Lori Vallow Daybell sentencing updates: 'Doomsday' mom gets life in prison without parole
Lori Vallow Daybell said in court, "No one was murdered in this case."
Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for the killing of two of her children in what prosecutors argued was a doomsday plot.
The judge had previously granted the defense's motion to dismiss the death penalty in the case.
Vallow Daybell, 50, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2019 deaths of her children, Joshua "J.J." Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, whose remains were found on an Idaho property belonging to her husband, Chad Daybell, following a monthslong search.
She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her children and her husband's first wife, Tamara Daybell, who died on Oct. 19, 2019, less than a month before Lori and Chad married in Hawaii.
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Vallow Daybell sentenced to life in prison without parole
Judge Steven Boyce sentenced Lori Vallow Daybell to life in prison without parole.
Boyce mentioned several times that Vallow Daybell "lived a law-abiding life" until this case.
Boyce said Vallow Daybell suffers from mental health issues, adding, "Something radically changed in you that led you to where you are today."
A mother killing her children is the most "unimaginable type of murder," he said.
"You had so many other options. ... You could have found someone to take care of those kids," he said. "You killed those children ... to remove them as obstacles and to profit financially."
The judge noted, although Vallow Daybell was convicted, she in court on Monday denied committing the murders.
The judge said he doesn't think she's shown any remorse for the crimes or for those who searched for her children while they were missing.
Lori Vallow Daybell: 'No one was murdered'
Lori Vallow Daybell spoke at sentencing, and started by quoting a Bible verse.
She then said, "Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy."
She continued, "Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. … No one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen."
She said she died while giving birth to Tylee, and since then she said she's had "access to heaven and the spirit world."
"I have had many communications with people now living in heaven," she said, including Tylee and J.J. "I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world. Because of my communication with my friend Tammy Daybell, I know she is also very happy and extremely busy."
"Tylee is free now from all the pains of her life. Tylee suffered horrible physical pain her whole life ... I am the only person on this earth who knows how much Tylee suffered. ... Her body did not work right," she claimed.
She said of her communications with J.J. since he's died, "He is busy, he is engaged, he has jobs that he does there and he is happy where he is."
She said of Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy Daybell, "She is extremely busy helping her family, especially her children and grandchildren," adding, "I have a great love for Tammy."
Defense: 'We ask the court to show mercy'
Lori Vallow Daybell's defense attorney, John Thomas, said to the court, "We need peace to replace the hurt. And that peace and that healing will only come about by love and compassion."
"Lori, if she could speak to each one of those people who have been hurt by this case … her message would be one of love," Thomas said.
Vallow Daybell was given the opportunity to give her own statement in court but she has not spoken at this point.
"Lori's a very misunderstood person," Thomas said, describing her as kind, loving and caring.
"She was a great mother to her kids," he said. "She has redeeming values."
Thomas added, "There's a lot of confusion and there's a lot of misunderstanding about how this ultimately came to pass."
Thomas asked the court to sentence Vallow Daybell to a 20-year fixed term with an indeterminate term of life.
"We believe that meets all the goals of sentencing with an added bonus of hope," he said.
"If you give her fixed life, you will have essentially thrown her away," and she'll have no incentive to rehabilitate, Thomas said.
"If we give her hope ... she has the incentive to be a model prisoner ... and over time she changes her behavior," he said.
"We ask the court to show mercy and look to the future," he said.
Prosecutor: 'There's no rehabilitation possible'
Prosecutor Rob Wood said in court Monday, "What is the value of a human life? What is the value of a 16-year-old girl? … A 7-year-old boy with special needs? What is the value of a life of a mother and a grandmother?"
"We are calculating and assigning a value for the lives of Tylee Ryan, J.J. Vallow and Tammy Daybell," he said, noting that Lori Vallow Daybell "assigned a value of zero."
"This defendant violated the most sacred trust that exists in society -- that between a mother and her children. And she did it for gain -- she did it for money," he said. "A defendant who is willing to murder her own children is willing to murder anyone. Society can only be protected from this defendant by a life sentence without the possibility of parole. ... There's no rehabilitation possible."
Wood said Vallow Daybell can only be rehabilitated by "facing the consequences" of her crimes, which he said should be a life sentence without parole.
"The impact of the murder of Tylee was horrendous," Wood said.
The body of Vallow Daybell's 16-year-old daughter, Tylee, "was utterly destroyed, and she was buried in a pet cemetery next to animals," Wood said.
Seven-year-old J.J., Wood said, likely endured "fear and betrayal" in his last moments alive, and was then "buried like a piece of trash."