The woman charged in the slayings of her two youngest children and a romantic rival wanted their money, so she used sex and power to manipulate her brother and a lover into carrying out the crimes, Idaho prosecutors told jurors Thursday. "Money, power and sex," Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood said, urging the jury to convict Lori Vallow Daybell for the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and her fifth husband’s previous wife, Tammy Daybell. "What does justice for these victims require? It requires a conviction on each and every count," Wood said, per the AP.
Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, are both charged with murder, conspiracy and grand theft in the three deaths. Prosecutors say the two worked with Vallow Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, to carry out the crimes. The two youngest children were receiving Social Security survivor benefits from the earlier deaths of their fathers, and prosecutors say Vallow Daybell continued to collect those checks after the children were killed. Chad Daybell increased Tammy Daybell's life insurance policy, prosecutors said, and Vallow Daybell married him just two weeks after his previous wife was asphyxiated in their home. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, murder, and grand theft. Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison if she is convicted. Chad Daybell's trial is still months away.
Vallow Daybell wanted to be "unencumbered by obstacles," Wood said, including her children. "The plan that she set in motion must end today in the verdicts you render in this trial," Wood said. Vallow Daybell's defense attorneys did not call any witnesses, and Vallow Daybell declined to testify. Instead, defense attorney Jim Archibald asserted that they did not believe prosecutors had proven their case, suggesting that there was not enough evidence to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Vallow Daybell committed a crime. The jury has begun deliberations, per CBS News.
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