3 Life Sentences on the Line as Idaho Court Reviews Vallow Daybell Convictions

The Idaho Supreme Court convenes Monday to review the convictions of Lori Vallow Daybell, who faces three life sentences for the deaths of her two youngest children and a romantic rival. Her legal team has petitioned the justices to reverse the lower court rulings, arguing that specific procedural failures during the trial compromised the fairness of the proceedings. The case centers on the 2019 deaths of Joshua Vallow, age 7, and Tylee Ryan, age 16, as well as the murder of Tammy Daybell.

Vallow Daybell's attorneys contend that the trial court denied her a speedy trial and improperly restricted her choice of counsel. The judge at trial had ruled that her preferred lawyer represented both her and her then-fiancé, Chad Daybell, creating a conflict of interest. The defense also argues that jurors should not have heard evidence regarding separate shootings in Arizona involving Vallow Daybell’s estranged husband and her niece’s ex-husband. They claim this information prejudiced the jury against the defendant.

The children vanished in 2019 and their remains were later located buried on rural Idaho land owned by Chad Daybell. Daybell, a writer of religious novels focused on end-of-world prophecies, was sentenced to death for the three killings. Vallow Daybell maintains that she holds doomsday religious beliefs and that individuals in her life were possessed by evil spirits. The Idaho verdict comes alongside separate Arizona convictions where she was found guilty of conspiring to murder her ex-husband and her niece’s ex-husband.

In the Arizona case, prosecutors alleged Vallow Daybell conspired with her brother, Alex Cox, to kill Charles Vallow to collect life insurance and marry Chad Daybell. Cox was identified as the shooter who fired at Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Vallow Daybell’s niece, in Gilbert. Boudreaux survived that incident. Cox later died from a blood clot in his lungs. Vallow Daybell received two life sentences in Arizona and has filed appeals against those convictions as well.

The upcoming hearing will determine if the Idaho convictions stand or if the case returns to trial. The court will evaluate the timing of the proceedings, the management of legal conflicts, and the admissibility of out-of-state evidence. No decision is expected immediately after the oral arguments.