[14] Prosecutors said that the couple had conspired with Cox to commit the murders, not only as part of their apocalyptic beliefs[15] but also to remove obstacles to their affair[14] and to collect life insurance money and the children's Social Security benefits,[15] using religion to justify their crimes.
[26] Chad's first religion-themed novel, An Errand for Emma, was published in 1999 by Springville-based Cedar Fort, Inc.[27] He eventually left his employment at the cemetery to focus on his writing.
[25] Eventually, Chad salvaged his company and found an audience among people concerned by the Second Coming of Jesus,[31] becoming a popular author and speaker in some radical Mormon circles.
[2] Suzanne Freeman, another author published by Chad, later said that she had stopped working with him in the 2010s over concerns about his radicalization and his deviation from Mormon teachings, becoming convinced that his beliefs were dangerous.
[60] Over the next few years she became increasingly invested in radical religious beliefs, reading books about near-death experiences and listening to podcasts by excommunicated Mormons.
[61] In October 2018, together with Melanie Gibb and Zulema Pastenes whom she had recently befriended, Lori attended a "Preparing a People"[c] event where she met Chad for the first time.
[88] According to Charles' filing, Lori had told him that he was possessed by a "dark spirit" called "Ned Schneider",[89] that she was "a God assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's Second Coming" which would happen in July 2020, and that she would murder him if he got in the way of her mission.
[90] Arizona police detectives later retrieved text messages between Chad, Lori and her brother Alex Cox which referred to Charles as "Ned" or "Hiplos", the names of the "spirit" said to possess him.
The story, which investigators called a "romance novel", told the meeting of "James" and "Elena" – the names Chad substituted for himself and Lori – and gave a detailed description of their sexual relationship.
[36] After it became known that Tylee and J.J. were missing, Boudreaux was convinced that Charles' death, the children's disappearance and the attempt on his life were all connected to Lori's religious group.
[112] In February 2020, Boudreaux filed a court document claiming that the attempt on his life was motivated by insurance money, that the gunman was probably Lori's recently deceased brother Alex Cox, and that Melani was likely aware of Tylee and J.J.'s whereabouts.
[125] Chad and Lori were married in Hawaii on November 5, 2019, two weeks after the death (not yet known by others to be a killing) of Tammy,[126] and two months after Tylee and J.J. were murdered (a fact also not yet known by others, who did not even know that the children were missing).
[36] The case soon received national coverage, with family and friends describing Chad and Lori's "cult-like" beliefs in interviews and on social media posts.
[144] Lori faced charges in Madison County, Idaho, including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, as well as three misdemeanors.
[158] In August, Chad Daybell was excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the basis of his religious teachings,[160] which the media has later described as a "doomsday cult".
[162] On May 25, 2021, Chad and Lori were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the deaths of Tylee, J.J. and Tammy, as well as grand theft by deception regarding the children.
In June 2021, Lori was indicted by a grand jury in Maricopa County, Arizona, on one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the death of Charles Vallow.
[91]In July 2021, prosecutors in Maricopa County decided not to prosecute Chad Daybell in connection with the death of Charles Vallow, citing "no reasonable likelihood of conviction".
[166] In September 2021, Chad Daybell's children issued a statement defending their father's innocence and claiming he had been "fooled in the worst, most deadly way possible" by Lori Vallow.
[167] In 2022, Lori was indicted by a grand jury on one count of first-degree premeditated murder related to claims that she conspired with her brother to kill Brandon Boudreaux.
[169] On October 6, 2022, after Lori's attorney filed several motions, Judge Steven W. Boyce issued an order indicating the case was suspended until her competency to stand trial could be determined.
[173] On March 21, 2023, the judge removed the death penalty from Lori Vallow Daybell due to newly uncovered DNA evidence, discovered too close to the trial to be tested and admitted into court.
[176][177] In the light of the evidence that pointed to Alex Cox's direct involvement in the murders, prosecutors stated that Lori Vallow Daybell had "groomed" and "manipulated" her brother to participate in her crimes.
[120] Lori's sister Summer Shiflet testified that Alex had suffered brain damage in a car accident and that his decision-making was "stuck at a teenage level".
[17] Judge Boyce said that Vallow Daybell had murdered her children to "remove them as obstacles and to profit financially", by choosing "the most evil and destructive path possible" and going down "a bizarre, religious rabbit hole" to justify their killings.
[184] In his opening statement, prosecutor Rob Wood depicted him as a man motivated by "sex, money and power" and craving for significance, who saw his spouse and Lori's children as obstacles to his rightful destiny.
[185][186] Two of Chad's children, Emma and Garth, testified in their father's defense and said their mother had been experiencing health problems and "was getting tired extremely easily".
[188] During the closing arguments, prosecutor Lindsey Blake summarized the evidence that pointed to Chad's crucial role in coordinating and giving a religious justification to the murders.
[203] In 2020, Investigation Discovery released the three-episode documentary series entitled Doomsday: The Missing Children, which contained first-hand accounts of JJ's grandparents Larry and Kay Woodcock, Lori's brother Adam Cox, and former KPHO-TV reporter Kim Powell.
[205][206] In 2022, Netflix released the three-episode documentary series entitled Sins of Our Mother, mostly centered from the perspective of her surviving child and Tylee's older brother, Colby.