Lori Vallow – update: Juror says ‘doomsday cult mom’ case meant he could ‘put a face to evil’
Vallow convicted of the murders of her own children Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow and conspiracy to murder husband’s first wife Tammy Daybell
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The lone holdout juror in Lori Vallow’s murder trial has revealed why he changed his mind to convict the mother last week.
Saul Hernandez sat down with Good Morning America on Tuesday, four days after Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, and of conspiracy to murder Tammy Daybell, 49, her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, at Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho.
Mr Hernandez said when the jury began deliberating, he was the only one unconvinced that the prosecution had proved its case.
But over the course of just seven hours of deliberation, Mr Hernandez said it became clear to him that Vallow is guilty.
During the trial, he said he found it “hard to look at” Vallow as more and more gruelling evidence emerged.
“Growing up, we’re taught good and bad, God and evil, and I think for the first time in my life, I put a face to evil,” he said.
Mr Hernandez said he was “disgusted” by photos of Vallow and Mr Daybell smiling through their beach wedding just weeks after the kids were killed.
Full timeline of the Lori Vallow case
Rachel Sharp compiled a timeline of the tragic and bizarre case:
Lone holdout juror explains why he changed his mind to convict her: ‘I put a face to evil’
The last juror to vote to convict Lori Vallow guilty of all charges in her trial for the murders of her children and husband’s late wife has spoken out.
In an ABC News exclusive interview that aired on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Saul Hernandez, one of the 12 jurors out of a panel of 18 including six alternates, gave his account of their deliberations.
Mr Hernandez was the lone holdout on the panel before ultimately switching his stance on day two of deliberations to find Vallow guilty of all charges.
Read more:
Lone holdout Lori Vallow trial juror reveals why he changed his mind to convict her
Questions about timeline initially held back conviction
Why we only know one side of the story
Lori Vallow has remained silent since day one of the investigation into her missing children. The only story known publicly is that laid out by the state of Idaho.
Read more:
Lori Vallow is facing life in prison for murder. We only know one side of the story
For more than three years, Lori Vallow has refused to reveal what happened to her murdered children and Tammy Daybell. Even now she’s convicted, the only story known is the one laid out by the state of Idaho. Rachel Sharp reports
What happens next? Sentencing
Lori Vallow is facing life in prison at her sentencing.
The 49-year-old had been facing the death penalty before a last-minute ruling by the judge just weeks before the trial took it off the table.
Judge Steven Boyce said on Friday that the sentencing will take place within the next 90 days.
Juror says the cult mom couldn’t hide behind Chad Daybell’s ‘manipulation’
An alternate juror on the Lori Vallow trial has spoken out to share her belief that the convicted killer’s husband Chad Daybell and brother Alex Cox are equally guilty in the murders.
Read more:
Lori Vallow trial juror says the cult mom couldn’t hide behind Chad Daybell
Juror Tiffany, who served as an alternate, said she was surprised Vallow’s attorneys didn’t present a defence case
What happens next? Chad Daybell’s trial
Vallow’s lover, fellow cult leader and alleged accomplice Mr Daybell is yet to stand trial for the three murders of Tylee, JJ and Tammy.
He is facing the same charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and grand theft in connection with the deaths of JJ and Tylee and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Tammy.
Mr Daybell is also charged with an additional count of the first-degree murder of Tammy.
Mr Daybell is facing the death penalty on the charges.
The doomsday cult couple were due to stand trial together before the judge ruled in March – just weeks before the trial was due to begin – that the cases would be severed.
While Vallow’s trial began as planned in early April, this pushed Mr Daybell’s case back to a later date.
In a scheduling conference in early May, the court set a rough date of June 2024 for his trial.
What happens next? Vallow’s trial over fourth husband’s murder
Separate to her trial in Idaho, Vallow is also awaiting trial in Arizona in connection to the murder of her fourth husband Charles Vallow.
On 11 July 2019 – two months before JJ and Tylee were murdered – Vallow’s brother Alex Cox shot and killed Charles at her home in Chandler, Arizona.
Charles and Vallow had been married since 2006 and had together adopted JJ – who was the biological grandson of Vallow’s sister.
In early 2019, they became estranged with Charles filing for divorce, saying that he feared for the safety of himself and the children and that Ms Vallow had threatened to kill him.
That February, he had pleaded with authorities to stage a mental health intervention for his wife, warning that she believed she was a god preparing for a second coming.
Court documents reveal that he had also learned about Vallow’s relationship with Mr Daybell that June and had emailed Tammy with the information. He and one of Ms Vallow’s other brothers were planning an intervention over her cult beliefs at the time of his death – an intervention she is believed to have been tipped off about.
That morning, Charles had gone to Vallow’s home to pick up JJ when he was shot dead by Cox.
Cox initially claimed self-defence, saying that Charles attacked him with a baseball bat.
However, Cox did not perform CPR on Vallow and waited 43 minutes to call 911. Investigators say that Charles was also already down on the ground when Cox shot him a second time.
At the time, Charles’ death was ruled self-defence.
Almost two years later, a Maricopa County grand jury charged Vallow with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. She is accused of conspiring with Cox to murder Charles.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s office announced that it did not charge Mr Daybell over Charles’ murder – but only because there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction”.
Napping in court, three words and typing too loudly: Bizarre moments from Lori Vallow’s murder trial
Here’s Rachel Sharp with a recap of some of the stranger moments from court as the Vallow case unfolded.
Bizarre moments from Lori Vallow’s murder trial
Bizarre details about the cult beliefs which led to murder came to light at trial. But, beyond the testimony, there were also some bizarre happenings taking place inside the courtroom, Rachel Sharp reports
Full timeline of Lori Vallow case
Rachel Sharp compiled this full timeline of the tragic and bizarre case:
All the key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial
Rachel Sharp explains the most crucial moments in her high-profile trial, which ended with Vallow’s conviction for the murder of her two youngest children.
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