'Cult Mom' Lori Vallow and Husband Will Finally Stand Trial Together

Chisom Ndianefo
Close-up shot of a man and his wife holding hands
Unsplash | freestocks

Regarding bizarre cases, Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell's case has just topped the list. If you aren't familiar with Lori's case, you're in for a ride.

For 'cult mom' Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell to go on trial concurrently on crimes connected to the murders of her children, a judge has decided to merge their respective cases.

At a hearing on Thursday, Judge Steven Boyce of Idaho's 7th Judicial District decided the joinder request that had been submitted by Madison County Special Prosecutor Rob Wood a month earlier.

Keep reading for all the details.

Getting Tried Together

Close-up shot of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell
Flickr | vh2networks

Following the discovery of the "doomsday pair" on vacation in Hawaii in 2020 while involved in a maze of suspicious death and missing persons investigations, the peculiar case of Vallow and apocalyptic novelist Chad Daybell captured the attention of the country.

Vallow relocated from Arizona to Idaho following her ex-gunshot husband's death, of which she is currently accused. Although, after Chad's wife Tammy's strange death, for which he is currently accused, the cult mom and Chad tied the knot a month later.

As reported by East Idaho News, Vallow was first deemed momentarily incompetent to stand trial for the murder of her children. However, her competency was later determined to remain intact, and in November, District Judge Steven Boyce decided that she and Daybell may be tried jointly.

Where It All Started

According to police reports and interviews obtained by Insider, Vallow, who grew up a Mormon, started to get her family concerned in 2017 or 2018 when she started reading books on near-death experiences and listening to podcasts made by Mormons who had been excommunicated.

However, at about that time, she encountered Daybell, an author who asserted to possess magical abilities.

The documents state that although Vallow was still wed to Charles, she started to assert that she and Daybell were "married in a previous life and were meant to be together again."

Getting Help To Do Her Dirty Work

Over time, the two began to think of themselves as possessing "extraordinary abilities," such as teleportation, the power to harm others, and the capacity to summon natural disasters.

Vallow, who regarded herself as an "exalted Goddess" with prophetic talents, had been chosen, along with Daybell, to take charge of the 144,000 survivors when the world ended in July 2020.

Cox shot Charles Vallow after he claimed to have shot his sister's spouse after being attacked during a brawl, which was what the Arizona police believed at the time. According to a probable cause affidavit police, they later discovered through text messages and interviews that Vallow thought her ex-husband was under the control of a demon named Ned Schneider and conspired with her brother to kill him.

Even Her Kids Were Not Spared

Less than five months after his death, Rexburg police went to Vallow and Daybell's home to see how the kids,  J.J. Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. Vallow told police that the children were staying with family, which was untrue.

Police restarted their inquiry into Charles Vallow's death while the probe into the disappearance and deaths of the children continued. According to court filings for an unrelated case involving Vallow's niece, those close to Vallow informed officials that she thought her two children, like her ex-husband, were "possessed and had become zombies."

However, the children's corpses were discovered on Daybell's property in May 2021, leading to first-degree murder accusations against both Vallow and her husband. Daybell was also accused of being involved in his wife's death.