Chad Daybell receives death sentence in Idaho triple-murder case

Chad Daybell, the so-called "Doomsday Prophet," has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty on all counts in his triple murder case in Idaho.

After six hours of deliberations yesterday, the jury got some rest and came back to the courthouse this morning to deliberate for another two hours, unanimously deciding that the so-called "Doomsday Prophet" be sentenced to death for the murders of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and his previous wife, Tammy.

"It's been about speaking for and seeking justice for the lives of three wonderful humans whose lives were cut way too short by the selfish desires of this defendant and his co-defendant Lori Vallow," Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake said at a press conference.

Lori Vallow was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Chad Daybell as his guilty verdict is being read

The state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that aggravating factors justified imposing the death penalty, citing how Daybell made nearly $450,000 off his first wife Tammy's death through her life insurance policies and the brutality in the murders of Vallow's children.

The siblings moved with mom from Chandler, Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho in September of 2019 and were discovered dead and buried in Daybell's backyard in June 2020. 

Seven-year-old JJ was wrapped in plastic and duct tape. Parts of 16-year-old Tylee's remains were found burned and with stab wounds. 

Tammy was suffocated in October of 2019. 

Money, power and sex motivated Daybell and his then-girlfriend Lori Vallow, using their religious beliefs, labeling the victims as dark spirits and zombies to substantiate their deaths. Now the jury is recommending a death sentence for the so-called prophet.

"Justice has been carried out for everybody involved in this," said Larry Woodcock at a press conference, the grandfather of JJ Vallow.

"I'll see y'all in Arizona," he said as the case turns toward the upcoming trial for Lori Vallow for two murder conspiracy charges in connection to the death of her fourth husband Charles Vallow and the attempted murder of her former nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux, it's scheduled for August first.

Background of the case

The bodies of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan were found buried in the Daybell backyard on June 9, 2020. Nearly four years later, the fate of Chad Daybell has been decided by a jury in Idaho.

However, Daybell and his then-mistress Lori Vallow caused a wake of destruction that began years earlier. 

In 2008, Vallow's brother Alex Cox was sentenced to 90 days in jail for assaulting Vallow's 3rd husband, Joseph Ryan.

Ryan died 10 years later in 2018 when suspicions started to come to the surface about Vallow's fascination with Daybell's doomsday fiction books.

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Here is a timeline of events that happened from 2018-2022

Vallow was convicted of murder in 2023 in Idaho and sentenced to life in prison without parole. She is currently being held in prison in Arizona awaiting a trial based on the death of her 4th husband, Charles Vallow.

Hundreds of people were tangled in the web created by Vallow and Daybell. A deeper dive into who's who in the case can be found here.

Crime and Public SafetyIdaho