Chad Daybell was sentenced to death Saturday in a triple murder case, nearly a year after his second wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, was sentenced to life in prison.
Day bell was convicted of the first-degree murder of his first wifeTammy Daybell, and two of his then-girlfriend Lori Vallow’s children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiracy in the murders and insurance fraud.
Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted last year of murder in their three deaths and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The case initially drew national attention in 2019 after 7-year-old JJ was reported missing by his grandparents and investigators learned Tylee was last seen around the same time.. Police first arrested Daybell and Vallow during their honeymoon in Hawaii, just weeks after Tammy Daybell’s death.
Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island via AP
The children’s bodies were discovered buried on Daybell’s property months later.
The case put a spotlight on the couple’s fringe religious beliefs, including that evil spirits could possess a person’s body and turn them into a “zombie.”
The jury that convicted Chad Daybell also deliberated his sentence on the principal charge. Judge Steven Boyce, who presided over both Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s Trials in Idahosaid Thursday that he will be sentenced at a later date on the insurance fraud charge.
Victims filled the courtroom Friday with nine people, including Tammy Daybell’s brother. Tylee and JJs older brother and others offered victim impact statements.
Daybell, who did not testify in his own defense, also chose not to speak during the penalty phase.
Vallow Daybell was extradited to Arizona following her conviction in Idaho, where she awaits trial on murder charges in the 2019 death of her husband Charles Vallow, who was shot by her brother Alex Cox. Cox also died later that year.
