New testimony from the murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, dubbed the “Doomsday Mom,” has revealed that her autistic 7-year-old son, J.J. Vallow, was asphyxiated using a plastic bag and duct tape. The forensic pathologist, Dr. Garth Warren, described chilling details of scratch marks on J.J.’s neck and bruises on his wrists and ankles, suggesting that the boy was bound with duct tape.
During the trial, Dr. Warren raised the possibility that the scratch marks on J.J.’s neck were the result of the child desperately attempting to remove the bag from his head.
The boy’s autopsy was performed two days after the remains of both J.J. and his 16-year-old sister, Tylee Ryan, were discovered buried on the property of Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow Daybell’s fifth husband, in June 2020.
Determining Tylee’s cause of death proved challenging for the forensic pathologist, as her body was dismembered and burned. Her remains were received in three separate sealed bags. Despite searching the remains for bullets and knife fragments, Dr. Warren found none and ultimately ruled Tylee’s death as “homicide by unspecified means.”
Lori Vallow Daybell, 49, is currently on trial in connection with the murders of her children and Chad Daybell’s ex-wife, Tammy. Prosecutors argue that her motivations for the killings were rooted in her belief in a “doomsday” religious cult, as well as her desire for “money, power, and sex.” She pled not guilty to all of the charges.
Throughout the trial, family members have testified that Lori Vallow Daybell showed reluctance in raising J.J., and instead became increasingly fixated on her religious beliefs and her new relationship with Chad Daybell.
Chad Daybell has also been charged in connection with the deaths of Tylee, J.J., and Tammy, and will be tried separately.