It looked every inch the fairytale wedding.
Dressed in white with pink flower garlands around their necks, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier as they said their vows on a paradise beach in Hawaii.
But, beneath the surface of the celebrations, her two children had not been seen alive in two months.
His wife had died just two weeks earlier.
Now, in the two years since the November 2019 nuptials of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell what has emerged is a deeply disturbing pattern of suspected murders, unexplained deaths of people close to the couple and bizarre cult beliefs about killing zombies.
The couple are each charged with the murder of Ms Vallow’s two children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, after their remains were found in a shallow grave in the grounds of Mr Daybell’s property in Idaho in June 2020 – nine months after the last sign of life.
Ms Vallow had told friends her children were “zombies” and that the only way to free someone’s soul from zombies was by killing them, according to prosecutors.
The couple are also charged with the murder of Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell. Her October 2019 death was initially ruled as “natural causes” at the age of 49 and it was only after the case involving the missing children picked up steam that investigators grew suspicious and exhumed her body.
The couple met while he was married to Tammy and she was married to her fourth husband Charles Vallow.
Ms Vallow is now also accused of conspiring to murder Mr Vallow after he was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox in July 2019 in what was at the time ruled as self-defence.
In yet another twist, when the case was reopened following the disappearance of JJ and Tylee, Mr Cox died.
Again, this death was ruled as “natural causes” though he had the overdose drug Narcan in his system.
Now, the latest chapter of the saga is about to start as Ms Vallow, nicknamed the “doomsday cult mom”, is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment for the murder of her two children on Tuesday.
This comes after her case was put on hold last year after she was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial.
After almost a year at a mental health facility, she was back behind bars last week, paving the way for prosecutors to move forward with the case and try the couple together.
Here is what we know about the case so far:
THE CHARGES
Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell were charged with the murders of Tylee and JJ in May 2021, almost one year after their bodies were discovered on the Daybell property in June 2020.
The children had not been seen since September 2019, just one month after Ms Vallow moved with them from Arizona to Idaho to be with Mr Daybell.
That November, other family members of JJ asked police to carry out a welfare check on him as they had not seen or heard from him in two months.
The couple insisted they knew where the children were but refused to present them to authorities.
Ms Vallow was first arrested in Hawaii in January 2020 on charges of desertion. Ever since, she has been held behind bars until her children’s remains were discovered and Mr Daybell was also arrested.
Meanwhile, Tammy Daybell was found dead on 19 October 2019.
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”.
The couple are each charged in Idaho with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of the two children, and separately in the death of Tammy.
Ms Vallow is also charged in Arizona with conspiring to kill Mr Vallow, with the help of her now-deceased brother Mr Cox.
She is also charged with grand theft and insurance fraud in relation to the Social Security benefits of Tylee and JJ.
CHAD AND LORI VALLOW DAYBELL: A LOVE STORY
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.
He met Ms Vallow at a religious conference in 2018 and the two quickly became close, according to the investigation.
Soon they were travelling to meet each other and sharing steamy short stories, with Mr Daybell writing a fictional piece about two characters who also met at a religious conference.
They communicated using code or pet names like Lili, Bubby, and Raphael and through “burner” phones and direct messaging on popular phone apps, according to computer and phone files found by investigators.
As the intensity of their relationship heated up, investigators said their doomsday-focused belief system began to grow.
BEYOND THE SPIRITUAL VEIL
As many as 10 friends were drawn into the group that met to pray, drive out evil spirits and seek revelations from “beyond the spiritual veil.”
Their "apocalyptical system of religious belief" began in 2018.
Around that time, Mr Vallow was seeking a divorce because his wife believed she had become a god-like figure responsible for ushering in the biblical end of times.
Friends told investigators that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell believed people could be possessed by evil spirits and become “zombies”, where their soul was trapped in limbo. The only way to rid a person of a zombie was for their body to die, according to police reports.
Melanie Gibb, a friend of the pair, told investigators that Ms Vallow referred to her children as “zombies.” Investigators in Arizona found text messages saying that Mr Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy Daybell, was possessed by a dark spirit.
Loosely based on theology from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, friends said they veered into the extreme, according to a police report.
The report said they believed in reincarnation, and that Ms Vallow was a “Goddess” sent to bring the second coming of Christ.
Ms Vallow also told friends she had special powers like teleporting between Arizona and Hawaii, police allege. Mr Daybell reportedly added he had a “portal” to travel to other realms and receive revelations.
The group also believed that once a person became “exalted,” they couldn’t be held responsible for their actions on earth. Prosecutors say that Ms Vallow has espoused the religious beliefs to justify the alleged murders.
WHAT INVESTIGATORS ALLEGE HAPPENED
Police say the investigation uncovered documents that indicated Mr Vallow discovered his wife’s affair with Mr Daybell just weeks before his death.
He confronted her in a text message and then emailed Mr Daybell’s then-wife, Tammy, to let her know that their spouses were cheating.
He was shot to death 11 days after sending that email.
In the main investigation report, investigators wrote that they suspected the killers were motivated by greed for Mr Vallow’s life insurance money, lust for each other, and their strange religious beliefs.
“All of these overt acts were done so Lori could eventually be with Chad Daybell and reportedly complete their mission here on earth,” the report said.
“This belief system, lust and greed would also lead to the deaths of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell.”
JULY 2019 - CHARLES VALLOW IS SHOT AND KILLED
Mr Vallow was killed when he went to pick up his son at his estranged wife’s home in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler on 11 July 2019.
He wanted to carry out a mental health intervention but she was tipped off to the plan, investigators said.
Her brother, Mr Cox, shot Mr Vallow in the driveway claiming self-defence. He told investigators that Mr Vallow attacked him with a baseball bat.
Investigators questioned his account, noting he waited about 43 minutes to call 911 after shooting Mr Vallow.
He called his sister in the meantime, records showed. He also claimed to attempt a revival, but investigators said they found no indication of that attempt.
Mr Cox also claimed he shot twice while Mr Vallow was standing, but police alleged forensic evidence showed Mr Vallow was already on the ground when shot a second time.
SEPTEMBER 2019 – TYLEE RYAN AND JJ VALLOW GO MISSING
The two children went missing in September 2019, a few weeks before Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell married.
JJ, who was autistic, was adopted by Ms Vallow and was last seen alive on 23 September at his Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg, Idaho, according to an affidavit.
Investigators later found the bodies of JJ and Tylee buried in Mr Daybell’s backyard in Idaho in 2020.
Police have not disclosed their causes of death but court documents said Tylee’s body was partially burned.
Rexburg Police Detective Ray Hermosillo told the court JJ had been found wrapped in plastic bags and duct tape.
OCTOBER 2019 – TAMMY DAYBELL DIES OF ‘NATURAL CAUSES’
Tammy Daybell’s obituary said she died in October 2019 due to natural causes.
But authorities grew suspicious when her husband remarried just two weeks later and as the case of the missing children grew steam.
Investigators exhumed her body for an autopsy and reclassified her death as suspicious.
They linked the death with the disappearance of the two children, but did not release her cause of death.
Both Mr Daybell and Ms Vallow are now charged with her death. It is not yet clear how she is believed to have died or what evidence investigators have.
DECEMBER 2019 – ALEX COX DIES OF A ‘BLOOD CLOT’
Mr Cox, who had shot Mr Vallow five months prior in what he said was self-defence, was found dead by his stepson in December 2019.
The 51-year-old was found lying on the bathroom floor gasping for air and vomiting, according to a police report cited by East Idaho News.
A medical examiner found he died of natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs.
High blood pressure also contributed to his death, the report said.
The overdose drug Narcan was found in his system.
The day he died, he called Mr Daybell to receive a “blessing” over the phone, according to sources.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Ms Daybell’s case originally stalled last May when mental health evaluators ruled she was not competent to stand trial.
Her case remained on hold while a mental health facility treated her to assist in her defence. Judge Steven Boyce’s order said she is “restored to competency and is fit to proceed”.
Ms Vallow will be transferred to jail and will be arraigned on the murder and conspiracy charges on 19 April.
Mr Daybell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and Ms Daybell has not yet had an opportunity to enter a plea.
The couple is scheduled to stand trial together in early 2023.
If found guilty, they face sentences ranging from life in prison without parole to the death penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
