It was a sunny day in January 2020, and on the shores of Kauai, a reporter approached Lori Vallow, the woman at the center of a nationwide manhunt. With her newlywed husband Chad Daybell by her side, Vallow was strolling towards the beachfront townhouse they had rented for $6,000 a month, just weeks after the death of Chad's wife, Tammy. The reporter, Nate Eaton of East Idaho News, asked the question on everyone's mind: "Did you do something to your children? Are your children still alive?" But Vallow was tight-lipped, simply responding with a cryptic "No comment."

The reporter pressed on, reminding Vallow that her adopted son, 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow, and her 17-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, had been missing for four months. He asked, "They've been missing for four months; you have nothing to say?" But Vallow remained silent, her only response a shrug of the shoulders.

In the months that followed, JJ's biological grandparents had offered a $20,000 reward for information, and the story had become a national media blitz. But still, Vallow and Daybell remained silent, their beach getaway a mystery to the world. "There are people around the country praying for your children – praying for you guys – why don't you give us answers?" asked Eaton. To which Vallow simply replied, "That's great."

The story of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell is one of failed relationships, mysterious deaths, and the end of an American family. In "The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family," true-crime author John Glatt traces Vallow's history, including her marriage to Daybell, a novelist and Doomsday prophet. The couple had eloped to Hawaii following the mysterious deaths of her husband and Chad's wife, and the disappearance of her two children. It was later revealed that the remains of JJ and Tylee were found in Daybell's backyard.

Today, Vallow and Daybell are each charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. If convicted, they could face the death penalty, a rare outcome in the state of Idaho. They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges. Meanwhile, Vallow is also facing prosecution in Arizona for the conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of her then-husband, Charles Vallow. The trial was previously set for April 3, but has been delayed. In the end, the mystery of what happened to JJ and Tylee and the truth behind the deaths and disappearances of those close to Lori Vallow remains unsolved.

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