Dateline: 5 harrowing details about Lori Vallow Daybell's crimes, revisited

Dateline is one of the most famous news magazine reality legal shows. And there’s good reason for it. Airing since 1992, Dateline, used to focus on general interest news but is now known for its significant and in-depth coverage about true crime stories.

From crimes of passion to crimes connected to families, the show has covered the most bizarre and heinous cases that occur in the country. As one of the longest-running news magazine shows, Dateline, has been able to move with the times and present viewers with some of the most dangerous crime stories with extensive coverage.

In an episode covering the Trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the show revisited the shocking case that left a nation stunned and laid out how Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell attempted some of the most dangerous crimes together.

5 harrowing details about Lori Vallow Daybell’s crimes on Dateline

1. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell’s religious beliefs

Still from the show (Image via Dateline NBC)

While Lori had always been a devout follower of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, problems arose when she got close to a group of doomsday preppers called Preparing a People. There, she met Chad. Both Lori and Chad were married to other people but they both had an instant attraction that was fueled by bizarre religious sentiments. Chad believed that he had to live in Rexburg, Idaho, where he and other chosen saints would survive the upcoming war, famine, and end times.

2. Going “dark” and how Chad influenced Lori

As Chad and Lori stayed close to each other despite being married, Chad began to tell Lori that her husband Charles, had gone “dark”, which meant that someone had become a zombie or was possessed by an evil spirit. Therefore, when Charles came back from a business trip, he was shocked to see that he was locked out of his house and his wife Lori, insisted that he was an evil spirit called Nick. She even told him that Charles’ body had been taken over and Charles had been killed.

3. The brutal deaths of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow

After Chad died at the hands of Lori’s brother, Lori went about her everyday life without any remorse. During this time, Chad also began telling Lori that Tylee had also gone “dark”. When Lori, Tylee, JJ, and Cox, went on a trip to Yellowstone National Park, it would be the last time Tylee would be seen alive. A few weeks later, JJ also disappeared. Melanie Gibb, a family friend of Lori, said that Lori kept speaking about how JJ had gone out of control, though he was behaving like a normal boy. Lori even told the babysitter that her services were not needed after JJ and Tylee went missing.

4. The case of Tammy Daybell

Chad even told Lori that his wife Tammy, had become a demon called Viola. He said that she had been switched and was in limbo, with a level 3 demonic entity inside her body. In a Facebook post according to Dateline, Tammy mentioned that she was approached by a man wearing a ski mask and shot at her, though it was not loaded. However, 10 days after this incident, Tammy had died and Chad told Tammy’s sister that tammy had a coughing fit and he found her dead.

5. How Lori and Chad laid out their evil plans

Apart from orchestrating the death of Charles, Tammy, JJ, and Taylee, both Chad and Lori got married. Later, Tammy’s autopsy showed that she had died of asphyxiation. Ultimately, JJ’s parents were worried about their missing son and their enquiry led to Lori and Chad being caught. Sadly, JJ was found in his red pajamas, with a duct tape and a plastic bag over his head, buried on Chad’s property. Similarly, Tylee’s remains were also there but they were dismembered and burned beyond recognition. Both Lori and Chad were arrested for their heinous crimes. Both of them were charged with first-degree murders and both were convicted. Ultimately, Lori was sentenced to multiple life terms and Chad was also sentenced to death.