband
- CBS News - What did Lori Vallow Daybell do? A full timeline of the "doomsday mom" case
- Wikipedia - Vallow–Daybell doomsday murders
- People Magazine - Where Are Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell Now? Inside Their Lives 5 Years After Horrific Doomsday Murders
