Dateline To Air New Lori Vallow Episode Following Guilty Verdict in Idaho

Normally, Dateline cranks out a two-minute trailer for a new episode but things changed so quickly in the Lori Vallow murder trial that all NBC could crank out in time for this week's episode was this 20-second teaser from Keith Morrison.

When the Lori Vallow murder trial began at the Ada County Court House, it was expected to last up to 10 weeks. It moved at a swifter pace than anyone could anticipate. After the prosecution called 60 witnesses and present five weeks of testimony, the trial came to an abrupt close with Vallow’s defense team opting to not present their own witnesses or evidence.

During closing arguments on Thursday, Vallow’s attorneys focused heavily on their client being manipulated by Chad Daybell during a vulnerable time in her life and claimed that the prosecution’s DNA evidence was not a “smoking gun.” 

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Jury deliberations began just before 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 11 and by mid-day on Friday, May 12 the jury reached their verdict that Vallow was guilty of all murder, conspiracy and grand theft charges related to the deaths of her children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow and her husband’s late wife, Tammy Daybell. 

Vallow now awaits sentencing. The death penalty is off the table, but she could face multiple life sentences. 

So how did we get here? NBC will recap the case and trial in a new episode of Dateline tonight. According to Yahoo! News, Keith Morrison will break down what happened in the courtroom and which parts of the witness testimony led to a guilty verdict. The new episode includes interviews with Vallow’s only living child, Colby Ryan who testified during the trial, Larry and Kay Woodcock, the grandparents of JJ Vallow and East Idaho News Director Nate Eaton who’s been following the case for years and has been live from Boise throughout the trial. 

The episode airs at 8 p.m. on KTVB.

48 Hours Also Announces Vallow Themed Episode

CBS has also been working on an episode of 48 Hours titled “Lori Vallow Daybell: Guilty.” From the looks of this CBS News article, it looks like they’re pre-empting the episode previously scheduled to air on Saturday, May 13. 48 Hours airs on Channel 2 at 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell, still awaits his trial on similar charges. It’s not expected to happen until the Summer of 2024. The death penalty is still very much on the table for Daybell.