Lori Vallow Daybell tells Keith Morrison she 'will be exonerated' in new interview for Dateline

Yahoo

08-03-2025

Lori Vallow Daybell, an Idaho woman who was sentenced to life in prison in 2023 for the murders of her two youngest children, is speaking out from prison on "Dateline" in her first television interview about her conviction.
Vallow Daybell tells veteran host Keith Morrison on the episode of "Dateline" airing on March 7 that she believes she and her husband, Chad Daybell, are innocent of the crimes.
'I will be exonerated," she said in an excerpt of the show. "We will both be exonerated in the future.'
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May 2023 of killing her two youngest children, daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, whose remains were found buried in shallow graves on the property of Vallow Daybell's husband, Chad Daybell, police in Rexbury, Idaho, said. She initially pleaded not guilty.
Vallow Daybell was also convicted of conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, the ex-wife of Chad Daybell, who is Vallow Daybell's fifth husband.
Chad Daybell was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in 2024 for the deaths of the two children and his ex-wife. He was sentenced to the death penalty in June 2024 and is currently on death row.
Idaho prosecutors portrayed Chad Daybell as an author consumed by thoughts of the apocalypse who referred to people as 'zombies' and 'dark spirits.'
Lori Vallow Daybell's ex-husband, Charles Vallow, referred to similar doomsday sentiments when he filed for divorce from her in February 2019. Vallow wrote in court documents filed in Arizona that his wife believed she was a god sent to lead people during the second coming of Christ, and he was concerned for his own safety and the safety of his children.
The story of how Vallow Daybell's family believed she got hooked on doomsday beliefs is the subject of a Netflix true-crime series, 'Sins of Our Mother,' which premiered on Sept. 14, 2022.
The two-hour special titled "Lori Vallow Daybell: The Jailhouse Interview" will air at 9 p.m. ET on March 7 on NBC.
The episode also features interviews with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hart, and Sheriff Ron Ball, the former lead detective for the Rexburg Police Department, which investigated the murders. Detective Ray Hermosillo, co-lead for the Rexburg Police Department, also speaks about the case.
Lori Vallow Daybell's son, Colby Ryan, also talked with Morrison about his relationship with his mother.
This is the seventh "Dateline" broadcast featuring the story of the Daybells. Morrison also reported on the story for the popular "Dateline" podcast "Mommy Doomsday."
In an interview from prison, Vallow Daybell told Morrison that she believes she and her husband, Chad Daybell, will be freed from their convictions.
"I will be exonerated," she said. "We will both be exonerated in the future.'
Morrison asked her why she thinks that will happen.
"I have seen things in the future that Jesus showed me when I was in heaven," she said. "And we were not in jail and we were not in prison.'
Morrison also spoke with Vallow Daybell's son, Colby Ryan, about his reaction to the gruesome murders of his siblings.
'I guess I was always a very positive, see-the-best-in-people kind of person. And then I watched someone that I knew my entire life do what she did," he said. "And it just changed the way I view people.
"The way that my sister was treated was with hate. That's not even human to do what they did to her (body), after.'
On June 13, 2020, the Rexburg Police Department confirmed that two sets of human remains discovered on Chad Daybell's property located in Fremont County, Idaho, were the bodies of the two children.This article was originally published on TODAY.com