Idaho couple indicted on murder charges in deaths of two children, woman

May 25 (UPI) -- The mother and stepfather of two missing Idaho children were indicted on first-degree murder charges in their deaths, prosecutors on Tuesday.

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were indicted by an Idaho grand jury in the deaths of Joshua "J.J." Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17.

Chad Daybell was also indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his then-wife Tammy Daybell in 2019.

"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, J.J. and Tammy," Fremont County prosecutor Lindsey Blake said in a statement.

Lori Vallow had previously been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, and Chad Daybell had been charged with two felony counts of concealment or destruction of evidence.

The children were reported missing in September 2019 by relatives who had not heard from them for months.

They were last seen together in September at Yellowstone National Park, and J.J. was taken out of school later in the month by his mother, who said she wanted to home-school the child.

Idaho authorities inquiring after the children's welfare found that Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell had abruptly fled to Hawaii. Lori Vallow was arrested in Hawaii and extradited to Idaho where she is being held on $1 million bail.

In June of last year, the remains of Tylee and J.J. were found at Daybell's Rexburg, Idaho, home.

Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow two weeks after Tammy Daybell, his first wife and the mother of his five children died under mysterious circumstances.

Lori Vallow's late estranged husband Charles Vallow was shot and killed in July 2019 by her brother Alex Cox, who told police it was in self-defense. Cox himself died in unclear circumstances months later.

Charles Vallow had accused Lori Vallow of having delusions of being a reincarnated god-like being "who cannot taste death."

An arrest affidavit for Lori Vallow showed that a friend told police she referred to her children as "zombies" and that she and Chad Daybell were given an earthly mission to remove zombies from the world.

Chad Daybell was formerly affiliated with the Mormon church and was the author of more than a dozen apocalyptic novels focusing on the biblical end times.