Photo: Ada County Sheriff's Office
Chad Daybell, an Idaho doomsday author, has been sentenced to death for the murders of his first wife and his second wife's two youngest children. The sentence was handed down on Saturday, following a nearly two-month trial.
Daybell was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the deaths of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and his second wife's children, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. He was also convicted of insurance fraud.
The investigation into the case began in 2019 with a search for the missing children. Their bodies were discovered the following year, buried in Daybell's eastern Idaho yard. Prosecutors argued that Daybell used unusual spiritual beliefs, including apocalyptic prophecies and tales of possession by evil spirits, to justify the killings.
Daybell's second wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, was previously convicted on similar charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The jury deliberated for approximately six hours over two days before deciding on the death penalty for Daybell.