‘Cult Mom’ Lori Vallow trial: Mother fell asleep in court after children’s autopsy photos shown
Rachel Schilke
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Lori Vallow Daybell, who is on trial for allegedly killing her children and her husband’s ex-wife, appeared to fall asleep during court proceedings while her children’s gruesome autopsy photos were shown to the jury.
Reports from within the courtroom indicated that Lori Vallow Daybell appeared to be leaning forward with her head down for the majority of the afternoon as the trial entered day three after opening statements on Monday. She is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and grand theft in connection to the deaths of her children, Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, along with Tammy Daybell, who is the ex-wife of Lori Vallow Daybell’s husband, Chad Daybell.
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Lori Vallow Daybell appeared to be avoiding looking directly at the photos, which depicted the excavation of the shallow graves of Ryan and Joshua Vallow. They were shown to the jury during the testimony of Detective Ray Hermosillo, a Rexburg Police Department officer who was directly involved with the search for the children, which began after family members reported them missing in November 2019. He also was involved in the discovery of their bodies, which were found on Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020.
During the cross-examination of Hermosillo, Lori Vallow Daybell appeared to fall asleep. Gigi McKelvey of Law & Crime told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo that the defendant seemed to be asleep “for a solid half-hour.” McKelvey then speculated that Lori Vallow Daybell might have been given medication.
Lori Vallow Daybell’s mental state has been a topic of concern for the trial since June 2021, when she was first declared unfit to stand trial and unable to assist in her defense. She was committed to an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare facility, delaying her trial. It wasn’t until April 2022 that she was declared fit to stand before the jury and arraigned on murder charges. The case was put on hold again in October of that year due to her competency troubles, which pushed the trial to the April 2023 start date.
Prior to the showing of the autopsy photos and the locations of where her children’s bodies were discovered, Lori Vallow Daybell waived her right to be present in the courtroom. However, after the jury broke for lunch, she appeared in the courtroom with a red face and tearful eyes, reports from within the courtroom said.
Earlier in the day, Lori Vallow Daybell’s defense team had reminded Judge Steven Boyce of her mental state and asked if she could skip the afternoon as well, but Boyce denied the request for her to be excused. The judge said her presence was needed to assure a fair trial and due process.
Lori Vallow Daybell sat for the afternoon portion and appeared to put her head down, eventually drifting off to sleep.
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Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell are both facing murder charges for the deaths of the children and Tammy Daybell, but they had their trials severed on March 2. His trial will begin later this year.
During opening statements on Monday, prosecutors announced the results of Tammy Daybell’s autopsy. Medical examiners found that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Her death is now being treated as a homicide after being previously listed as a result of natural causes.