“Cult mom” Lori Vallow is back in court today to be sentenced for the murders of her two children in a dramatic case that gripped the nation.
Vallow, 50, was convicted in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, who vanished without a trace in September 2019. She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy, who died in October 2019.
The verdict came after prosecutors convinced a jury that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with her brother Alex Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs – but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammy’s life insurance money and the children’s social security and survivor benefits.
Vallow will appear before a judge in the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Monday for sentencing, where she faces the possibility of life in prison.
Before the sentence is handed down, the court will hear victim impact statements from several family members devastated by the harrowing saga that’s seen countless twists and turns over four years.
05:58 , Namita Singh
Good Morning. Welcome to The Independent’s live blog for Monday, 31 July 2023, where we will provide the latest in the sentencing of Lori Vallow.