Doomsday plot: Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife, 2 children

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A jury in Idaho unanimously agreed Saturday that convicted killer Chad Daybell deserves the death penalty for the gruesome murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children, ending a grim case that began in 2019 with a search for two missing children.

The 55-year-old Daybell, wearing a dress shirt and tie, sat with his hands in his lap at the defense table. He showed no emotion when learning he would face the death penalty for the murders of Tammy Daybell, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow.

When asked by the judge whether he wanted to make a statement, Daybell declined.

Jurors found him guilty Thursday and decided on the death sentence after deliberating for just over a day.

The mother of the children is Lori Vallow Daybell, whom Chad Daybell married shortly after his wife’s death. Vallow Daybell was convicted last year in the three murders and is now awaiting trial in Arizona, charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. Charles Vallow was JJ’s father.