Lori Vallow, an Idaho woman accused of killing her two children after becoming convinced they were "zombies" possessed by evil spirits, has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial after her trial was put on hold for more than a year to await a ruling.
Ms Vallow's husband, author Chad Daybell, have both been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, grand theft by deception, grand theft, and fraud in the killings of their children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan.
The bodies of the children were found buries in Mr Daybell's yard in 2020.
Ms Vallow will be transferred to jail and will be arraigned on the murder and conspiracy charges on 19 April.
Mr Daybell, who has also been charged with murdering his then-wife Tammy Daybell the mother after the children were killed will go to trial in January 2023.
Ms Vallow's case originally stalled last May when mental health evaluators ruled she was not competent to stand trial. She was cleared Monday after receiving mental health treatment for nearly a year.
"Based upon the Court’s determination that Defendant Lori Norene Vallow, aka Lori Norene Vallow Daybell, is restored to competency and is fit to proceed, the Court orders that the Defendant be brought before this Court to be arraigned," Judge Steven Boyce wrote in a ruling. "Further, the order staying the case is hereby lifted."
The Vallow/Daybell case has been bizarre from the start, with a string of deaths, strange claims, and apocalyptic fiction surrounding the couple.
In July 2019, Ms Vallow's estranged husband was killed by her brother, Alex Cox, who claimed he shot the man in self-defence. Mr Cox died from a blood clot six months later.
In October 2019, Brandon Boudreaux, the estranged husband of Ms Vallow's niece, was shot at in his driveway by a masked man in a vehicle registered to the deceased Mr Vallow. Around the same time, Ms Daybell was attacked in her driveway by someone she believed was shooting a paintball gun at her. She was then found dead on 19 October.
Police initially believed Ms Daybell died in her sleep naturally, but later exhumed her and preformed an autopsy. The results of the autopsy were not made public, but Mr Daybell was later charged with his wife's death.
Mr Daybell worked as a self-published author of religious fiction, some of which focused on the End Times. He claimed in his 2017 autobiography that he survived two near death experiences that left him with the ability to receive direct messages and vision from God.
Though his stories are fiction, Mr Daybell claimed in his autobiography that his work is the result of visions and prophecies God gives him.
“The most common question I receive is, ‘What parts of your books are based on what you’ve seen in vision, and what part did you make up?’” Mr Daybell wrote. “The short answer is that I don’t fictionalize any of the events portrayed. I’m really not that creative … My torn veil allows information to be downloaded into my brain from the other side. The scenes I am shown are real events that will happen.”
The couple eventually moved to Hawaii and married two weeks after Ms Daybell's death. They were arrested on 20 February 2020 by the Kauai Police Department and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children.
Later, after police discovered the bodies of the children in Mr Daybell's backyard in Idaho, their charges were increased.
