Lifetime’s ‘Doomsday Mom’ Tells a Chilling Story Based on Real-Life Events
Published June 26 2021, 12:29 p.m. ET
Lifetime’s Summer of Secrets event continues on June 26, 2021, with the premiere of Doomsday Mom, based on the true story of Lori Vallow, who “gained national attention when her children, JJ and Tylee, were reported missing from their Idaho home in the fall of 2019,” as Lifetime explains.
“As investigators learned of Lori and her husband Chad Daybell’s involvement in a doomsday-prepper group, a trail of mystery was revealed, spanning five states and numerous questionable deaths, before the bodies of JJ and Tylee were found in the backyard of Chad’s home in June 2020,” the channel adds.
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell didn’t report the kids missing.
Tylee, 16, was last seen on Sept. 8, 2019, when she was photographed visiting Yellowstone National Park with JJ, Vallow, and Vallow’s brother, according to NBC News.
And JJ, 7, was last seen alive at an elementary school in Rexburg, Idaho, on Sept. 23, 2019. And he was missing when police visited Vallow’s home in November to conduct a welfare check requested by JJ’s grandmother.
According to Rexburg police, Vallow and Daybell never reported the children missing, and the couple didn’t cooperate with the investigation into the disappearances. The couple fled Idaho, but they were found in Hawaii in January, 2021. Authorities told Vallow she had to “physically produce her children” by the end of the month, and when she didn’t, she was charged with two counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children.
The children’s remains were found on Daybell’s property in June 2020.
Daybell, meanwhile, was taken into custody after the remains of the children were found on his property in June 2020.
In May, Vallow and Daybell were charged in the murders of the children, and Daybell was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and insurance fraud in the death of ex-wife Tammy Daybell.
Indictments alleged that Vallow and Daybell “did endorse and espouse religious beliefs for the purpose of encouraging and/or justifying the homicides” of Tylee, Joshua, and Tammy Daybell.
Vallow and Daybell “willfully and knowingly conspired to commit several crimes” leading to the children’s death, a prosecutor says.
“Local, state and federal law enforcement professionals and local and state prosecutors have worked tirelessly for nearly a year and a half to gather the facts and evidence necessary to bring forward charges on behalf of Tylee, JJ and Tammy,” Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake said in a statement at the time.
“Due to the ongoing safety restrictions imposed by the courts during the pandemic, we just recently were given permission to present information to the grand jury for their review. They deliberated and determined there is probable cause to believe that the Daybells willfully and knowingly conspired to commit several crimes that led to the death of three innocent people.”’
Daybell’s trial starts in November, and Vallow is undergoing mental health treatment.
Daybell pleaded not guilty and had his trial scheduled to start on Nov. 8, while Vallow has been deemed unfit to stand trial and committed to the Department of Health and Welfare for restorative mental health treatment, according to EastIdahoNews.com.
Doomsday Mom: The Lori Vallow Story, starring Lauren Lee Smith and Marc Blucas, premieres on Saturday, June 26, at 8 p.m. EST on Lifetime.