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Extreme Beliefs or Religious Delusions?
Religion, cults, and the mystery surrounding Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell.
Posted April 8, 2020 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
You may have heard of Lori Vallow (Daybell) and her new husband, Chad. Lori is currently sitting in an Idaho jail facing charges of felony child abandonment and desertion of two of her children, 7-year-old JJ and 17-year-old Tylee, who have not been seen since September 2019 despite pleas from concerned family members and a court order demanding Lori produce them. Lori and Chad have told numerous lies about the children’s whereabouts and, lately, have refused to answer any questions about them at all.
There’s more. Lori’s former husband, Charles Vallow, was killed by her brother Alex in July 2019, allegedly in self-defense. Chad Daybell’s healthy 48-year old wife, Tammy, died in her sleep in October 2019; according to a family friend, Chad had “premonitions” about her death weeks before she died. It has recently come to light that, weeks before Tammy died, Lori purchased a wedding ring and was shopping for beach wedding clothing. Two weeks after Tammy was buried, he married Lori. Alex Cox, Lori’s brother who killed Charles, also died under mysterious circumstances last December.
Disturbing facts have also emerged about Lori and Chad’s alleged religious beliefs and what they may mean in light of recent events. Before he died, Lori’s then-husband Charles filed for divorce, citing her desertion of the family for two months in early 2019 and outlining what he called her bizarre religious beliefs since she had gotten involved in Chad Daybell’s religious movement. Specifically, he stated that she had told him she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020" and that she had warned him that she would kill him if he got in her way.
Even more concerning as it relates to her missing children are documents written by the new husband [Ian Pawloski] of Lori Vallow’s niece, Melani Boudreaux Pawlowski. Melani, who has also been involved in this religious group, abruptly filed for divorce from her husband, Brandon Boudreaux, in the summer of 2019 and remarried Ian in December.
According to Ian, who has apparently cooperated with the FBI, “Melani had been told by Chad and Lori that their children had been possessed and had become zombies ... human bodies that have had their original spirits forced from them and have been possessed" by either a demon, a disembodied spirit or a worm or slug.” Melani also allegedly told Ian that she “was worried that [Alex Cox] may have had to 'take care' of the kids.”
Bizarre Beliefs Begin
Several witnesses have stated that Lori Vallow has become increasingly preoccupied with doomsday prophecies and spiritual visions. However, what Lori Vallow saw as a divine revelation her husband, Charles Vallow, viewed as mental illness.
Several people who have known Lori Vallow Daybell for years say she was a devoted wife and mother until she got involved with Chad Daybell and his religious teachings in 2018. In February 2019, Charles Vallow became so concerned he attempted to get her involuntarily committed to a mental hospital for a psychiatric examination. After police failed to find her, she apparently turned up voluntarily the following day and was evaluated—and released—by a mental health professional.
At this point, no one has been charged with murder. We can still hope for a relatively happy ending, at least for the children; maybe, as Chad and Lori insist, JJ and Tylee really are tucked away somewhere.
But let’s pretend for a moment that Charles Vallow’s and Melani Pawloski’s assertions about Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell’s religious beliefs are true and led to violence. Are these religious beliefs a symptom of mental illness or mind control?
Based on the evidence, Lori’s doomsday beliefs were shared by several others. And her view of her role in the second coming of Christ was shared by at least one other person—Chad Daybell. If these beliefs led to murder, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time religion was used as a justification for violence. From Charles Manson’s family to the James Jones massacre, there have been people who committed horrific acts either because they fell under the spell of a destructive cult leader or believed they were doing God’s work.
Spiritual Messenger or Mentally Ill?
Of course, mental illness can also lead to mayhem. Post-9/11, I saw a psychotic young man who ran an innocent motorist off the road after hearing a voice telling him the Middle Eastern driver next to him on the highway was a Muslim terrorist driving to the San Diego airport to plant bombs on airplanes. In the early 1970s, serial killer Herbert William Mullins killed 13 people after hearing voices in his head that told him that a devastating California earthquake was imminent and that only through human sacrifice could he save his beloved state.
When it comes to extreme beliefs, there is a fine line between madness and religious fervor. Delusions that arise from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, mania, severe depression, or other psychotic disorders are typically accompanied by other symptoms such as hallucinations, disorganized thinking/behavior, and impairment in functioning.
An exception is delusional disorder, a rare disorder, typically occurring in middle to late life, in which a person typically experiences non-bizarre delusions which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, loved by a celebrity, gifted with a special talent, or married to a cheating spouse.
These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. People with delusional disorder often can continue to socialize and function quite normally [apart from the subject of their delusion] unless they become so preoccupied with their delusions that their lives are disrupted. Their delusions are not shared by others, which is often a source of conflict.
The Investigation Continues
Tylee and JJ are still missing, three adults are dead, and the investigation continues. No one has been charged with murder. More people have come forward to describe Chad Daybell’s extremist, informal group that operated semi-secretly within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and focused on pending doomsday prophecies, spiritual visions, and reincarnation; many of these beliefs are allegedly contrary to formal church doctrine. The role these beliefs have played in recent events is yet to be determined.
Some people with psychosis experience religious delusions. Some people develop extreme religious beliefs as part of cult indoctrination or because they are raised in an unorthodox religious environment. And some people with psychological problems [for example, antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, malignant narcissism] use just about anything—including religion—as an excuse to harm others.
If you are interested in more forensic psychology information, check out my website, forensic radio show, and YouTube channel.
