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Chad Daybell verdict: Jury finds doomsday author guilty of murdering Lori Vallow's kids, his first wife

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Chad Daybell verdict: Jury finds doomsday author guilty of murdering Lori Vallow's kids, his first wife

An Idaho jury on Thursday found Chad Daybell, husband of so-called “cult mom” Lori Vallow, guilty of murdering two of her children and his first wife in 2019.

The jury convicted Daybell on all counts, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, insurance fraud and grand theft.

Daybell, 55, and Vallow, 50, are at the center of multiple murder cases involving not only Vallow’s two children but both her and Daybell’s deceased ex-spouses. Last year, a Fremont County jury found Vallow guilty on multiple counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, for the 2019 disappearances and deaths of 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, with help from her husband. 

The pair also conspired to kill Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell’s first wife, in October 2019. They were initially scheduled to have a joint trial, but Daybell’s defense attorneys got a separate trial for the self-published author in 2022, citing “mutually antagonistic defenses” between the two cases.

CHAD DAYBELL TRIAL: LORI VALLOW’S HUSBAND SEEKS DIFFERENT OUTCOME FROM ‘CULT MOM’ OVER KIDS’ KILLINGS

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The trial of Daybell, charged with the deaths of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children, was set to begin in Idaho on Monday, April 1, 2024. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP)

But prosecutors have argued in both Vallow’s and Daybell’s cases that the desire for “money, power and sex” is what drove the duo to kill Vallow’s two children and Daybell’s first wife. Vallow and Daybell also stole J.J. and Tylee’s Social Security benefits between Oct. 1, 2019, when they disappeared, and Jan. 22, 2020, after they were murdered.

The two children were found dead in shallow graves on Chad Daybell’s Rexburg, Idaho, property in June 2020, months after they disappeared from their home in September 2019. The 16-year-old’s remains were burned while the 7-year-old was bound in duct tape.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: ‘CULT MOM’ SENTENCED IN MURDERS OF 2 OF HER CHILDREN, HUSBAND’S FIRST WIFE

Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on July 31, 2023. (Tony Blakeslee/EastIdahoNews.com via AP)

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The Ada County coroner testified that J.J. died of asphyxiation by a plastic bag and Tylee died of homicide by unknown means due to the fact that her remains were dismembered and badly burned before they were buried.

After their children disappeared, Vallow and Daybell ran off to Hawaii to get married. Authorities arrested Vallow in February 2020 and Daybell in June 2020.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: HEAR ‘CULT MOM’ AND HER SISTER SPEAK AFTER VALLOW’S CHILDREN FOUND DEAD

Lori and Chad Daybell were accused of killing 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)

Despite prosecutors’ emphasis on money, power and sex, there is a cult-like, religious undertone to the couple’s criminal behavior. They met in 2018 at a religious conference where they bonded over their apocalyptic beliefs and the idea that they had been married in a past life, as FOX 10 Phoenix first reported.

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They referred to each other as biblical figures named James and Elena and discussed their beliefs that people can have light or dark spirits – some so dark that they could be considered zombies who needed to be removed from Earth, prosecutors said, according to FOX 10.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: IDAHO CORONER REVEALS JJ VALLOW AND TYLEE RYAN’S CAUSE OF DEATH

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell are accused of killing Vallow’s two kids and Daybell’s first wife. (Facebook and Tony Blakeslee/East Idaho News)

Daybell has written several apocalyptic novels based loosely on Mormon theology. Both were involved in a group that promotes preparedness for the biblical end times.

Vallow was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on five separate counts in July.

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HAWAII POLICE SERVE SUBPOENA TO BIKINI-CLAD LORI VALLOW RELAXING POOLSIDE: VIDEO

During her sentencing in August 2023, Vallow told the courtroom that her deceased children were “happy” and “busy.”

WATCH:

“I have had many communications with Jesus Christ, savior of this world, and our heavenly parents. I have had many angelic visitors have come and communicated with me and even manifested themselves to me because of these communications,” Vallow said at the time. “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.”

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She added that she has “always mourned the loss” of her “loved ones” and has “lost many in this mortal world” with whom she believes she is still in communication in the spirit world.

Kauai Police Department footage shows officers handing Lori Vallow a subpoena while she sits poolside in January 2020. (Kauai Police Department/FOX 10)

Judge Steven Boyce later told Vallow that she has “mental health issues.” Her current diagnosis from February states that Vallow suffers from a “delusional disorder” mixed with “hyper-religiosity” and a “continuous and unspecified personality disorder” with narcissistic features.

“You removed your children from their home in Arizona, alienated them from friends and family… and you brought them here to murder them. You had so many other options.… You chose the most evil and destructive path possible,” Judge Steven Boyce said during Vallow’s sentencing hearing. “I don’t think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused.”

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Officials extradited Vallow to Arizona, where she faces one first-degree murder charge and one premeditated first-degree murder charge in Maricopa County, in November 2023.

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Montana

Service door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says

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Service door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says


The French owner of the Swiss bar where 40 people died in a fire during new year celebrations has told investigators a service door had been locked from the inside.

Jacques Moretti, co-owner of the Constellation bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, was taken into custody on Friday, as prosecutors investigated the tragedy.

Most of the 40 people who died were teenagers, and another 116 people were injured.

Moretti told the Valais public prosecutor’s office that he had found out about the locked door just after the deadly fire.

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When he arrived at the scene, he forced open the door, according to excerpts from police reports published by several French and Swiss media outlets confirmed to AFP by a source close to the case.

Moretti said he had found several people lying behind the door after opening it.

Initial findings suggest the fire was caused by sparklers coming into contact with soundproofing foam installed on the ceiling of the establishment’s basement.

Questions are also being raised regarding the presence and accessibility of fire extinguishers, and whether the bar’s exits were in compliance with regulations.

No safety inspections at site of Swiss bar fire for past five years, mayor says

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“We always add a sparkler candle when we serve a bottle of wine in the dining room,” said his wife and co-owner, Jessica, who was released after Friday’s hearing.

Moretti told investigators he had carried out tests and the candles were not powerful enough to ignite the acoustic foam.

He said he bought the foam in a DIY store and installed it himself during renovations carried out after buying the establishment in 2015.

Regarding the presence of numerous underage kids in the bar at the time of the tragedy, Moretti said the establishment prohibited anyone under the age of 16 and that customers aged 16 to 18 had to be accompanied by an adult.

He said he had given these “instructions” to the security staff, but acknowledged that “it is possible that there was a lapse in protocol”.

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The couple is suspected of “negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson”.



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Nevada

State police union official on Nevada Wild

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State police union official on Nevada Wild


RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada Police Union’s Vice President James Mortimore is on Nevada Wild.

“This is awesome!” the union’s Saturday, Jan. 10, Facebook post said.

All ten episodes of Nevada Wild season one are streaming on HBO Max.

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New Mexico

Actor Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse in New Mexico

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Actor Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse in New Mexico


Authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant Friday for director and Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield to face a child sex abuse charge.

An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series Busfield directed and acted in.

The child said the first incident happened when he was 7 years old and Busfield touched him three or four times. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8.

The child’s mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.

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Busfield’s attorney and agent did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment late Friday.

The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge is for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.

According to the complaint, the child, which it identifies only by his initials, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him and woken up scared.

The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him.

The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital. The child’s parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.

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“The Cleaning Lady” aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It starred Elodie Yung as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the United States to get medical treatment for her son, witnesses a mob killing and ends up becoming a cleaner for organized crime.

The show was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.

Busfield is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991.

He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert; there was no immediate response to an email sent to her publicist.



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