The Doomsday Mom: The Complete Story of Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell

In 2025, Lori Vallow Daybell was taken to Arizona to face the charges that had waited years behind her Idaho case: conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Charles Vallow, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of Brandon Boudreaux. The trials were held in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix before Judge Justin Beresky. This time, Lori chose to represent herself.

Trial One: Charles Vallow

Opening statements began on April 7, 2025. Prosecutor Treena Kay argued that Lori’s motive was money, including Charles’s $1 million life insurance policy and Social Security benefits. “Lori Vallow is why Charles is dead,” she told jurors.

Standing at the lectern as her own attorney, Lori argued that the shooting had been self-defense, as police originally concluded. “Chandler police treated this incident as self-defense,” she said, drawing an objection. She told jurors that Tylee picked up a bat to protect her, that Charles chased her with the bat, and that Alex shot him after she left the house. “There has to be an agreement. There has to be a plan,” she said, arguing there was no conspiracy.

Her surviving brother, Adam Cox, testified for the prosecution. He told jurors he had no doubt that his siblings were behind Charles’s death. In her closing, Lori maintained that Charles’s death was a tragedy, not a crime.

On April 22, 2025, after about three hours of deliberation over two days, the jury found her guilty. One juror, Victoria Lewis, described Lori’s behavior in court: “Many days she was just smiling and laughing and didn’t seem to take anything very seriously.” Outside the courthouse, Kay Woodcock had a message for her former sister-in-law: “We gotcha, and you’re not the smartest person in the room.”

Trial Two: Brandon Boudreaux

Less than two months later, Lori was back in the same courtroom. Opening statements in the Boudreaux case came on June 5, 2025. “And then (Boudreaux) saw that back window of the Jeep open out, a rifle barrel come out and point at him, then bang!” prosecutor Treena Kay told jurors.

Brandon Boudreaux took the stand and described the morning of October 2, 2019. He said that when he saw the rifle and heard the shot, “I just immediately thought someone’s shooting at me,” and “So I just accelerated forward.” He testified that Lori had told his then-wife, Melani, that God said he was gay, and that Lori later accused him of hacking her computer. Asked who might have wanted to hurt him, he named “Lori Vallow and Alex Cox.”

In her opening, Lori claimed she’d had a great relationship with Brandon, that she was in Idaho at the time, and that he wasn’t hurt. When she drifted into argument, Judge Beresky stopped her: “Opening statement is not an argument.”

Prosecutors showed video of Lori putting the Jeep’s back seat and a wheel into her storage unit in Idaho. They argued that Alex had left his phone with Lori in Idaho as an alibi while he drove to Arizona.

On June 12, 2025, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Lori guilty. Brandon spoke afterward: “I owed it to Charles, to Tylee, to JJ and to Tammy to speak because I could,” he said. “Hating a person can be like a poison to our souls.”

The Last Sentencing

On July 25, 2025, nearly six years after Charles Vallow was killed, Lori stood before Judge Beresky for sentencing. More than a dozen people spoke over nearly two hours.

Kay Woodcock looked at Lori and said: “You are a manipulator, a parasite, and a coward.” She added: “The audience isn’t here to adore you, they’re here to watch you fall,” and “May this sentence be as permanent as the graves you filled.”

Larry Woodcock, who for years had said he wanted to ask Lori why, finally faced her. “Look at me, Lori. Did you enjoy it? That’s the last time you’re ever gonna hear my name out of your mouth,” he said. “I will never call or speak of your name again, murderess!”

Todd Trahan, JJ’s biological father, spoke about the decision to let the Vallows raise his son: “I trusted you all… I gave him up so you could raise him. I deal with the regret.”

Colby Ryan told the court: “I’m here to tell you what I’ve lost.” According to AZFamily, he added: “Quite frankly, I feel Lori Vallow herself is the family tragedy.”

Brandon Boudreaux talked about the shot that missed. “Had this heinous crime succeeded, my children would have been left to face a lifetime of grief,” he said. “This burden will never go away. We can never go back, we can’t fix these things.” Then he said something few expected: “I choose to forgive Lori to be better for myself.” His wife, Jenny, said: “One moment, one shot, a moment that should have taken his life, didn’t.”

When it was Lori’s turn, she again denied responsibility. “If I were accountable for these crimes, I would acknowledge and let you know how sorry I was,” she said. “I want everyone to know that I mourn with all of you.” She repeated her claims about the afterlife: “Heaven is a very busy and happy place where everyone is engaged in projects that they love to do.” She also complained about jail conditions: “This is what our injustice system has become. Men and women sitting in jail waiting to be heard.”

Judge Beresky sentenced her to two life sentences, to run consecutively to each other and to her Idaho sentences. “You should never be released from prison,” he told her. “It will take an act of God for you to go free.” He described the damage she had done: “You’ve left a wake of destruction stretching from Louisiana across Texas, Arizona up to Idaho and back again.” And he predicted where her notoriety would end: “Eventually, the camera that you seek out, the media requests, will lessen over time and you will fade into obscurity.”

Where Things Stand Now

Lori Vallow Daybell was returned to Idaho on August 18, 2025, and is held at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. Across her cases, she has been ordered to pay more than $700,000 in fines and fees. In a jail interview recorded in June 2025 and released by EastIdahoNews.com, she said she was writing a book about her side of the story. “I’ve never hurt anyone in my whole entire life,” she said. She also said, “God put me here for his purpose,” and “I’m not here to change anyone’s minds.”

She has appealed her Idaho convictions to the Idaho Supreme Court. Her appellate attorney argues, among other things, that she was wrongly denied her chosen lawyer, that hearings were held while she was incompetent, that evidence from Arizona should not have been admitted at her trial, and that her right to a speedy trial was violated. The state has asked the court to reject those arguments. Oral arguments are scheduled for November 2, 2026, in Boise. According to EastIdahoNews.com, “Lori Daybell is not expected to attend the appellate hearing.”

Chad Daybell remains on Idaho’s death row while his appeal and post-conviction proceedings continue. No execution date has been set.

Colby Ryan has spoken publicly about his family, including in the 2022 Netflix documentary series Sins of Our Mother. Before a live CrimeCon interview in September 2025, Lori sent him a message: “Tell Colby I love him no matter what and have him read Matthew 25.” Colby said he doesn’t want contact with her. “I’m able to close the book on that part of my life,” he said.

Kay and Larry Woodcock spoke at Lori’s sentencings in both Idaho and Arizona and became the most recognizable faces of the fight for justice for JJ.

Brandon Boudreaux has spoken about the attempt on his life and chosen, in his words, to forgive.

The case also left a mark on Idaho law. In 2026, Idaho lawmakers took up an update to the state’s “Son of Sam” law, which is meant to keep criminals from profiting from their crimes, and coverage of the bill pointed to Lori’s plans to write a book. “Victims should not feel continually victimized,” said state Rep. Elaine Price.

Why This Case Still Haunts People

The Vallow Daybell case has been called the “Doomsday Mom” case, the “cult mom” case, and a story of religious extremism. All of those labels capture part of it. But in courtrooms in Idaho and Arizona, prosecutors kept returning to a simpler point. “It does not matter what they believed,” Rob Wood told Lori’s jury. “It matters what they did.”

What they did cost four people their lives: Charles Vallow, a father who begged police for help months before he was killed; Tylee Ryan, a 16-year-old who never got to grow up; JJ Vallow, a 7-year-old boy who loved his Mama and Papa; and Tammy Daybell, a mother of five who reported a masked man firing a paintball gun at her in her driveway 10 days before she died. A fifth person, Brandon Boudreaux, survived only because a shot missed.

Lori Vallow Daybell still maintains that no one was murdered. Twelve jurors in Idaho, and two more juries in Arizona, decided otherwise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

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2. Deseret News, “Lori Daybell murder timeline.” deseret.com
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4. Court TV, “Who’s who in the doomsday cult mom murder trial.” courttv.com
5. WSLS / Inside Edition, “Everything we know about missing Idaho kids’ mom Lori Vallow Daybell.” wsls.com
6. Deseret News, Lori Vallow and Wheel of Fortune, Texas, and Joseph Ryan (March 11, 2020). deseret.com
7. EastIdahoNews.com, Lori Vallow recording about Joseph Ryan. eastidahonews.com
8. KTVB, Colby Ryan statement at Lori’s sentencing. ktvb.com
9. Idaho Press, Phone call between Chad, Lori and Melanie Gibb played for the court. idahopress.com
10. FOX 10 Phoenix, Lawyer for Lori Vallow’s late ex-husband speaks out as police look into Joseph Ryan’s death again. fox10phoenix.com
11. NBC News, “Aunt of missing Idaho teen says their mother is ‘unhinged.'” nbcnews.com
12. EastIdahoNews.com, Charles Vallow’s son speaks out. eastidahonews.com
13. KPLC, Charles Vallow’s brother-in-law reflects on when the trouble started (April 2025). kplctv.com
14. Best of SWLA, “Doomsday hits home.” bestofswla.com
15. KSL, Friend describes Chad and Lori Daybell’s religious beliefs (May 2020). ksl.com
16. KSL, Chad and Lori Daybell used “castings” to pray for spouses’ deaths, ex-friend testifies (April 2024). ksl.com
17. Post Register, Court records shed light on Charles Vallow’s death and Lori’s beliefs. postregister.com
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19. NBC News, Video shows Lori Vallow’s former husband telling police she threatened him. nbcnews.com
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35. CBS News, “He is safe and happy” recording. cbsnews.com
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68. KSL, Doctor: Tammy Daybell’s bruises inflicted just before or after death. ksl.com
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