A woman involved in a “Doomsday” cult was found guilty of heartlessly murdering her two children, believing they were ‘zombies’. Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted of killing her son, Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, and daughter, Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife, Tammy Daybell. The trial exposed her bizarre beliefs influenced by her partner, Chad Daybell, who claimed to have lived multiple lives on different planets. According to their beliefs, some people were considered “light” while others were deemed “dark”, with ties to either Jesus Christ or Satan. Vallow Daybell and Daybell believed their children were ‘zombies’ possessed by evil spirits, leading them to commit the gruesome act of killing them.
In a shocking statement during her trial in 2023, Vallow Daybell claimed to have had spiritual communications with Jesus Christ and was certain her children were happy in the afterlife. Her son, Colby Ryan, who was not at home during the murders, participated in a panel discussion where he received a message from his mother expressing love despite the tragic events. The message referred to a Bible verse discussing judgment between the righteous and the wicked, which Colby interpreted as his mother’s attempt to portray herself as virtuous.
Following separate trials, Vallow Daybell received a life sentence without parole in 2023, while Daybell was sentenced to death in 2024. Vallow Daybell also faced charges for conspiring to murder her ex-husband and her niece’s ex-husband in Arizona trials.