Lori Vallow – update: ‘Cult mom’ smirks in mugshot as she starts life sentence in Idaho’s Pocatello prison

Latest updates as Vallow is sentenced at Fremont County Courthouse, Idaho

Moment Lori Vallow sentenced to life in prison with no parole for murders of her children

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow smirked in a new mug shot taken the day after she was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of her two children and love rival.

The photo was taken on Tuesday as Vallow, 50, was remanded to the custody of the Idaho Department of Corrections.

The so-called “cult mom” was convicted in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, who vanished in September 2019. She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy, who died in October 2019.

Before the sentence was handed down on Monday, the court heard victim impact statements from several family members devastated by the harrowing saga that has gripped the nation for nearly four years.

To the surprise of many, Vallow spoke herself and appeared to show no remorse for her crimes, claiming the children and Tammy were “busy” and “happy” in heaven. She appeared emotionless as the sentence was handed down.

The families of the victims shared outrage at her bizarre statement as they praised the harsh sentence.

Key points

• Vallow headed to Pocatello Women’s Correction Center
• Lori Vallow sentenced for doomsday cult murders
• Vallow shows no remorse and says children ‘busy’ in heaven
• Victims’ families deliver impact statements in court

[31 July 2023 21:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

Full story: A doomsday cult, murders and children buried in a pet cemetery

Rachel Sharp delves into the deeply disturbing tale of murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies which surround Lori Vallow and her doomsday author husband Chad Daybell.

[31 July 2023 21:44 · Oliver O'Connell]

Voices: Lori Vallow finally broke her silence at the sentencing. It was too late

Megan Sheets writes:

Lori stunned the court when she made an unprecedented move to defend herself publicly for the first time. At her sentencing on 31 July, Lori sobbed in a bizarre statement where she denied that any murders took place and insisted that her victims are “very happy”.

Having followed this tragic case in near-obsessive detail, I could spend endless hours analysing each line of her sentencing statement. But perhaps the most important aspect is that it came far, far too late; her fate was already sealed by the years of silence that preceded it.

Read on...

[31 July 2023 22:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

[31 July 2023 22:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

Full story: Vallow sentenced to life in prison for murders of two children and Chad Daybell’s wife

“Cult mom” Lori Vallow will now spend the rest of her life behind bars for the murders of her two youngest children and conspiracy to kill her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, bringing some sort of conclusion to the disturbing case that shook America to its core.

[31 July 2023 22:45 · Oliver O'Connell]

Lori Vallow Daybell makes her way into court for her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on 31 July 2023 (AP)

[31 July 2023 23:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Vallow is ‘misunderstood’ and ‘all about love’, defence claims

Lori Vallow’s attorney claimed that the “cult mom” who murdered her two children and conspired to kill her new lover’s wife is “misunderstood” and is actually “all about love” as he asked the judge for leniency at her sentencing hearing.

[31 July 2023 23:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

What happens next now that Lori Vallow has been sentenced to a life behind bars?

“Doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow will spend the remainder of her days in prison after being convicted of the murders of her two children and conspiracy to murder her new husband’s first wife in a case that has horrified the nation for the last three years.

While her fate may mark the culmination of a chilling case that spans bizarre cult beliefs, missing children, murder and mystery deaths, the saga is still far from over.

Here’s what’s coming next in the shocking case:

[1 August 2023 01:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

Why one of Vallow’s accomplices will never face justice

Rachel Sharp reports on how Alex Cox can never be brought to justice having dropped dead as the net closed in on the doomsday cult killings.

So was he an equal co-conspirator or was he – as he feared – Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell’s ‘fall guy’?

[1 August 2023 02:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

All the key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Rachel Sharp explains the most crucial moments so far in her high-profile trial, which ended with Vallow’s conviction for the murder of her two youngest children.

[1 August 2023 03:30 · Oliver O'Connell]

Timeline of ‘doomsday cult mom’ mystery case

Here’s a timeline of the tragic and bizarre case: