In May 2023, Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted of murdering two of her three children, 7-year-old Joshua "J.J." Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, her husband's first wife. On Monday, July 31, 2023, Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Judge Steven Boyce. Before her sentence was read, Judge Boyce allowed Vallow Daybell to make a statement. She went on a bizarre rant that could be described as unhinged.
Vallow Daybell has unusual and extreme religious beliefs, which reportedly caused her to commit the crimes. She says she believes she is a goddess and able to help usher in the end times. Judge Boyce described her as a combination of "hyper religiosity" and "unspecified personality disorder with histrionic and narcissistic features." Let’s take a look at her rant to better understand her beliefs.
Vallow Daybell opened her statement up with a Bible verse. She quoted John 8:7, which states: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Vallow Daybell does not believe anyone but God can judge her.
Vallow Daybell also believes her children and Tammy were not murdered. “Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me,” she stated. “Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.”
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The facts of the case dispute Vallow Daybell’s views. On June 9, 2020, J.J.'s and Tylee's remains were found on Vallow Daybell’s husband Chad’s property in Idaho. J.J. had been asphyxiated and Tylee was dismembered. Tammy, whose cause of death was first believed to be natural causes, was also asphyxiated.
Vallow Daybell also claimed her victims visited her from beyond the grave and exonerated her from the world’s judgment. Lori believes her children are happy in heaven. She called Tammy her “eternal friend” and professed a great love for her.
According to Vallow Daybell, Tylee’s spirit visited her. “She commanded me and she said to me, ‘Stop worrying Mom. We are fine.' She knows how I worry,” Vallow Daybell recalled.
J.J. also allegedly visited his mother but as an “adult spirit” who had grown in stature. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. I love you and I know you loved me every minute of my life,” Vallow Daybell claims he told her.
Vallow Daybell believes J.J. is thriving in heaven. “He is busy," she explained. "He is engaged. He has jobs he does there. He is happy where he is. His life was short, but J.J.’s life was meaningful.”
Judge Boyce kept the proceedings grounded in reality. "The most unimaginable type of murder is having a mother murder her own children, and that's exactly what you did," he stated. "Despite the jury convicting you, you still sit here before the court today and say you didn't do it."
He did not accept a situation in which religion could justify her horrific crimes. “You may not believe to this day you've done anything wrong and think you're justified by your religious beliefs … But I don't believe a god in any religion would want what happened here to happen,” he stated.
On August 1, 2023, Vallow Daybell was booked into Pocatello Women's Correctional Center in Idaho to begin serving her sentence.
