The new Dateline episode released on March 7, 2025, on NBC, includes an exclusive interview with Lori Vallow Daybell by Keith Morrison from Maricopa County Jail. It is her first since her 2023 conviction to life in prison for killing her two youngest children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, and her husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
The episode explores Vallow Daybell’s perspective on her widely publicized case, as well as the 2019 death of her ex-husband Charles Vallow, who was killed by her brother Alex Cox, who used self-defense and was never prosecuted. Vallow Daybell is now going on trial in Arizona for her inclusion in a conspiracy in the death of Charles, on February 24, 2025, after two doctors declared her competent. The interview holds out promise of understanding her allegations and the chilling occurrences surrounding her doomsday beliefs.
Who is Lori Vallow Daybell?
Lori Vallow Daybell was born Lori Norene Cox on June 26, 1973, in San Bernardino, California. She grew up in a family with strong ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Raised in California, she later moved to Texas, where she attended high school. Over the years, she married multiple times.
Her first marriage was to Nelson Yanes in 1992, followed by William Lagioia in 1995, with whom she had a son, Colby. In 2001 she married Joseph Ryan, and they had a daughter, Tylee. After their divorce, she wed Charles Vallow in 2006, adopting his son, Joshua Vallow. Her fifth marriage was to Chad Daybell in 2019, a self-published author of religious books.
Before her legal troubles, Lori worked various jobs and was known as a homemaker. She became deeply involved in extreme religious beliefs, influenced by Chad Daybell, focusing on doomsday ideas. This shift marked a change from her earlier life as a mother and wife. She is now serving a life sentence in Idaho for crimes tied to these beliefs.
The Truth about Lori Vallow’s Marriages
Lori Vallow Daybell’s murder case involves the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, among other incidents. Charles was born on August 17, 1956, in Texas. He worked as a businessman and married Lori in 2006 in Las Vegas. Together, they adopted Joshua Vallow, Charles’s grandnephew in 2014. They also raised Lori’s daughter, Tylee Ryan, from her previous marriage to Joseph Ryan. The couple lived in Arizona, where Charles ran a financial consulting business.
By 2019, their marriage faced problems. Charles filed for divorce in February, saying Lori had extreme religious beliefs. He claimed she thought she was a god preparing for the end of the world and had threatened to kill him if he got in her way.
On July 11, 2019, Charles visited Lori’s home in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up JJ. An argument started, and Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, shot Charles twice in the chest, killing him. Cox explained to police that it was an act of self-defense, relating that Charles had struck him with a baseball bat. No charges were made against Cox then, and he died the same year from a lung ailment.
Investigators later found evidence suggesting Lori and Cox planned Charles’s death. Text messages showed Lori thanking Cox for support days before the shooting. Charles had also emailed Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell’s wife, about Lori’s affair with Chad, her fifth husband.
Where is Lori Vallow Daybell Now?
As Reported by CBS News, Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial took place in Boise, Idaho, at the Ada County Courthouse. It began on April 3, 2023, and lasted about six weeks. She was charged with murdering her two children, 7-year-old Joshua Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, her husband Chad Daybell’s first wife. The children went missing in September 2019, and their bodies were found buried on Chad’s property in June 2020. Tammy died in October 2019.
The prosecution said Lori and Chad planned the killings because of their extreme religious beliefs, calling the children zombies and thinking they stood in the way of their new life together. Evidence included text messages, DNA from Lori on duct tape with JJ’s body, and witness stories about their beliefs. The defense argued that Lori didn’t kill anyone herself. It was Chad who was the cause of Lori’s actions, but they didn’t call any witnesses.
On May 12, 2023, after about eight hours of deliberation, the jury found Lori guilty on all charges: two counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and grand theft for taking the children’s Social Security money, and was sentenced to life in prison.
Source: CBS News
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