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Jury finds Lori Vallow guilty on all charges, including murder of two of her children

A woman with long blonde hair wearing all black standing between two men. They all have their hands crossed in front of them.
Kyle Green
/
Associated Press
Lori Vallow Daybell stands and listens as the jury's verdict is read at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho on Friday May 12, 2023. The Idaho jury convicted Daybell of murder in the deaths of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, a verdict that marks the end of a three-year investigation that included bizarre claims of zombie children, apocalyptic prophesies and illicit affairs.

Lori Vallow has been found guilty after the defense and prosecution rested Thursday following a multi-week trial for the murder of two of her children and conspiracy to commit first degree murder of her husband's ex-wife. On Tuesday, the defense said it did not believe the state had proven its case against Vallow and did not call Vallow or any witnesses back to the stand.

The verdict was announced shortly after 1 p.m. The jury ruled as follows:

  • Count one, conspiracy to commit first degree murder (Tylee Ryan): Guilty
  • Count two, first degree murder (Tylee Ryan): Guilty
  • Count three, conspiracy to commit first degree murder (JJ Vallow): Guilty
  • Count four, first degree murder (JJ Vallow): Guilty
  • Count five, conspiracy to commit first degree murder (Tammy Daybell): Guilty
  • Count six, grand theft: Guilty

Sentencing in the case will not happen today due to the complexity of the case. Judge Steven Boyce said that typically putting together a pre-sentence investigation report takes two months, but in a case like this, it will likely take longer. Boyce thinks it will probably be three months before the sentencing can be scheduled.

Vallow will be transferred from Ada County back to Fremont County for sentencing.

According to East Idaho News, people started lining up at 4 a.m. outside the Ada County Courthouse to try to get a seat to hear the verdict. The verdict was also streamed on Boyce’s YouTube channel, a change from the rest of the trial where no video, photo or audio was allowed from the media or otherwise.

Vallow’s attorneys filed a motion in March to dismiss the death penalty and Boyce ruled in favor to dismiss. The motion stated it should be dismissed because of media saturation, discovery violations, Vallow’s mental health status and the inability of the state to be able to effectively administer the death penalty if the jury chose to impose it.

Closing arguments were held on Thursday. Boyce started the day by ruling on the defense’s motion for a judgment of acquittal, saying substantial evidence was presented during the trial, according to East Idaho News.

Boyce said the state provided sufficient evidence to back up the charges, which include conspiracy to commit first degree murder, grand theft by deception and first degree murder.

Boyce denied the Rule 29 Motion on all charges, which you can see here.

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