Prosecutors seek death penalty for Lori Vallow Daybell, mom charged in kids’ deaths

FREMONT COUNTY, Idaho (Gray News) - Idaho prosecutors in the case against Lori Vallow Daybell are seeking the death penalty.

Prosecuting attorneys filed a motion that they’ll seek the death penalty against Lori Daybell as a sentencing option if she is convicted of any of the counts of first-degree murder and/or any of the counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder as charged in the indictment.

Lori Daybell is charged with conspiring to kill her children, her estranged husband and a lover’s wife, as reported by the Associated Press.

She refused to enter a plea to murder and other charges last month which prompted an Idaho judge to enter a not guilty plea on her behalf.

Lori Daybell and her new husband, Chad Daybell, face numerous charges in the bizarre case. Lori Daybell’s children were 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.

The AP reports investigators said Chad and Lori Daybell began espousing an unusual, doomsday-focused system of religious belief involving “zombies,” teleportation and communication with other spiritual realms starting in 2018 when both were still married to other people. The Idaho prosecutors say they used their religious beliefs to justify or encourage the murders.

Larry Woodcock, “JJ” Vallow’s grandparent, said during a previous news conference that he was happy that the case is moving forward, saying Lori Daybell’s “day will come.”