Idaho triple murder trial begins with claims about zombies and doomsday plot

Opening statements are expected on Wednesday in the trial of an Idaho man charged with killing his wife and his then girlfriend’s two youngest children in an unusual case rooted in extremist religious beliefs.

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Prosecutors say the couple justified the three killings with doomsday beliefs, part of an elaborate scheme to eliminate any obstacles to their relationship and to obtain money from survivor benefits and life insurance. Vallow Daybell referred to her two youngest kids as zombies, one friend testified during her trial.

Chad Daybell was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and self-published fiction loosely based on its teachings.

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Friends later told detectives that Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell believed they had been reincarnated and were tasked with gathering people before a biblical apocalypse.