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NBC's Dateline episode Blindsided revisits the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux by Lori Vallow Daybell (also known as the 'doomsday mom') and her brother Alex Cox. Brandon was the ex-husband of Lori's niece, Melani Pawlowski.
According to ABC 4, Lori was convicted in Idaho in 2023 on every charge brought against her, and the court sentenced her to life in prison. Chad was also convicted in Idaho in 2024 of three counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and insurance fraud, and the court sentenced him to death. Chad was convicted of murdering Lori Daybell's children, J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and his first wife, Tammy Daybell.
On April 7, 2025, Lori's first trial in Arizona began with charges of conspiring to murder her former husband, Charles Vallow, and she chose to represent herself. In the first week, prosecutors focused on her religious beliefs, strained family conflicts, and the circumstances of Charles's shooting.
On April 22, 2025, an Arizona jury found Lori guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Charles's death. She was subsequently tried in June 2025 for the attempted murder of Brandon, found guilty on June 12, 2025, and sentenced to two additional consecutive life terms on July 25, 2025.
Continue reading more about the story described in Blindsided.
Blindsided: Timeline of the twisted Vallow-Daybell murders that Brandon Boudreaux survived
2006
According to CBS News, Lori was married to a businessman named Charles Vallow. The couple raised a daughter from Lori's previous marriage named Tylee Ryan.
2018
Blindsided will reveal the meeting of Lori and Chad in 2018.
At that moment, Chad was married to Tammy Daybell, and they were raising five children. Later, Lori's friend Melanie Gibb said that she heard Chad and Lori discuss zombies. Another former friend, April Raymond, reported to 48 Hours that Lori began calling her husband Charles a demon.
Later in 2018, Lori and Melani started going to meetings that were not organized by the church, but their husbands didn't join them. Melani told her husband Brandon that the firesides were only for her and further clarified that he was not allowed to attend.
Brandon explained that when he and Melani first got married, she was not very religious, but later she grew very passionate about attending church and following certain ideas taught there.
January 2019
Today's Blindsided episode will reveal Charles texting Brandon and sharing that Lori accused him of infidelity.
June 2019
Melani and Brandon decided to end their marriage. According to Brandon, Melani adopted beliefs similar to Lori's and became involved with what he described as a cult.
Melani also told Brandon that she had received revelation from God and said that she was not safe living in the house with him. Later, Melani used this claim against Brandon in court when arguing over visitation rights.
July 2019
Lori arranged a casting for Brandon because she believed he was dark and carried an evil spirit. She also told her niece that Brandon was connected to Hitler's group.
October 2, 2019
Blindsided will cover the shooting attempt at Brandon when he drove back to his home in Arizona. The shooter used a silenced gun and fired at him while he was in his car. At that time, only five people knew his address because it was his new home, and Melani was one of them.
Arizona Central reported that the shooter was driving a Jeep registered to Charles, who died earlier. Detective Ray Hermosillo ordered the Rexburg Police Department to keep an eye on Lori's apartment. Officers observed Chad and Lori there but didn't see a teenage girl or a young boy. Around this time, Lori purchased a wedding ring on Amazon, which was later seen on her finger when she married Chad in Hawaii.
Mid-November
Lori's kids, Tylee Ryan and Joshua Vallow, were reported missing on November 26, 2019.
December 2019
Investigators from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office began to question the circumstances of Tammy's death. They exhumed her body so that an autopsy could be carried out. That same month, Lori's brother Alex Cox died in Arizona, and the officials concluded that his death was caused by natural causes.
January 25, 2020
Authorities issued Lori an order that required her to present her children.
February 20, 2020
When Lori failed to follow the order, she was arrested in Hawaii. Two weeks later, she was extradited to Idaho.
June 24, 2021
According to the Blindsided episode, Lori was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the 2019 death of Charles. The police said that Charles was shot by her brother Alex Cox. Alex claimed that he fired the shot in self-defense.
Alex was accused of attempting to kill Brandon. Lori also faced a conspiracy to commit murder charge in that case. Brandon was not injured in the shooting and survived.
May 12, 2023
ABC News revealed that Lori was found guilty of killing her two children, and the court sentenced her to spend the rest of her life in prison without the chance of parole.
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