Doomsday mom’s lawyer suggests husband is behind her children’s killings

A lawyer representing an Idaho woman accused of killing two of her children and a romantic rival in part of a doomsday plot suggested during closing arguments on Thursday that her husband may have been behind the killings.

Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, was charged with murder, conspiracy, and grand theft. She faces life in prison if convicted.

Her husband, Chad Daybell, who will be tried separately, could face the death penalty if convicted.

They are accused in the killings of 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow, and Tylee Ryan, 16, and Tammy Daybell, Chad’s previous wife.

Charles Vallow, Lori’s estranged ex-husband, was killed by her brother, Alex Cox, who later died of natural causes after admitting he killed Vallow in self defense.

Lori Valley Daybell and Chad Daybell have both pleaded not guilty.

“Who is Chad Daybell?” attorney Jim Archibald said during closing arguments in an apparent attempt to cast suspicion on his client’s spouse, East Idaho News reports.

Archibald suggested Chad Daybell, who authored 25 books prophesizing the apocalypse, influenced his client, noting that Lori read some of his writings.

“…quite a remarkable change in Lori from people who knew her. What the heck is going on? How can this be?” Archibald said.

“One year after meeting Chad, four people are dead.”

Archibald depicted his client as a hard-working mom who wouldn’t have been capable of committing such an atrocity.

“Who is Lori Vallow? What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Why did it happen?” Archibald said during closing arguments.

“That’s what you’ve been asked to figure out. That’s what you need to be convinced of beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Archibald said Lori, who was born in California, turns 50 next month and has married and divorced multiple times. She attended beauty school after her first marriage, just of high school, ended in divorce.

“She worked hard as a single mother,” Archibald said.

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