On Wednesday we livestreamed our weekly live show for channel members and are now releasing it publicly. This week, we are covering stories about “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow Daybell, the Jehovah’s Witness organization again caught covering up sexual predation in their ranks, and fresh look at some celebrities in cults.
Good evening. For this second episode of Critical Cult News, we’ve done a little rearranging and hope you like the upgrade. As we settle into this new format and develop this show, we are more than happy to hear your feedback and suggestions on how we can improve. Now let’s get on with our news.
Our first story you may have heard a little about, or perhaps you’ve heard a lot. Now that justice has been served, let’s take a look at the bizarre murder conspiracy involving fanatical religious beliefs, a supposed spiritual messiah and the tragic results this had on multiple families.
The situation? A shocking case of parental abuse and murder was concluded two weeks ago when Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to multiple fixed life terms in prison with no possibility of parole for murdering two of her children and conspiring to murder a romantic rival. To make matters worse, the apparent justification for these killings were spiritual beliefs so bizarre, Daybell has been labeled the “doomsday cult mom.” The series of events that make up this story are a little convoluted so bear with us as we put the timeline together for you.
Here’s what happened:
In 2006, Lori married businessman Charles Vallow, her fourth marriage, and together they raised Tylee, Lori’s daughter from a previous marriage. In 2014 they adopted JJ, the grandson of Charles’ sister.
It was in 2017 that things started to take a turn for the worst. It started when Lori began reading the books of Chad Daybell, a religious fiction author who focused on the apocalypse based very loosely on Mormon scriptures. According to friends and family, her demeanor changed and not for the better. She met Chad in October 2018 and they began a religious podcast together.
Chad had been raised in the Mormon church and graduated with a BA in journalism from BYU. He began writing and published his first book, An Errand for Emma, in 1999. In 2004, he founded Spring Creek Book Company to self-publish dozens of books about his beliefs regarding end times, dystopian futures and apocalyptic situations. He claimed he had had two near-death experiences and had gained the power of supernatural vision as a result. He said about his work: “I don’t fictionalize any of the events portrayed in my books. I’m really not that creative… My torn veil allows information to be downloaded into my brain from the other side. The scenes I am shown are real events that will happen.”
Chad and his wife Tammy had five children and struggled as an author until he found an audience concerned by the Second Coming of Christ. Suzanne Freeman, another author who had published under his company, later stated that Daybell had been radicalized during the 2010s and that his books became less focused on Mormon teachings and more centralized around the coming Apocalypse. Freeman broke off with Daybell after she became convinced his beliefs were becoming actually dangerous.
According to prosecutors, Chad and Lori changed their personalities drastically after meeting. Chad told Lori they had been married in seven previous lifetimes and while Lori’s husband was away on a business trip, regaled her with stories of having lived 31 different lives on differnet planets. He was reportedly able to detect whether other people were under the control of evil spirits and if their energy was allied with Jesus Christ or with Satan. Chad said Lori was an eternal being of 21 separate lives, five of which had coincided with Chad’s own past lives. Lori was apparently sold and soon after joined Chad on a podcast entitled “Time to Warrior Up.” Their religious beliefs were Mormon based but apocalyptic and Vallow’s beliefs extended to zombies, the word she used to refer to those who were taken by Satan’s dark energy. The only way to free someone from the darkness, the couple said, was to kill them.
Part of the defense in this case was that Lori was somehow put under the thrall of Chad, a man she came to see not just as a love interest but a messiah and her eternal soul mate. However, her timeline and earlier activities with her brother indicate Lori already had a history of violence as a solution to her marital entanglements.
In January 2019, Charles Vallow, Lori’s fourth husband, reported to the police that his wife was “unhinged,” was preparing for the end of days and had threatened to murder him. That February, Vallow told Charles that “she no longer cared about him or JJ.” She claimed to be the reincarnated wife of Joseph Smith and vanished for 58 days. Vallow filed for divorce as he feared for his and the children’s safety, as well as the theft of $35,000 from their joint bank accounts and his truck. Just a few months later, on July 11, 2019, he went to a home where his estranged wife and her brother, Alex Cox, were staying, to pick up his son. An altercation ensued and Cox fatally shot Vallow, but he was never charged with a crime as the police bought his story of self-defense, especially since it was witnessed by the children. That incident is now the basis of new charges against Vallow which have yet to be prosecuted. She is also accused of conspiring with that same brother to murder her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. Coincidentally, Alex Cox died of natural causes in December 2019.
In the fall of 2019, Vallow relocated with JJ and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho to be closer to Daybell. The following month, Tammy Daybell, Chad’s wife of 28 years, was attacked in her driveway. A masked man drove by and shot at her with a paint gun. But Tammy was found dead ten days later on October 19. Daybell’s children were told by a local coroner that their mother, who had been in ill health, had died in her sleep. They declined a post-mortem as they believed the death was of natural causes. However, during the criminal investigation that ensued, Tammy’s remains were exhumed and it was discovered she had died by asphyxiation. Someone had murdered her. Daybell received $430,000 in life insurance.
Two weeks after Tammy’s death, before any police or investigations began, Chad and Lori were married in Hawaii on November 5, 2019. They moved there and reportedly were living off the insurance money, telling people that Tylee had died in 2017 and that Lori had no other minor children. On November 26, JJ’s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, became concerned enough about their grandchildren that they had the Rexburg police conduct a welfare check. The police did not make contact with the children but were told, and continued to be told for a couple of months after by Chad and Lori, that the kids were “safe and happy.” Initially Chad and Lori attempted to tell the police that JJ was staying with a family friend in Arizona, where Lori had lived before moving to Idaho to be with Chad. This family contact denied this claim and as police continued the search for JJ, they discovered Tylee was also missing. It then came out that Chad and Lori had tried to get their friend to lie for them about the whereabouts of JJ.
By December 2019, police were actively investigating the disappearances but Lori stayed in Hawaii until she was formally extradited and arrested in February 2020.
In June 2020, investigators found the children’s remains buried in Chad Daybell’s backyard. “Charred remains, that’s what was left of Tylee,” a prosecutor said at trial. In backtracking what had happened, police discovered that it was in September 2019 that the children had likely been killed, burned, dismembered and buried in Vallow’s backyard. GPS mobile data from Alex Cox’s phone indicated he had been in that back yard twice, both times just one day after JJ and Tylee were last seen. Additional video footage showed Lori and Alex putting the children’s things in a storage locker in Rexburg. Lori was arrested in Hawaii on February 20, 2020 and extradited back to Idaho.
According to court records, at one point Vallow described her 17-year old daughter Tylee as a zombie after Tylee had refused to babysit her 7-year old younger brother, JJ. Vallow later concluded JJ was also a zombie. And according to her fanatical religious beliefs, this meant the only way to free these children from their dark fate was to kill them.
At the sentencing hearing, Daybell’s final statement to the court included phrases indicating she has lost all touch with reality and lives in a delusional state where she believes Jesus Christ, her victims and other family members have appeared to her in dreams or visions of the spirit world, and that she is completely innocent of any murders.
While she is condemned to spend the rest of her life in jail, additional murder and conspiracy charges have been brought against her for the death of her fourth husband. Chad Daybell has yet to face a jury over the same three deaths, but his trial is scheduled for spring of 2024.
The effects of what are known as one-on-one cults can be just as serious and even deadly as any of the large group cults we are familiar with. This case is not just about bizarre beliefs, since insurance money and familial conspiracies are also part of the plot. However, we simply cannot ignore the fact that two completely insane people were able to operate in society, among family and friends, publish books, post podcasts and, for a short time, appeared to even get away with a string of murders. Lori Daybell was found competent to stand trial, this was reversed and then reversed again and she is now going to spend the rest of her pathetic life behind bars. No one is going to grieve her loss or shed a tear for Chad Daybell either. Can we learn anything from this? Hopefully so.
Hopefully when you encounter individuals in your life whose beliefs are not just odd but involve apocalyptic visions, zombies and evil spirits, you’ll do more than think such people are a little odd. Beliefs inform action and when those beliefs have crossed over into murderous intent, it’s rare that no one saw anything or knew anything. They just didn’t do anything about it. Had someone stepped into Lori Vallow’s life a little earlier and paid more attention to how she was abusing her children with her insanity, perhaps their lives and those of Charles Vallow and Tammy Daybell might have been saved.
And now we go across the world to look at a pattern of criminal behavior in one cult that is finally starting to be brought into the light.
The situation? The Jehovah’s Witnesses are in trouble these days for repeated reports of institutionally covering up sexual crimes against minors. And one of the worst consequences of this? That most people in the JW membership appear to be wholly unaware of the fact child sex offenders are in their midst.
Here’s what happened:
An RNZ investigation published yesterday in the New Zealand Herald seeks to shed new light on a repeating pattern of disturbing and even illegal behavior on the part of elders in the Jehovah’s Witness congregations there. While telling the media that members have the right to report sexual violations or assaults to the police, written church policies and statements from former and current members indicate the opposite is true. The RNZ investigation found 11 active Jehovah Witnesses in just one region have child sex abuse convictions or serious allegations made against them, and this information has been kept completely hidden from the rest of the congregation.
According to the handbook published by Jehovah’s Witness publication house for use by elders in running and conducting religious activities at JW temples, the specific direction given when a church elder encounters incidents of sexual assault is to report the matter to their internal legal department rather than contact secular authorities or the police. As written in the latest version of Shepherd the Flock of God, the official handbook of rules and regulations for church elders, clear instructions are given for when the police should be called.
If there is a theft or break-in, or if someone is being disruptive, the police are to be called immediately. But when issues of sex, pornography or abuse are raised, the instructions are to contact the church’s legal department for advice. While the handbook makes clear that elders should inform the victim, their parents or anyone who reports an allegation and that members shouldn’t be criticized for doing so, this simple statement doesn’t translate to real world action because the situation is a bit more complicated by the belief system and world view instilled in Jehovah Witnesses from the first day they enter in to its membership.
The 2015 Australian Royal Commission into institutional child sexual abuse found the JWs had files on over 1,000 alleged sexual offenders since 1950 but did not report even a single one of them to police, even in states where they are mandatory reporters. They simply cover it up, keep the criminals protected and the children are left to fend for themselves.
According to JW literature, each congregation has a body of elders, who are responsible for congregational governance, pastoral work, selecting speakers and conducting meetings, directing the public preaching work and creating “judicial committees” to investigate and decide disciplinary action for cases that are seen to breach scriptural laws. Anxious parents have no recourse within the structure of the church itself, since the elders are the ultimate deciders of what is moral, virtuous or true.
It is in these judicial committees that the crimes of sexual predators have been actively covered up for over 70 years. By creating their own internal justice system, just like the Church of Scientology has, Jehovah Witness members believe they are receiving a higher form of religious arbitration, mediation or judicial process. But the facts show otherwise. As one former elder told RNZ,”They don’t care about victims of child sexual abuse, they care about real estate.”
Another former elder, Paul Quilter, believes the JWs’ secretive system is designed to stop the spread of information to the congregation and to law enforcement, not facilitate it. In effect, by refusing to turn over predators or suspected pedophiles to the police, the JW institution actually protects them instead.
According to the faith’s protocols, an allegation of serious wrongdoing – including child sexual abuse – can only be confirmed if the perpetrator confesses or if there are at least two witnesses. The two witness rule was strongly criticized by the Australian Royal Commission for its failure to hold perpetrators to account.
If there is no confession and there are no witnesses, the allegation is dismissed and any personal notes relating to the allegations are destroyed. They literally destroy the evidence. But if the elders do believe a crime was committed, three elders form a “judicial committee” to decide the punishment and only they will know the details of the crime.
A classic characteristic of cult control is called siloing or compartmentalizing information. By restricting who can know what and also restricting what is kept in writing, the JW organization has established a system where the membership is kept continually in the dark about matters they very definitely should be informed of, such as whether congregants are convicted or accused pedophiles or sexual predators.
According to former elders, how this plays out in judicial committees is, the detailed notes the elders make which might include names and places of offense are sealed with an official form listing only the offense and punishment. Once that summary form is filled out, all personal notes are then destroyed. The elders taking part in a judicial committee are not allowed to tell anyone – not even other elders – what was discussed.
According to former elder Quilter,“The other elders will only know in general terms that somebody has been disfellowshipped and is no longer a JW [Jehovah’s Witness], or whether a person has been given some restrictions as to what they can do in the congregation – which they call ‘reproof’.
“So all the elders might know that ‘Joe’ has been put on reproof, but they won’t know what for.
“There might be another three elders who know something about somebody else. So what it ends up as, is a whole load of little groups of people know things about what’s going on, but no one really knows the full picture.”
And that kind of compartmentalization of information prevents any effective use of law enforcement to investigate these crimes, since not only is the evidence destroyed but the members and elders are continually lectured to not trust the outside world. The JW dogma calls outsiders “wordly” and preaches to avoid or not to take part in worldy activities, even national or religious holidays or days of remembrance. They truly consider themselves in a different world, one that will be recognized by God when he passes judgment on the entire world and destroys it in apocalyptic fires. This belief set is totalist and it is absolute. Exceptions are simply unimaginable.
If someone is found guilty of child sexual abuse in a judicial committee, the wrongdoer is faced with two choices. If he or she is not repetent, they are simply thrown out of the church. They are not reported to the police, even with the confession and evidence in hand of who the perpetrator assaulted or hurt.
If they are repentant, the punishment is announced to the congregation at its next meeting and this is considered the only protection the congregation requires.Details of the perpetrators crimes and victims is withheld.
Even if a person is thrown out as a sexual predator, there is still a path they can take back into the church’s good graces under the supervision of the local elders. If that predator moves to another location, the elders of the new congregation could be advised by the church’s main legal department. A letter of introduction citing the person’s history and any restrictions imposed on them will be sent to the elders of the new congregation. But not one word is spoken of any of this to the congregants.
Former members who have been advocating in Australia and New Zealand are frustrated by the lack of judicial oversight or government investigation into the JWs. The New Zealand Royal Commission into Abuse in Care decided not to include the JWs in its faith-based hearing last year, or make the JW organization a standalone case study as was done in Australia.
In June, the church filed legal action at the High Court in Wellington arguing it should be exempt from the inquiry. It is seeking a judicial review and a declaration that it does not assume responsibility for the care of children, young people or vulnerable people. Former members find this argument to be preposterous.
As one former member said,”When we could go out door-knocking, there were many times that I would have children with me. If a mum or dad has two or three kiddies you would offer to take them and look after them to allow the mum or dad to carry on.”
Now imagine you are out knocking door to door and you have no idea the man you are teamed up with is a convicted pedophile. Wouldn’t you want to know such a thing before you left your children with him?
Former Witness Mikail Steens says the failure to include Jehovah’s Witnesses as a case study was a “missed opportunity”.
“Formal investigation would provide recognition of the experiences of those [who] have been victims of child sexual abuse, provide closure and could give rise to systemic change, which is really needed in the organisation.”
From the Catholics to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, from the Mormons to the Scientologists, repeated instances of child sexual assault and institutional coverups by church elders or staff have been a repeating theme in media reporting for over 20 years, ever since the Spotlight report on the Catholic Church’s institutional deception and coverups blew this subject open in 2002. At this point, it is all too clear that not one of these organizations is willing or able to stop themselves and come clean. None of them have proven they are worth the public trust, especially when it comes to caring for children. Until government bodies take this problem seriously, like the Australian Royal Commission’s investigation, we can expect to continue to see unbridled criminality and abuse in the supposedly hallowed Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls. And so long as this kind of abuse goes on, the Jehovah’s Witness organization will continue to be a destructive cult that should be prosecuted for its cover ups and crimes.
And for our final story tonight, we look at celebrities in cults.
The situation? It has recently been reported by multiple media sources that One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Lenz has a story to tell about a Christian cult she had been part of for 10 years, including during the time of her successful TV run.
Here’s what happened: While this is a developing story and Lenzs has not even disclosed the name of her guru or the group she was part of for legal and publicity reasons, her escape from that situation and understanding of the experience indicate she was part of a manipulative group which engaged in ritualistic abuses as part of its Christian teachings.
The cultic influence impinged to such a degree on her life that she was not able to enjoy that success or the security that comes with being the star of a successful television show. Instead, she was often pressured to attend meetings, pray, work and engage in penance.
Lenzs first opened up about her experiences last month when it came up in an episode of the Drama Queens podcast. “I was in a cult for 10 years. That would be a really valuable experience to write about, and the recovery; 10 years of recovery after that. So, there’s a lot to tell.”
In more recent interviews, Lenzs talked more about her upcoming book on this subject. “I think control affects everyone in different ways, but there are specific moments that I can call back to. I remember feeling like, ‘This is no longer just my relationship with God. Now, there is someone else in the mix” referring to cultic influences like isolation and manipulation which she said she was experiencing. “Those are the kinds of things I want to be able to write about and write succinctly and effectively about,” she said. “So that’s one of the reasons I’ve been working hard on [my book].”
This, of course, brings to mind many other celebrities who have discussed or been known to be part of a cultic group.
Michelle Pfeiffer has discussed her involvement in her early career with Breatherians, a group which believes one can survive on sunlight alone without food or other sustenance. It was her first husband, actor Peter Horton, who first warned her of the danger. As she put it,”They were very controlling. I wasn’t living with them but I was there a lot and they were always telling me I needed to come more. I had to pay for all the time I was there, so it was financially very draining. They believed that people in their highest state were breatharian.”
There are concerns being voiced on TikTok these days that Miley Cyrus may be involved in a cult known as the Modern Mystery School. One user described the group as “an organization that trains healing practitioners in the tradition of the lineage of King Solomon. These healers are encouraged to join sacrifice every year. They sign contracts stating that they aren’t allowed to tell anyone about it.” Cyrus has been seen out with two women named Lily and Blue, allegedly healers in the organization.
While it’s been revealed that Will and Jada Smith were Scientologists for a period of time and even opened up an L. Ron Hubbard-based private school which ended up failing after just a couple of years, their son Jaden has been linked to the Orgonite Society for many years, a cult that claims they are “a secret society of individuals who create and place orgonite to balance Gaia’s energies.” Kylie Jenner has also posted on Instagram about this, spending time with the group along with Jaden, creating man-made crystals comprised of organic and inorganic material which is called orgonite. This material is supposed to clean the impurities out of the air, out of your life and out of you.
Orgonites first became a “thing” in spiritual and alternative medicinal practices in 1992 thanks to Karl Hans Welz, an Austrian man inspired by the work of Wilhelm Reich. And the story of Reich, I’m afraid, is one that will have to wait for another day because it is far too involved to explain in our remaining time today.
Celebrities are human beings and, despite the millions of fans that look up to and adore them, they are also just as fallible as anyone else. In fact, the added pressures and isolation of the celebrity life often invites cultic influences in order to help resolve the pressures and anxieties that come with fame. Anyone can fall prey to the isolation, manipulation and control that cult leaders exert, a lesson we could all learn better.
With that we have reached the end of our news for today. Thank you for your continued support and feedback. We’ll see you next week. Good night.
Sources:
Lori Vallow Daybell
https://ksltv.com/537282/who-is-chad-daybell/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Tylee_Ryan_and_J._J._Vallow
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65567072
JW abuse
https://www.docdroid.net/19OgOsb/2019-shepherd-the-flock-of-god-2019-edition-pdf
Celebrities in Cults
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/07/203978/orgonite-society-cult-kylie-jenner-jaden-smith-osho
https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/slideshow/2796670/celebrities-in-cults/10/