Lori Vallow, at left, and Chad Daybell.Photo: Rexburg Police Department (2)
Content warning: This story contains disturbing details.
A former friend ofLori Vallow Daybelltestified at her trial on Wednesday about the beginnings of Lori’s relationship with her fifth husbandChad Daybellas both stand accused of murdering Lori’s children and conspiring to murder Chad’s first wife.
In the courtroom in Boise, Idaho,Melanie Gibbtestified about the couple’s relationship, saying it began at a conference in Utah in October 2018, when both were married.
According to Gibb, Lori told her that at the conference, Chad had told her they had been married in “previous lives.”
“She shared with me that he told her that they had been married in another time period,” Gibb said. “She did believe that. She had already had the belief system that this ‘multiple lives,’ as they would call it — she already believed that before she physically met him.”
Chad Daybell, left, and Lori Vallow.Rexburg Police Department ; Madison County Sheriff’s Office/AP/Shutterstock
Gibb said that Lori believed that she and Chad were the “head leaders” of a group of 144,000 people who would remain on Earth after the return of Jesus Christ to do missionary work.
At the time, Lori was married to Charles Vallow and Chad was married to Tammy Daybell. Both are now dead, and Lori and Chad face charges in connection with both deaths. Gibb said Lori and Chad believed “their spouses would pass away.”
Lori Vallow, J.J. Vallow, Tylee Ryan, Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell.
According to Gibb, Lori and Chad would meet at motels and hotels while Chad was married. But Lori believed their alleged affair was okay: “She felt it was according to God’s will,” Gibb testified, adding that Lori believed their alleged dalliances were justified because they’d been married together in previous lives and had a mission together.
After Charles' death, Gibb testified that there was “happiness, excitement” between Chad and Lori.
Lori is charged with murder in the deaths of her two children Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. She is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Tammy, who died from asphyxiation.
Lori has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Chad is also charged and has pleaded not guilty, but will have a trial at a different time.
J.J. and Tylee werereported missingin November of 2019 after they hadn’t been seen since September of that year. On June 9, 2020, the remains of the siblings were found on a property belonging to chad.
“A few of us got on our hands and knees and began digging around this moist section of dirt,” he said, adding that investigators began to smell a decomposing body.
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“We eventually uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee — whom we assumed it was Tylee — that had been burned. There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart,” Hermosillo continued. (Tylee was last seen alive at age 16.)
Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, at left, and Tylee Ryan.Rexburg Police Department (2)
After the children disappeared, Lori and Chad — an author who wrote about religious doomsday scenarios — facedpolice scrutinywhen their pasts revealed a trail of mysterious deaths, including those of Tammy and Charles.
Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow Daybell.Eric Grossarth/ EastIdahoNews.com
Lori’s trial is ongoing. In March, it was ruled that Lori, who spent time in a psychiatric treatment facility before being deemed fit for trial, would not face the death penalty in the slayings. She faces life in prison if convicted.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
