Opening statements began Monday in the trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, who is charged with killing her two children from a previous marriage as well as her current husband’s ex-wife.
Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, are charged with murdering Vallow’s daughter Tylee from a previous marriage and her adopted son J.J., as well as murdering Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy. The pair was charged on May 25, 2021, but the trial is just getting started, 12 News reported. Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake opened the state’s case by saying it was all about “money, power, and sex” for Vallow.
“Lori used money, power and sex or the promise of those things to get what she wanted,” Blake said, according to People Magazine.
Prosecutors used their opening statements to show jurors photos of the grave where the bodies of Vallow’s children were found.
“What was left of Tylee was found. Charred remains. A mass of bone and tissues. That was what was left of this beautiful young woman,” Blake said. “Her DNA was discovered on a pickaxe and shovel and later found in Daybell’s shed.”
“J.J. also lost his father,” Blake added. “When he lost his father, he became much more difficult to care for. He was entitled to social security benefits. The defendant didn’t want to have to take care of J.J. anymore, he had money — J.J.’s gone.”
Blake also said that Vallow didn’t do anything to locate her children when they reportedly went missing.
Prosecutors also revealed that Daybell’s ex-wife Tammy died of asphyxiation, Fox 10 reported. A masked gunman tried to murder Tammy on October 9, 2019, but failed. Vallow reportedly said that “he can’t do anything right” in response to the shooting, Fox reported, suggesting Vallow knew who attempted to murder Tammy. It is believed that Vallow’s brother was the gunman. Ten days after the attempted shooting, Tammy was found dead due to asphyxiation.
Less than a month after Tammy died, Lori married Chad Daybell in Hawaii.
The trial will take place in Boise after being moved from eastern Idaho, where the murders allegedly took place, in order for Vallow to get a fair trial.
Late last month, during a hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, District Judge Steven Boyce heard a motion to dismiss the death penalty, which Boyce granted “to ensure the rights of the defendant to a fair trial are protected,” East Idaho News reported.
Lori’s husband, Chad Daybell, also faces trial for the children’s murders, and at a hearing last month, Boyce ruled that prosecutors must turn over all written and recorded statements made by Chad since he’s been in custody. Chad still faces the death penalty.
In early March, Lori and Daybell had their trials separated by a judge, with Lori’s trial set to begin on April 3, with Daybell’s to occur later. The separation came after Lori tried to have the charges against her dismissed for lack of a speedy trial since she was arrested nearly three years ago.
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