A psychological evaluation has found Lori Vallow—the doomsday mom accused of murdering her two children—“not competent” to stand trial.
“Assessment determined at this time the defendant is not competent to proceed and recommends restorative treatment,” Seventh Judicial District Judge Steven Boyce wrote in a Thursday order pausing the case.
Prosecutors have already contested the report’s findings, but the judge’s order “remains in effect pending determination of the issue of competency.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The news comes after Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, were indicted on several new charges and accused of justifying the murders of three people—including Vallow’s two kids—with their doomsday-centered religious beliefs.
On Thursday, the Chandler Police Department confirmed to The Daily Beast that it has also submitted its investigation into the death of Vallow’s ex-husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by his brother-in-law in July 2019, to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Police said they recommended that Vallow should be charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder—though it is up to county prosecutors to make an official charge.
A Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast they received the Chandler Police Department’s investigation into Charles Vallow’s death on April 1, but declined to comment on it.
On Tuesday, the couple was indicted on several charges, including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, in connection with the deaths of Vallow’s kids, 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan.
Daybell, a doomsday author, was also been charged with first-degree murder for the October 2019 death of Tammy Daybell, his ex-wife. Vallow has been separately charged with grand theft for allegedly diverting her children’s Social Security benefits into her personal bank account.
Prosecutors allege Daybell and Vallow “did endorse and espouse religious beliefs for the purpose of encouraging and/or justifying the homicide” of all three people.
Their alleged murder spree began in 2019, when Charles Vallow was fatally shot by his wife’s brother, Alex Cox, during a domestic dispute. Cox, who was not charged and died months later from natural causes, said at the time he fired in self-defense.
In divorce and custody petitions against Vallow, Charles wrote that his estranged wife had become obsessed with doomsday visions and had threatened his life. He said Vallow believed she was reincarnated to lead people during the second coming of Jesus in July 2020 and said that if he got in the way of her saving humanity, she would kill him, according to NBC News.
Vallow “believes that she is receiving spiritual revelations and visions to help her gather and prepare those chosen to live in the New Jerusalem after the Great War as prophesied in the Book of Revelations,” the divorce petition read.
Vallow and Daybell, who are members of a community of doomsday preppers and were married two weeks after Daybell was widowed, are already in prison for several other crimes related to the children’s disappearance in September 2019.
Prosecutors allege Daybell and Vallow killed Tylee Ryan on Sept. 8 or Sept. 9, 2019, after almost a year of planning. About two weeks later, the pair allegedly killed J.J. The indictment states that Daybell then murdered his ex-wife in October with the help of Vallow and her brother.
In January 2020, Vallow made national headlines when she refused to comply with a court order to produce her two children. It was later revealed she had also asked a friend to lie to the police and say she was watching J.J.
Last June, Idaho authorities charged the pair with conspiracy to conceal evidence after the remains of two kids were found in Daybell’s home.
Daybell is scheduled to enter a plea on the murder charges on June 9. Vallow was supposed to make an initial appearance on Wednesday but her hearing was put on hold at the request of her lawyer, Mark Means. Attorneys for Daybell and Vallow did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast's request for comment.
