BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Lori Vallow Daybell has been found guilty by a jury of her peers for 1st-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and burglary in the deaths of her two children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow.

How did we get here? Here’s a timeline of events. You can also get caught up on the CBS2 original podcast Gem State: The Trials of Chad and Lori Daybell.

Lori was previously married to Charles Vallow and lived in Arizona with JJ and Tylee. By all accounts, they appeared to be a normal family. Then, in 2018, Lori met Chad Daybell at a “Preparing a People” conference. Chad and Lori became infatuated with each other and began speaking and texting regularly, often using conferences or a podcast they worked on as an excuse for Chad to travel to meet up with Lori.

Chad was also married at the time to his wife of 29-years, Tammy Daybell. Text messages recovered from Lori’s iCloud account show that the two were beginning to engage in an affair. Chad told several people, including neighbors, that Tammy would not live to see 50 according to visions he had.

Charles Vallow, who seemingly had knowledge of the affair based on emails sent to both Chad and Tammy, had informed Lori that he was filing for divorce. Lori had become increasingly more erratic according to Charles, who called the police on more than one occasion. Body camera footage from Arizona Police show Charles Vallow telling police that Lori had threatened to kill him, and that he was no longer Charles but a “zombie” possessed by a dark spirit.

On July 11, 2019, Charles Vallow went to the house that Lori and the kids had moved into during their separation to pick JJ up for school. He was then shot to death by Alex Cox, Lori's brother who told police that it was in self-defense. Evidence collected from the scene told a different story however. Alex Cox called 911 and told dispatch he had shot Charles in self-defense then proceeded to follow instructions to administer CPR to Charles, but investigators discovered he might have waited as long as 40-minutes before calling for help. Evidence also shows he never performed CPR on Charles. Alex also told police he fired two shots to stop a rushing Charles, but police recovered a bullet from directly underneath his body, indicating he was shot in the gut while already laying on the ground from the first bullet wound to the chest.

Lori believed she was the recipient of Charles’ $1 million life insurance policy, even trying to claim it within days of his death. Charles, unbeknownst to Lori, had changed his policy to his sister, Kay Woodcock. Text messages between Lori and Chad show that Lori was surprised and even outraged by the discovery, “It’s like a dagger through my heart,” one text to Chad says. She followed it up shortly by pointing out she will still get the $4,000 a month in social security benefits. The benefits were Tylee and JJ’s.

Shortly after Charles died, Lori moved with the kids to Rexburg, Idaho, just a short drive from where Chad Daybell lived with Tammy. Chad wrote a story titled “James and Elena” for Lori over multiple text messages and emails. James and Elena appear to be codenames for Chad and Lori with much of the story mirroring their own in real life, even down to how they first met. This story and several other messages presented at trial appear to show Chad and Lori planned to be together soon and unencumbered by children or spouses.

On Sept. 8, 2019, Tylee was last seen alive in Yellowstone National Park with Lori, Alex Cox and her brother, JJ. Prosecutors believe she was killed sometime between Sept. 8 and early Sept. 9. Cell phone data places Alex Cox at Lori’s home in the middle of the night and then at Chad Daybell’s property the next morning, pinging at the fire pit and pet cemetery where Tylee’s remains would ultimately be found. Prosecutors revealed during the trial that Tylee’s remains were badly mutilated and burned beyond recognition. Pieces of Tylee’s remains were discovered in a nearby shed, and blood and DNA were recovered on a pickax and shovel recovered from the property.

Just over two weeks later, JJ Vallow would be seen for the last time by witnesses Melani Gibb and David Warwick. Gibb and Warwick were visiting Lori from out of town to work on their “Preparing a People” podcast. When they awoke the next morning, JJ was nowhere to be seen. Lori told Melani and David that Alex came to pick JJ up because he was a “zombie” who had been climbing the walls and refrigerator, though David testified to not seeing any signs of damage or markings to indicate as much.

Lori told investigators who were doing a welfare check on JJ that he was with Melani Gibb then he was with his Grandma, Kay Woodcock. Investigators became suspicious immediately because it was Kay who called for the welfare check originally. Cell data again showed Alex Cox traveling to Chad’s property and entering through the rear gate, pinging by a tree and pond on the property where JJ’s remains would ultimately be found.

On Oct. 29, 2019, Tammy Daybell died in her bed at home. What was initially marked as natural causes would later be reinvestigated and determined to be a homicide by asphyxiation. Bruising on her arms and chest indicate that she was restrained and smothered to death. Lori had already purchased wedding rings two weeks prior to Tammy’s death and would be wedding dress shopping in Hawaii the day she was buried.

Chad and Lori were married just two weeks after Tammy died on a beach in Hawaii. Investigators from Idaho traveled to Hawaii and, with the assistance of local police, served a demand letter from an Idaho court to produce her children to authorities. Lori did not meet the deadline and was arrested a few weeks later before being extradited to Idaho.

Alex Cox died at his home on Dec. 12, 2019, from natural causes, according to the coroner’s report.

On June 9, 2020, Rexburg Police, joined by multiple other agencies including the FBI, served a search warrant on Chad Daybell’s property. Chad called Lori, who was in jail at this time, and told her that the police were searching the property while he nervously eyed the area where Tylee’s remains were buried. Investigators combed the property before finding the remains of JJ and Tylee on Chad’s property.

Chad and Lori were both charged with 1st-degree murder, conspiracy and burglary.

Chad Daybell is awaiting a trial date, but expectations after his last preliminary hearing are mid-2024.

Lori will be sentenced at a later date and CBS2 will cover that as it happens.

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