Idaho mom Lori Vallow Daybell sentenced in deaths of 2 children and her romantic rival

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.

Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband's previous wife.

Vallow Daybell will serve three life sentences one after the other, the judge said.

The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece's ex-husband.

Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece's ex survived an attempt later that year.

At the Fremont County Courthouse in St Anthony, Idaho, Judge Steven W Boyce heard testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell's only surviving son, Colby Ryan.

"Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did," Ryan wrote in a statement read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood. "My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle."

Vallow Daybell was committed multiple times for treatment to make her mentally competent for the court proceedings. But Wood said there is no evidence that her crimes were impacted by her "alleged mental illness" — which includes delusional disorder with grandiose features, according to reports referenced in court.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.