Lori Vallow Daybell's Timeline: Beauty Queen to 'Doomsday Mom'

Lori Vallow Daybell was born.Lori Norene Cox.She was born in San Bernardino, California in 1973. She grew up in a Latter-day Saint family whereOthers described her.People found her attractive, friendly, and sweet. During her teens, Lori joined beauty pageants and cheerleading. This showed the charisma and confidence that later helped her influence others. Former classmates recall her as sociable and well-liked; they showed no signs of the darkness that would later define her public image.

Lori's early adult life looked normal. She attended church regularly, built a family, and kept things steady. Still, those who knew her well saw that even then, she showed intense interest in religious teachings. She sometimes voiced beliefs that went past standard doctrine. This base later became ground for the extreme apocalyptic ideas that took over her life and caused tragedy.

In 1992, Lori married her high school sweetheart.Nelson Yanes.This first marriage lasted about three years. Divorce followed in 1995. Little public information exists about this relationship. This union starts Lori's complex marital history. The short time together set a pattern that repeated throughout her life.

After divorcing Yanes, Lori married William Lagioia in 1995. This second marriage gave her her first child, a son named Colby, but it quickly declined andThe marriage ended after a year.. In 2001, Lori started her third marriage with Joseph Ryan. The couple welcomed a daughter, Tylee Ryan. Their marriage lasted until 2004, ending during a custody fight over their daughter, according to court records.

Lori's fourth marriage to Charles Vallow in 2006 brought a period of stability. The couple eventuallyLori adopted JJ.She adopted Charles's biological grandnephew, when thechild's biological parents.couldn't care for him because of substance abuse. Friends saw this time as Lori's most normal family phase. She seemed devoted to motherhood, especially focused on meeting JJ's special needs related to his autism. This outward appearance of domestic order fell apart as Lori started accepting increasingly extreme religious beliefs around 2017.

Around2017., people close to Lori started seeing troubling shifts in her religious views. Lori remained devout in her Latter-day Saint faith. Her beliefs shifted toward the apocalyptic and supernatural. She started reading "doomsday" books by Chad Daybell. She became obsessed with end-times prophecies. She began claiming she could tell the difference between people and the evil spirits she thought possessed them. Former friendMelanie Gibb.later said Lori developed a complex spiritual rating system to sort people by their supposed light or darkness.

The trigger for Lori's most extreme change occurred in October 2018. SheLori first metChad Daybell at a "Preparing a People".October 2018: Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell met in person at a religious conference.The conference happened in St. George, Utah. Daybell, a former gravedigger turned doomsday author, wrote many books about the apocalypse. He claimed he had prophetic visions and abilities to spot good and evil spirits. Lori and Chad connected right away. Witnesses later described their intense focus on each other at the event.They focused intensely on each other.They focused intensely on each other at the event.

Both married other people, but they quickly built a relationship based on shared apocalyptic beliefs and supposed spiritual gifts. At the conference, Chad told Lori they had been married in past lives. Lori's friend Melanie Gibb said Lori thought she and Chad would lead 144,000 people after Jesus Christ's second coming. This meeting started events that led to multiple deaths and the couple's later murder convictions.

Those close to Lori saw a disturbing change after she met Chad Daybell. Longtime friends shared chilling talks where Lori mentioned her family members were possessed by dark spirits.Longtime friends shared chilling talks where Lori mentioned her family members were possessed by dark spirits.April Raymond, a close friend of Lori and Charles, recalled Lori telling her she would leave Charles because he "was already dead and a demon was using his body as a host. The demon’s name was Ned Schneider." Lori's "evidence" was that Charles looked shorter. Another friend, Melanie Gibb, later testified that Lori started calling certain people—including her own children—"zombies" whose bodies evil spirits had infiltrated.

Charles Vallow knew about his wife's increasingly strange and hostile behavior. In January 2019, he contacted police. He told them Lori threatened to kill him because she thought he was possessed by a dark spirit named "Ned." Body camera footage captured Charles quoting his wife as saying: “You're not Charles. I don't know who you are, what you did with Charles. But I can murder you now, with my powers.”Charles quoted his wife as saying: “You're not Charles. I don't know who you are, what you did with Charles. But I can murder you now, with my powers.”Despite Charles's fears and requests for a mental health check, Lori was found mentally competent. Charles filed for divorce, citing safety concerns for himself and their children. By summer 2019, Charles Vallow was dead.

Lori was found mentally competent despite Charles's fears and requests for a mental health assessment. Charles filed for divorce, citing safety concerns for himself and their children. By summer 2019, Charles Vallow was dead.Charles filed for divorce, citing concerns for the safety of himself and their children. By summer 2019, Charles Vallow was dead.Charles filed for divorce, citing concerns for the safety of himself and their children. By summer 2019, Charles Vallow was dead.

In July 2019, Lori's brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles Vallow at his home in Chandler, AZ. Lori and Cox claimed Charles acted in self-defense after Charles came at them with a baseball bat.Lori's daughter, Tylee Ryan, who was at the home, gave a version of events similar to theirs. However, Cox did not perform CPR on Charles and waited over 40 minutes before calling 911.Lori's daughter, Tylee Ryan, who was at the home, gave a version of events similar to theirs. Cox did not perform CPR on Charles and waited over 40 minutes before calling 911.

Lori smiles in police interviews while talking about what happened.

A few months after Charles's death, Lori moved with her children.A few months after Charles's death, Lori moved with her children.Lori Vallow Daybell and her brother, Alex Cox, went to Idaho where Chad Daybell lived with Tammy. Tylee, age 16, was last seen alive on a family trip to Yellowstone on September 8. The next day, Chad texted his wife, saying he had shot and buried a raccoon on the property. Cox's cell phone records show him at Chad's property for two hours.

On September 22, 7-year-old JJ Vallow was last seen at school. The next day, Lori called his school, telling them she was homeschooling JJ and he would not attend. Lori also told friends JJ was taken away for “being a zombie.” Friends noted nothing unusual from an autistic child's behavior in JJ.Cox's cell phone placed him at Chad's again.Cox's cell phone once again placed him at Chad's.

Brandon Boudreaux married Lori Vallow's niece, Melani Pawlowski.Melani PawlowskiMelani Pawlowski was with him for ten years. She was close to Tylee and JJ. He divorced Pawlowski after she joined the same “doomsday cult” as Lori and Chad. On October 2, Boudreaux was shot in Arizona by a drive-by, but he took no harm. Soon after, Boudreaux hired a private investigator to look into Lori, Chad, and the children.a private investigatorThe investigator started looking into Lori, Chad, and the children.

A week afterBoudreaux was shot. Tammy Daybell called police about an eerie incident: someone used a paintball gun to shoot at her in her driveway. On October 19, Tammy died in her sleep at age 49. Though initially called natural causes, her body was exhumed in December, and her death was ruled suspicious. Lori Vallow's search history showed she looked up “malachite wedding rings” in August, which she bought two weeks before Tammy died.Brandon Boudreaux was shot. Tammy Daybell called police about an odd event: someone used a paintball gun to shoot her in her driveway. On October 19, Tammy died in her sleep at 49. Authorities first said it was natural causes. However, they exhumed her body in December, and her death became suspicious. Lori Vallow'sMeanwhile, in December 2019, Lori's brother, Alex Cox, died at age 51, reportedly from a blood clot. However, the overdose drug Narcan was found in his system. That same month, Lori called a friend, Melanie Gibb, and asked her to lie about JJ's location. She claimed JJ's grandmother tried to kidnap him but that he was “safe and happy.”looked up "malachite wedding rings" in August. She bought these rings two weeks before Tammy passed.

Months after Lori's arrest, investigators found JJ's remains buried on Daybell's property; he wore red pajamas, the ones from the last photo taken of him on September 22, 2019. Tylee's remains were found nearby in a pet cemetery. Chad Daybell was arrested, and both he and Lori faced charges for the murders of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy.fled to HawaiiShe married. Police started looking for the missing children after JJ's grandparents reported no contact for months. They searched Daybell's property and foundalarming itemsThese items showed the children's tragic fates: guns, ammunition, silencers, emergency kits, and trash bags full of clothes, toys, and JJ's medicine.

Meanwhile, in December 2019, Lori's brother, Alex Cox, died at 51. Doctors said a blood clot caused his death. Yet, the overdose drug Narcan was in his system. That same month, Lori called a friend,Melanie GibbLori asked Melanie Gibb to lie about JJ's location. She claimed JJ's grandmother tried to kidnap him but that he was "safe and happy."

Authorities found the couple in Hawaii. They served Lori a court order to bring her children, which she ignored. She was arrested on February 21 and sent to Idaho.

Months after Lori's arrest, investigatorsfound JJ's remainsburied on Daybell's property. He wore hisred pajamasThis was the clothing he wore in the last photo taken of him on September 22, 2019. Tylee's remains were found nearby, in a pet cemetery. Chad Daybell was arrested. Prosecutors eventually charged both him and Lori for the murders of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy.

Lori was lateradditionally chargedLori Vallow Daybell faces charges for conspiring to murder her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, and her ex-nephew-in-law, Brandon Boudreaux.

After initially being ruled mentally unfit, Lori Vallow Daybell's trial for killing her children and conspiring to murder her husband's wife began in April 2023.Lori Vallow Daybell's trial for the murders of her children and conspiring in the murder of her husband's wife started in April 2023.Lori Vallow Daybell's trial for murdering her children and conspiring to kill her husband's wife started in April 2023. Prosecutors stated in opening statements that Lori used her religious beliefs to excuse her actions.Prosecutors alleged Lori had ulterior motives.:

Money, power, and sex drove this case. Tylee had money; Lori wanted it. Tylee is gone. JJ lost time and his father. Losing his father made JJ harder to care for. He needed social security benefits. Lori did not want to care for JJ anymore. She had money. JJ is gone.

Lori went on a religious mission to gather 144,000 people. She needed to spend her time and energy there. What she did on earth no longer mattered to her.

The court found Lori guilty and sentenced her to five life terms without parole.Lori received five life terms without parole.Since her conviction, Lori has spoken with her oldest surviving son, Colby Ryan. Colby said his mother told him she was fulfilling a 'divine mission.' Colby appeared in a documentary.Colby appeared in a documentary.The case followed by a documentary.The documentary is called 'Sins of Our Mother'.In the documentary, Colby recalls his mother before she joined the cult and mourns his siblings' losses.

Since her conviction, Lori also gave testimony.Lori gave a 'combative' interview.Lori gave the interview to Dateline.The interview was with Dateline.Lori ignored fact-based questions. She tried to push a story that Tylee killed JJ and herself.

Chad Daybell went to trial in 2024. The court gave him the death sentence.

Lori Vallow Daybell chose to represent herself in her 2025 trial.Lori Vallow Daybell chose to represent herself in her 2025 trial.Lori told jurors in opening arguments about her alleged involvement in the murder of her estranged husband, Charles Vallow.

Lori told jurors: 'They are alleging that insurance money was my motive. Social Security was my motive. Spouses having insurance policies is not a crime. Collecting Social Security is not a crime. Self-defense is not a crime. A family tragedy is not a crime. It's a tragedy.'

The jury found Lori guilty of conspiring to kill Charles.Lori will not be sentenced.Lori will not be sentenced until after her subsequent trial for the attempted murder of her niece's ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.