Chad Daybell's 'doomsday' triple murder that included wife Lori Vallow's two children, aged 7 and 16, and featured in a Netflix true-crime doc was fueled by 'sex, money and power', prosecutors say as trial starts

The trial of 'doomsday prophet' Chad Daybell began in Idaho Wednesday with prosecutors alleging that he conspired to murder his ex-wife, Tammy Daybell, as well as his partner's children, JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. 

Daybell is accused of crafting an alternate reality so that he could fulfill 'his desire for sex, money and power.' 

'When he had a chance at what he considered his rightful destiny, he made sure no person and no law would stand in his way,' prosecutor Rob Wood said.

Daybell, 55, is facing charges of first degree murder, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths that became internationally infamous following the release of the Netflix documentary Sins of Our Mother. 

Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, the mother of the deceased children, received a life sentence without parole for the killings.

Prosecutors say the couple justified the three killings by creating a detailed and apocalyptic belief system, part of an elaborate scheme to eliminate any obstacles to their relationship and to obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance.

Chad Daybell, 55, shown here in 2020 is accused of crafting an alternate reality so that he could fulfill 'his desire for sex, money and power

Last year, Lori Vallow Daybell, pictured here in February 2024, the mother of the deceased children, received a life sentence without parole for the killings 

The 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and her younger brother JJ, seven, (right) went missing in September 2019 and their bodies were discovered in June 2020 in her stepfather's backyard

 Vallow Daybell referred to her two youngest kids as zombies, one friend testified during her trial.

'The evidence will show that this was a convenient narrative,' Wood told jurors. 'This narrative gave them the pretext to remove people from this world for their own good.'

Daybell's defense attorney John Prior presented a different picture to jurors - noting that Chad Daybell was a religious person but suggesting that his belief in things like premonitions were fairly mainstream. 

Prior also explained to jurors that Lori Vallow Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, had a violent history. He had previously been convicted of attacking Vallow Daybell's third husband, and he shot and killed her fourth husband.

'Whenever there was a problem with Lori Vallow, Alex Cox ran to the rescue,' Prior said in opening statements.

Daybell's attorney also argued that his client lived a normal, faith-focused life before he met Lori Vallow Daybell, who he said showered Daybell with attention. 

His legal team described her as a 'beautiful, vivacious person' who drew Daybell into an extramarital relationship.

Daybell's attorney also said he would present several experts in DNA, forensics and pathology who would testify that it's impossible to determine what caused Tammy Daybell's death and that none of Chad Daybell's DNA was found with the children's bodies. 

Vallow denied murdering her children when she was convicted last year and said at her sentencing that she was not responsible for their deaths. Pictured: seven-year-old Joshua (JJ), left, and 16-year-old Tylee, right

Vallow smirked in a mugshot taken in August after she was sentenced to life in an Idaho prison for murdering her children, JJ and Tylee

 Some of Chad and Tammy Daybell's adult children will also testify, Prior said, about how Tammy Daybell was suffering from a number of maladies but that she refused to see a doctor, instead treating her illnesses with herbs and oils at home.

'What's important are facts and evidence,' Prior told the jury. 'Don't be distracted by speculation, don't be distracted by guesses or suspicions or hunches. It all comes down to facts and evidence.'

The prosecutor, Wood, also described the basics of the case against Daybell, structuring his presentation for jurors like chapters in a book - an apparent reference to the defendant's previous work as an author. 

Chad Daybell was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and self-published fiction loosely based on its teachings.

In fall 2019, prosecutors say he tried to fraudulently collect on his late wife's life insurance policy, and Vallow Daybell continued to collect both children's social security benefits after they died.

Chad Daybell has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the trial is expected to take more than two months. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Daybell is convicted. 

Daybell's defense attorney John Prior did not return a phone message requesting comment. A judge has issued a gag order in the case, barring attorneys from talking to the media until the trial is over.

The grim story began in the fall of 2019, when extended family members reported the two children missing and law enforcement officials launched a search that spanned several states. The subsequent investigation took several unexpected turns.

In her court appearance in February, Vallow was seen wearing blush and lipstick with her dyed blond hair curled as she greeted the judge and her attorney

In 2020, police discovered JJ and Tylee's remains in shallow graves in Chad Daybell's yard

Chad Daybell argued that his ex-wife was ill and died in her sleep, an autopsy found that she died of asphyxiation

Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were having an affair when both of their spouses died unexpectedly, investigators said. 

Vallow Daybell´s husband was shot to death by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019; the brother told police it was in self-defense.

Wood told jurors that the evidence in the case will show that Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell manipulated Cox into doing their bidding by promising him spiritual rewards.

Several months later, in October 2019, Tammy Daybell died. Chad Daybell initially told police she was battling an illness and died in her sleep, but an autopsy later determined she died of asphyxiation. 

Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell married just two weeks after Tammy Daybell died, surprising family members and drawing suspicion from authorities.

Friends later told detectives that Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell believed they had been reincarnated and were tasked with gathering people before a biblical apocalypse.

Wood said Chad Daybell described both children as being possessed before they disappeared, and that he repeatedly predicted to friends that Tammy Daybell would soon die.

The bodies of the children were eventually found buried on Chad Daybell's property. Tylee Ryan's remains had been dismembered and burned, and JJ's remains were bound.