The Trial Of Lori Vallow Daybell | Full Courtroom Coverage

September 8, 2019. Yellowstone National Park. The last known photo of Tylee Ryan.
According to investigators, she was dead within twenty-four hours. Her remains were found nine months later in Chad Daybell's backyard.
This is Part 3 of "The Chosen Ones" — our deep dive into the psychology of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we examine Chad Daybell's "zombie" doctrine in detail: how it worked, who it targeted, and how it justified the murders of Tylee, JJ, Tammy, and Charles.
According to trial testimony:

Chad Daybell taught that demons could possess people after death

Once possessed, the original person was gone — only a "zombie" remained

Zombies couldn't be saved or cast out — they could only be destroyed

Chad Daybell assigned "light and dark ratings" to categorize who was possessed

Everyone rated "dark" ended up dead

We trace how each victim was labeled:

Charles Vallow: renamed "Ned," killed by Alex Cox

Tammy Daybell: declared possessed, asphyxiated in her sleep

Tylee Ryan: called "dark" after questioning her mother, dismembered and burned

JJ Vallow: declared a "zombie," wrapped in plastic and buried

This episode provides essential context for understanding how Chad Daybell's belief system enabled the murders — and why dehumanization is central to spiritual abuse in high control religion.
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During Chad Daybell's murder trial, prosecutors introduced some of the most chilling evidence in true crime history: spreadsheets.
Documents recovered from Chad Daybell's computer showing lists of names — Tammy Daybell, Charles Vallow, Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and many others — each assigned a "light and dark rating" on a spiritual scale Chad Daybell invented.
Everyone rated "dark" ended up dead.
This is Part 2 of "The Chosen Ones," our deep dive into the psychology of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we examine how Chad Daybell built his belief system, where it came from, and how it evolved from eccentric theology into a framework that justified murder.
We cover:

Chad Daybell's background as a gravedigger and cemetery sexton

His self-published apocalyptic novels and claims they were visions from God

The fringe LDS conference circuit and AVOW community

How religious narcissism operates in high control religion

Testimony about "light and dark ratings" and their escalation

The "zombie" doctrine — how Chad Daybell taught that possessed people could only be destroyed

The failed casting on Tammy Daybell and what happened next

How the spreadsheets became evidence of premeditation

If you're following the Daybell case closely, this episode provides essential psychological context for understanding how the murders were justified within Chad Daybell's belief system.
Chad Daybell was convicted of first-degree murder in May 2024 and sentenced to death in June 2024.
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October 2018. A "Preparing a People" conference in Utah. Chad Daybell walks up to Lori Vallow and tells her they were married in a past life.
This is the moment everything changed.
Part 1 of "The Chosen Ones" examines how Chad Daybell used spiritual love bombing to transform Lori from a devoted LDS mother into someone who believed she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000."
We break down the mechanics of spiritual abuse:
First, he made her feel seen. Chad Daybell told her she was special, chosen, set apart. He said he could recognize her spiritual significance when no one else could.
Then, he made her feel exempt. According to testimony, Lori would say "It doesn't count for me" when doing things that would normally require repentance. Chad Daybell had convinced her the rules didn't apply to someone at her level.
Then came the labels. Charles wasn't her husband anymore — he was a demon named "Ned." The children weren't her children — they were "zombies" possessed by dark spirits.
This episode traces the path from that first conference to Charles Vallow's death in July 2019. We examine the AVOW community, the fringe LDS conference circuit, and the belief system Chad Daybell built that would eventually justify murder.
If you're following the Daybell case — or if you've experienced religious trauma yourself — this episode provides essential psychological context.
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#ChadDaybell #LoriVallow #DaybellCase #SpiritualAbuse #ReligiousTrauma #LoveBombing #CultPsychology #HighControlReligion #AVOW #Deconstruction

Lori Vallow Daybell is serving seven life sentences. Chad Daybell is on death row. Combined, they owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to the families of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, Tammy Daybell, and Charles Vallow. They will never pay it. But under Idaho's current Son of Sam law, there's a disturbing possibility: they could still profit from media deals.
This week, Idaho Senator Tammy Nichols introduced legislation to modernize the state's 48-year-old statute — and the Daybell case was explicitly on her mind. The bill unanimously advanced out of committee for a public hearing. It addresses streaming rights, podcasts, and digital monetization that didn't exist when the original law was written in 1978.
Here's the problem with the current law: payments to convicted criminals go into escrow for five years. If victims' families don't file civil lawsuits in time, the money eventually goes to the criminal. Chad Daybell's self-published doomsday prophecy novels — the books that started this entire nightmare — may still exist for sale somewhere. Whether they're generating income, and where that money goes, remains unclear under current law.
The new bill requires anyone who pays an offender or "exploits the notoriety of a crime" to send payment to the state treasurer. Escrow periods can be extended by court order. Exceptions exist for news and documentary work where offenders receive only "normal interview fees" — protecting journalism while preventing killers from cashing in.
Senator Nichols cited the Daybell case specifically when presenting the bill: "Just seeing trials like that... there's usually, eventually, book deals, movie deals... I just didn't feel that it was appropriate for criminals to be able to profit off of those."
For the families of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy, this is about basic accountability. We break down what the bill does — and what it means for the Daybell case.
#LoriVallowDaybell #ChadDaybell #DaybellTrial #TyleeRyan #JJVallow #TammyDaybell #SonOfSamLaw #IdahoMurders #DoomsdayCult #TrueCrime
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Three women. Three abductions. Same beliefs. Same geography. Same church.
Elleshia Seymour is now in Croatian custody after allegedly fleeing Utah with her four children because she believed the apocalypse was coming. She left behind a to-do list instructing herself to shred documents and buy a burner phone. She left a note she described as a "message from God." And she left a secret TikTok account filled with videos warning that Salt Lake City would be destroyed and COVID vaccines were turning people into zombies.
Her children — ages 11, 8, 7, and 3 — are now trapped in a state-run orphanage in Dubrovnik. Their father is there. He can see them two hours a day. The three-year-old doesn't understand why he can't go home.
This case would be disturbing enough on its own. But Elleshia Seymour isn't an anomaly. She's a pattern.
Lori Vallow believed the same things. Her children J.J. and Tylee were murdered — their bodies found in her boyfriend Chad Daybell's backyard. Spring Thibaudeau believed the same things. She fled toward Canada with her teenage son before the FBI caught her.
All three women came from LDS backgrounds. All three developed apocalyptic beliefs centered on the same theology — the same "end times" doctrine the Church teaches as mainstream. All three left children traumatized or dead.
The LDS Church is worth an estimated $265 billion. It was fined by the SEC for hiding its wealth. It excommunicated Chad Daybell — but only after the murders. It excommunicated Julie Rowe — but only after years of influence.
This is the story of a radicalization pipeline that keeps producing victims — and an institution that keeps looking the other way.
#ElleshiaSeymour #LoriVallow #ChadDaybell #MormonDoomsday #LDSChurch #DoomsdayMom #TrueCrime #CroatiaAbduction #ChildAbduction #ReligiousExtremism
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