The Guardian reports:
Opening statements are expected Wednesday in the trial of an Idaho man charged with killing his wife and his then girlfriend’s two youngest children in an unusual case rooted in extremist religious beliefs.
Chad Daybell, 55, is facing charges of first-degree murder, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of Tammy Daybell, seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Last year, their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, received a life sentence without parole for the killings.
Prosecutors say the couple justified the three killings with doomsday beliefs, part of an elaborate scheme to eliminate any obstacles to their relationship and to obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance. Vallow Daybell referred to her two youngest kids as zombies, one friend testified during her trial.
CNN reports:
Chad Daybell also is charged with the murder of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, who was initially believed to have died in her sleep. He remarried less than three weeks after her death in 2019. Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell called themselves “James and Elaina” and believed they were religious figures and had a system of rating people as “light” or “dark,” a prosecutor told jurors at her trial.
Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell exchanged texts about Tammy Daybell “being in limbo” and “being possessed by a spirit named Viola.” In addition, Daybell was connected to a religious doomsday prepper website. When Vallow Daybell was sentenced last year, she denied having killed her children. She said she had spoken to Jesus, her children and her husband’s wife after their deaths and said they were “happy and extremely busy” in heaven.
Idaho triple murder trial begins with claims about zombies and doomsday plot https://t.co/pjjsG5qmFj
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) April 10, 2024
LIVE: ID v #ChadDaybell | Doomsday Prophet Murder Trial – Day 1#OpeningStatements begin today in the long-awaited, death penalty trial against Chad Daybell. He’s accused of killing his first wife #TammyDaybell and the children of his second wife #LoriVallowDaybell.
Join… pic.twitter.com/DdGma77tQv
— Court TV (@CourtTV) April 10, 2024
Before #ChadDaybell became the #DoomsdayProphet he worked as a caretaker at a cemetery and was an author of religious books.
Was #LoriVallowDaybell the catalyst or did Chad’s charisma and delusion lead to the sinister downfall of the #DoomsdayCouple?
Join #CourtTV‘s YouTube… pic.twitter.com/LaknqyYX0E
— Court TV (@CourtTV) April 9, 2024