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MURDER

Lori Vallow’s return to face Chandler, Gilbert charges remains months away

Posted 5/14/23

Lori Vallow, convicted Friday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, is months away from returning to Arizona to face charges in Chandler and Gilbert.

Vallow …

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MURDER

Lori Vallow’s return to face Chandler, Gilbert charges remains months away

Posted

Lori Vallow, convicted Friday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, is months away from returning to Arizona to face charges in Chandler and Gilbert.

Vallow won’t face sentencing for about three months in the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and Tammy Daybell, according to the judge who presided over her Idaho trial.

That case culminated a three-year investigation that included claims that her son and daughter were zombies and she was a goddess sent to usher in the biblical apocalypse.

“This isn’t the end. Ninety days from today, we will be in Fremont County” for her sentencing, Larry Woodcock, the grandfather of the youngest victim, said following the jury verdict.

“And I will say, ‘Why, Lori? Why?’”

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office stated last week it intends to pursue charges against Vallow in connection with cases in Chandler and Gilbert.

The office said it has reviewed charges submitted in a July 11, 2019, Chandler case and another involving an incident in Gilbert on Oct. 2, 2019.

“MCAO has made the state of Idaho aware of our intent to prosecute the defendant in Arizona for charges stemming from these submittals.”

The cases involve the shooting death of her husband in Chandler and the shooting of one of her relatives in Gilbert.

In a statement, MCAO officials said after she is sentenced and transferred to the Idaho Department of Corrections the extradition process to Maricopa County will begin.

Prosecutors in the Idaho case described Vallow as a power-hungry manipulator who would kill her two youngest children for money, while the defense team said she was a normally protective mother who fell under the romantic sway of a wannabe cult leader.

JJ’s grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock, held an emotional news conference after the conviction. When they first stepped outside court, the crowd of onlookers who had gathered to support the family and watch the verdict cheered.

Some began singing, “We Will Rock You” — JJ’s favorite song.

“JJ, I love you. Papa wishes you were here,” Larry Woodcock said, choking up as he used the name JJ used to call him. “Tylee, Papa loves you. Tammy, I never met you, but you are part of our life. I am sorry for what happened.”

Asked if he had a message for Vallow, Woodcock recited the lyrics to a Willie Nelson song.

“Turn off the lights, the party’s over. They say that all good things must end,” he sang, before returning to speaking.

“Lori, it ended.”

He also thanked the jurors, noting that the graphic evidence they had to view was “mindboggling,” and something that could never be unseen.

The Tammy Douglas Daybell Foundation, created by her family members a year after her death, wrote in a press release that the verdict would bring “some measure of closure” for everyone.

Tammy Daybell was a school librarian, and the foundation works to raise money for libraries and literacy programs in Idaho and Utah.

“We love you Tammy. You will never be forgotten,” the foundation wrote in a Twitter post. “The road is long, but we’re grateful this chapter is closed.”