Southwest
Killer Lori Vallow, 'doomsday mom,' says Jesus spoke to her in spiritual vision, showed her prison release
Lori Vallow, known as the Idaho “doomsday mom” convicted of killing two of her children and conspiring to kill husband Chad Daybell’s former wife in 2019, expressed her belief that she will be freed from prison in the future in her first TV interview since she was sentenced to life in prison in 2023.
Vallow and Daybell, who was sentenced to death, killed Vallow’s youngest children, 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, in what prosecutors described as an escalation of their extreme “doomsday” religious views by which they believed certain people were “zombies.” Vallow maintains her innocence.
“I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven, and we were not … in prison,” Vallow told “Dateline” in a new episode that premiered Friday night when asked about her belief that she and Daybell will be exonerated. “And they were still in the future from now.”
Vallow also took aim at the media in the “Dateline” interview, saying, “They exaggerate everything, and they make stuff up, and they twist things around.”
‘DOOMSDAY MOM’ LORI VALLOW GRANTED MENTAL HEALTH EXAM AHEAD OF SECOND TRIAL
Lori Vallow, convicted of killing two of her children and conspiring to kill husband Chad Daybell’s former wife in 2019, expressed her belief she will be freed from prison in the future in her first TV interview since she was sentenced to life in prison in 2023. (Dateline)
Vallow added that she is “absolutely” misunderstood.
The so-called cult mom will stand trial in Arizona for allegedly conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and her niece’s ex-husband after a judge recently denied her motion to dismiss the case.
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Lori Vallow (Maricopa County Sheriff I Madison County Sheriff I Ada County Sheriff)
After J.J. and Tylee were reported missing in September 2019 and Tammy Daybell died a month later, in October 2019, Vallow and Daybell married in Hawaii in November of that same year. They proceeded to steal J.J. and Tylee’s Social Security benefits after their disappearances.
J.J. and Tylee were found in shallow graves on Daybell’s rural Rexburg property in June 2020. The 16-year-old’s remains were burned while the 7-year-old was bound in duct tape.
When asked whether she was at the site of her children’s murders, Vallow told “Dateline” in her interview, “I was not there.”
LORI VALLOW TRIAL: IDAHO CORONER REVEALS JJ VALLOW’S AND TYLEE RYAN’S CAUSES OF DEATH
Lori and Chad Daybell were convicted of killing 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
Idaho prosecutors alleged during Vallow and Daybell’s trials the pair had extreme religious beliefs, including the idea that some people had “dark” souls while others had “light” souls. They believed the “dark” spirits could be so dark, in fact, that they could be zombies.
Vallow’s oldest son and only surviving child, Colby Ryan, is also featured in the “Dateline” episode.
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In this aerial photo, investigators search for human remains on Chad Daybell’s property in Salem, Idaho, June 9, 2020. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register )
“I guess I always was, like, a positive, see-the-best-in-people kind of person, and then I watched someone I knew my entire life do what she did, and it just changed the way I view people,” Colby told “Dateline” when asked how his mother’s crimes have affected him. “The way that my sister was treated was with hate. That’s not even human to do what they did to her after.”
‘CULT MOM’ LORI VALLOW APPEALS CONVICTION AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF MURDERING HER 2 CHILDREN
Charles Vallow died in July 2019. Two months later, in September 2019, Tylee and J.J. disappeared. Tammy Daybell died of asphyxiation in November 2019. Alex Cox died of an apparent blood clot in December 2019. (KASZ; Facebook; Post Register/John Roark, AP Pool)
The “Dateline” interview also featured interviews with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hart, the former lead detective for the Rexburg Police Department; Sheriff Ron Ball; and Det. Ray Hermosillo of the Rexburg Police Department.
LORI VALLOW TRIAL: ‘CULT MOM’ SENTENCED IN MURDERS OF 2 OF HER CHILDREN, HUSBAND’S FIRST WIFE
Vallow and Daybell allegedly collected J.J.’s and Tylee’s Social Security benefits between Oct. 1, 2019, and Jan. 22, 2020, after their murders. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register )
During her sentencing, Vallow spoke publicly for the first time since her arrest in 2020 and appeared to be in denial, saying at the time that she knew her children were “happy and busy in the spirit world.”
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“I have had many communications with Jesus Christ, savior of this world, and our heavenly parents. I have had many angelic visitors come and communicated with me and even manifested themselves to me because of these communications,” Vallow told an Idaho courtroom during her sentencing hearing.
“I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world. Because of my communications with my friend, Tammy Daybell, I know that she is also very happy and extremely busy.”
POLICE SERVE SUBPOENA TO ‘CULT MOM’ SITTING POOLSIDE IN HAWAII:
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In her statement to the court, Vallow added she “died in the hospital” while she was in labor with her daughter, Tylee. Doctors revived her, at which point she began seeing spirits.
“One of the times that Tylee came to me as a spirit after she died … she said to me, ‘Stop worrying, mom. We are fine.’ She knows how I worry and how I miss her,” Vallow said at the time.
The so-called “cult mom” was extradited to Arizona in November 2023, about four months after she was sentenced to life without parole in Idaho.
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Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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