Lori Vallow Daybell: true story behind ‘Doomsday Mom’, crimes explained and how to watch Netflix documentary

Lori Vallow Daybell has been sentenced for the murders of her two youngest children in a case that has shocked America.

The 50-year-old former beauty queen who was dubbed the ‘doomsday mom’ has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole over the horrific crime.

Vallow started to believe that people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits which turned them into “zombies”. Her husband, Chad Daybell, who self-published books of his doomsday prophecies is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.

In September 2022, Netflix released Sins Of Our Mother, a documentary about the harrowing case as told from Vallow’s friends, family members and surviving son Colby. So, who is Lori Vallow, what happened to her children and where can you watch the Netflix documentary?

Who is Lori Vallow Daybell?

Born in California in 1973, the 50-year-old former beauty queen was seen as the perfect doting mother to her three children, Colby, Tylee and JJ.

Reported by the Independent she even discussed motherhood during a TV appearance as a contestant for the Mrs Texas Beauty Pageant, where she explained “being a good mom is very important to me”, and that she was a “good wife and a good worker”. In what now takes on a more sinister meaning, she added “being all those things together is not easy... I’m basically a ticking time bomb”.

In 2021, Vallow started to read the works of Christian preacher Chad Daybell, whose doomsday prophecies claimed that the apocalypse was near and that humans would be graded on a light or dark spectrum. Vallow met Daybell in person in 2018 and although both married, the pair became romantically involved.

Vallow’s husband Charles filed for divorce, however in July 2019 he was shot dead by her brother Alex Cox who claimed self defence, no charges were brought against him and he died from natural causes the same year.

Now a widow, Vallow and her two youngest children moved to Idaho to be with Daybell, in September Tylee and JJ vanished without a trace. Daybell’s wife Tammy died in October and the pair married on a Hawaii beach in November. Despite the fact the children were missing, Vallow refused to reveal where they were located.

What happened to her children Tylee and JJ?

Vallow was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow. She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, the previous wife of her husband.

The children went missing in September 2019, with Tylee last being seen at Yellowstone Park on a family trip with her mum and uncle. Police were alerted they were missing a month later by an extended family member. When asked about her children’s whereabouts, Vallow initially told police they were staying with a family friend in Arizona.

It would not be until June 2020 that police made the harrowing discovery of the children’s remains in the yard of Daybell’s Idaho property.

What was her sentence?

Vallow was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on 31 July, 2023.

Reported by Sky News, before she was sentenced, Vallow addressed the court where she claimed that after a near-death experience she was able to communicate with the “spirit world”, telling the judge she knew “for a fact” that her children and Tammy Daybell were happy in heaven.

Her only surviving son, Colby Ryan gave a statement which was read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood. Ryan said: “Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did.

“My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle.”

Why is she called ‘doomsday mom’?

Vallow was dubbed the ‘doomsday mom’ in the press following the revelation of the couple’s radical beliefs and Daybell’s doomsday-focused fiction. His publishing company released books about the apocalypse based loosely on the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vallow read his books, leading to the pair meeting in person at a religious conference in Utah in October 2018.

Things turned romantic between the pair, with PA reporting that Daybell told Vallow they had been married in previous lives and that she was a “sexual goddess” who had to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return.

Their radical beliefs started to take on a sinister and alarming turn, as Vallow started to believe that people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits which turned them into “zombies”, this included her own children, JJ and Tylee.

What is the Netflix documentary about?

In September 2022 Netflix released Sins of Our Mother, a documentary about the harrowing case as told from Vallow’s friends, family members and surviving son Colby.

Directed by Skye Borgman (Girl In The Picture), the three episodes dive into Vallow’s history, giving viewers an insight into the crimes she committed and the people who were left to deal with the horrifying aftermath. Sins of Our Mother is available to watch now on Netflix.