Chad Daybell sentenced to death in “apocalyptic” murder case

Lina PortmanJune 2, 2024

0 1 minute read

Murderer Chad Daybell was sentenced to death Saturday in Idaho, two days after he was convicted of murdering his first wife and two stepchildren in a case that included strange “apocalyptic” religious beliefs.

Prosecutors said they were seeking the death penalty because of the “particularly heinous, atrocious or cruel” factors in the killings of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow; and Tylee Ryan, who was 16 when last seen; and Tammy Daybell, 49. Jurors agreed and said they found Daybell showed a “complete disregard for human life” and would pose a continuing threat to society.

“The court has ordered that the defendant be sentenced to death on these charges,” Judge Steven Boyce said.

Daybell showed no emotion as he listened to the clerk read the jury's decision.

The children were last seen in September 2019, and a massive multi-state search gained national attention later that year. Their bodies were found on Daybell's Idaho property months later, and he was also charged in the death of his first wife, who died under “suspicious circumstances” in October 2019.

The children's mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last summer for first-degree murder and conspiracy in the deaths of the two children, conspiracy to commit the murder of Tammy Daybell and an additional 10 years for robbery. . The death penalty was not an option for the children's mother.

Investigators and witnesses close to Daybell testified to his and Vallow Daybell's belief that the children had become “zombies” and that the couple was on a mission to rid the world of zombies as part of what they called “the Church of the Firstborn”.

The couple married just weeks after his ex-wife's death, sparking suspicion over the circumstances of her death, previously thought to be due to natural causes. Vallow Daybell's former husband, Charles Vallow, was also shot and killed by his brother Alex Cox in Arizona, where the family was living at the time earlier in 2019. Cox claimed he killed Vallow in self-defense, and Cox was never charged before he died in December 2020, the Associated Press reported.

Lina Portman

Related Articles

Bend Park and Recreation District seeks teen volunteers, urging summer safety in Deschutes River parks

A convicted felon was arrested on guns and weapons charges

Missouri authorities join search for missing Bella Vista kayaker | Joplin News First

At Summer Game Fest, Fear the Spotlight mixes '90s teen horror with PS1 polygons