“I’m basically a ticking time bomb,” Lori Vallow says with a wide smile and a laugh. She’s speaking at the Mrs Texas beauty pageant in 2004 where she is competing.
At the time it must have seemed an innocuous comment about balancing home and work life, but nearly 20 years later the words take on a more chilling aspect after she was found guilty of murdering her two children and conspiracy to murder her husband’s ex-wife.
Prosecutors say the mother-of-three became obsessed with a coming religious doomsday and believed her children were zombies whose bodies had to be destroyed so they could go to heaven.
Vallow and her fifth husband Chad Daybell went from being followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) to something altogether darker and cult-like, it was claimed.
Religious beliefs in doomsday have been used to harrowing effect by cult leaders again and again to exert control over their followers, sometimes with deadly consequences.
Was it fear of the apocalypse or a belief in the coming of a leader known as “One Mighty and Strong” that resulted in the deaths of seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and his big sister Tylee Ryan?
Jurors in Idaho returned guilty verdicts against Vallow in May.
Image: A memorial for Tylee Ryan and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow in Rexburg, Idaho. Pic: AP
A huge search, mysterious deaths and rumours of doomsday beliefs
Sometimes referred to as the “reddest place in America” for its conservative voting habits, the city of Rexburg in Idaho is home to around 40,000 people.
For many years it was perhaps best known for its large Mormon population – some 95% of people living there are Latter-day Saints (LDS) members – but in September 2019 it was thrust into the spotlight when two children vanished.
Vallow and Daybell told police that JJ was in Arizona with a family friend and that Tylee had died a year before and had been attending a university.
Their disappearance sparked a search which lasted months and grabbed huge media attention. Strangers from around the world became transfixed by the search for the children, rumours of doomsday beliefs… and the mysterious deaths of Vallow’s fourth husband Charles Vallow and Daybell’s ex-wife Tammy.
Image: Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Pic: Fremont County Sheriff’s Office
Charles Vallow had been shot and killed by Lori Vallow’s brother in July 2019, a few months after he filed for divorce. He claimed his wife threatened to kill him and that she believed she was a god.
Tammy was found dead in October 2019 of what doctors at the time thought was natural causes. Vallow and Daybell were married just two weeks after Tammy’s funeral.
It wasn’t until June 2020 that police found the mutilated remains of JJ and Tylee at a property in rural Idaho that belonged to Daybell.
JJ’s body was wrapped in rubbish bags, his arms bound in front of him with duct tape. Tylee’s remains were charred.
Vallow has now been found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder after a lengthy trial. Daybell is set to face court in a separate trial at a later date.
Image: Investigators search for human remains at Chad Daybell’s residence in Salem, Idaho in June 2020. Pic: AP
‘Church of the Firstborn’
Vallow’s defence team say her religious beliefs began to change after she met Daybell, a fiction author whose books focus on the apocalypse and are loosely based on Mormon teachings.
But prosecutors say those beliefs veered toward the extreme, with the couple saying people were “dark” or “light”, telling friends and acquaintances that “dark” people had been taken over by evil spirits.
They eventually began teaching friends that once those evil spirits were strong enough, the person became a “zombie” and the only way to free that person’s soul was by killing them.
The pair met at a conference in Utah in 2018 and felt an “instant connection”, claiming they had been married to each other in a past life, according to police records.
Vallow’s longtime best friend, Melanie Gibb, told investigators that Vallow and Daybell believed they were part of the “Church of the Firstborn” and that their mission in that church was to lead the “144,000” mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
Image: Lori Vallow seen outside court in Idaho in August 2022. Pic: AP
‘One Mighty and Strong’ to emerge after the apocalypse?
Apocalypticism – the religious belief that the end of the world is imminent – in Western culture goes back thousands of years, professor Stephen Kent, an expert on cults at the University of Alberta, tells Sky News.
While much of the Christian apocalyptic beliefs are rooted in Judaism, he says, the case of Lori Vallow highlights the connection with Mormonism.
“Mormonism has a belief that there will be a terrible apocalyptic period at the end of time.
“Mainstream Mormons are encouraged to stack up food and provisions that will allow them to survive a government collapse for a year – and in those last days before Jesus comes back governments will fall apart.”
Image: Chad Daybell, Lori Vallow’s fifth husband, appears during a court hearing in August 2020. Pic: AP
Within that there is a belief among fundamentalist movements that a Mormon leader will reveal himself, known as “One Mighty and Strong”.
It is believed he will restore ideal Mormonism after the apocalypse, Professor Kent says, and the surviving Mormons will be the chosen ones.
Since the prophecy was made in 1832 a string of extremist individuals have claimed to be “One Mighty and Strong” and some have extracted dangerous behaviours from their followers, including murder.
Fringe Mormon groups involving apocalyptic beliefs have popped up over the years, often led by men who see themselves as “One Mighty and Strong”, Prof Kent said.
He described Chad Daybell as a “fringe Mormon character” and remarked on his authorship of fiction books about the end of the world.
“I’ve not seen specifically that he saw himself as being ‘One Mighty and Strong’, but he certainly fitted in that position and it seems to me that his followers saw him in that context.”
Image: Briell Decker in 2017 looking out the window of one of the 44 bedrooms of a mansion that once belonged to Warren Jeffs
Escape from a fundamentalist Mormon cult
“Every time I would try to escape, the punishments would get heightened.”
It took Briell Decker four years and multiple attempts to break out of the Mormon cult she was born into, unscrewing a window in the compound where she was being held in solitary confinement and running for her freedom in 2013.
At age 18 she had become the 65th wife of Warren Jeffs, the now-disgraced prophet who led the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
It is one of a number of fundamentalist Mormon communities and emerged after its founding members were excommunicated from the mainstream Mormon church for their refusal to abandon polygamy.
Image: Warren Jeffs appearing in court in 2010. Pic: AP
“I didn’t dare say no to him because of his authority,” Briell tells Sky News about agreeing to marry Jeffs. He had been her school principal before becoming leader just before her 18th birthday. They were married soon after.
“I figured I’d be really punished if I said no to him, so I just went along with it.”
Sermons in the group featured warnings about doomsday, Briell said, comparing them to a “horror movie”.
“It’s used for control for sure, to scare people into being more faithful, praying harder, more loyalty.”
Image: Briell Decker walks into the compound where Warren Jeffs used to live in Hildale, Utah.
‘The newer compounds have a guard tower’
Unlike so many others Briell was able to escape the FLDS – but it was no sure thing and involved a lot of failed attempts.
She spoke of being moved around for around three years, eventually managing to work her way to an older compound where security wasn’t as tight.
“The newer compounds have a guard tower, they have a gate around them. They’re really hard to escape from.”
She added: “They had four-wheelers that would drive around the perimeter of the property with the men that were assigned to keep the security.”
Briell was able to escape from the older compound and made it into the outside world, where she was adopted by a woman from an organisation that helps people escaping FLDS.
In the years since she gained her freedom Briell was able to obtain ownership of the 44-room mansion where Jeffs and his wives lived. It’s now a refuge for other women fleeing the church.
Her father was kicked out of the FLDS soon after she escaped, but Briell says she hasn’t spoken to her mother in 11 years.
Image: Lori Vallow glances at the camera during a hearing in March 2020. Pic: AP
Lori Vallow guilty of murder
Lori Vallow’s trial began in April 2023 – more than three years after her children’s deaths.
Before she was charged with the murders in May 2021 she was ordered to undergo a mental competency evaluation and was declared unfit to stand trial on two counts of concealment in the deaths of her kids.
A judge ordered Vallow to be committed to a mental health facility for treatment. Less than a year later, she was declared mentally fit to stand trial.
The state of Idaho doesn’t allow for an “insanity” defence and requires that defendants have the competence to understand the charges against them.
In May, jurors found her guilty of the murders of Tylee and JJ, and of conspiracy to murder Tammy. She has now been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Image: Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Image: Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
She stuck by her version of events until the end
Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.
She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.
She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.
But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.
The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.
Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Image: Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Image: Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
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The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russiaand Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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2:26
Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
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A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
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2:24
Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.