The mother of two missing children found buried in an Idaho backyard has been charged with their murder, along with her new husband, prosecutors have announced.
Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell were indicted on first-degree murder for the deaths of children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, as well as Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell.
Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood announced multiple charges nearly one year after the children’s bodies were discovered on the property of the “doomsday preppers”.
“Finally!!! and on JJs birthday too,” cousin Zac Cox said on Twitter.
Prosecutors alleged in an announcement of the charges that the three homicides and related financial crimes “were committed as part of a continuing criminal scheme”.
Tylee and JJ went missing in the fall of 2019 before being found on their stepfather’s property on 9 June 2020, prosecutors allege. Ms Daybell was found dead on 19 October 2019.
The case came to national attention over the couple’s participation in the “preppers” community. Mr Daybell ran a publishing company that put out books about apocalyptic scenarios loosely based on the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
If found guilty, the couple face sentences ranging from life in prison without parole to the death penalty.
Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake said in a statement that progress in the case had been slowed due to the ongoing safety restrictions imposed by the courts during the Covid pandemic, and that they just recently received permission to present information to a grand jury for review.
“They deliberated and determined there is probable cause to believe that the Daybells willfully and knowingly conspired to commit several crimes that led to the death of three innocent people,” Ms Blake said.
They are expected to be arraigned on Wednesday on the new slate of charges, which include multiple counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, and insurance fraud.
