Opening statements are set to begin on Monday morning in the high-profile trial of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow who is accused of killing her two children and new husband’s ex-wife.

Ms Vallow, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy and grand theft in connection over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried on Ms Vallow’s new husband Chad Daybell’s property in Idaho in June 2020.

Ms Vallow is also charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell, who died suddenly in her sleep in October 2019.

Ms Vallow has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a dramatic case spanning a string of murders, unexplained deaths and bizarre cult beliefs about killing zombies.

Jury selection took place last week in Ada County Courthouse with a pool of 1,800 potential jurors narrowed down to 12 jurors and six alternates on Friday.

As the trial gets under way, Ms Vallow will be forced to come face to face with JJ’s grandparents after Judge Steven Boyce denied her request to ban them from the courtroom.

What happened to Tammy Daybell?

11:55 , Rachel Sharp

Chad Daybell married his first wife Tammy in 1990 and they had five children together. They also founded a publishing company together – the company that released his doomsday books.

Just one month after JJ and Tylee vanished – on 19 October 2019 – Tammy, an otherwise healthy 49-year-old, died suddenly in her sleep.

In a bizarre twist, her death came just 10 days after she had called 911 to report someone shooting at her with a paintball gun in the driveway of their home.

Despite the mysterious circumstances, her husband declined an autopsy and her death was ruled natural causes.

It was only after the two children were reported missing – and authorities began delving into Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell, their sudden remarriage and bizarre cult beliefs – that questions began being asked about her death.

Investigators exhumed her body for an autopsy in December 2020.

Once again, officials have not revealed how Tammy died.

But her husband and his new wife are now charged with her murder, with prosecutors alleging that the couple conspired with Cox to kill the 49-year-old.

What happened to Lori Vallow’s children JJ and Tylee?

11:50 , Rachel Sharp

JJ and Tylee were last seen alive in September 2019 – not long after Lori Vallow had moved the two children from Arizona to Idaho, allegedly to be close to Mr Daybell.

Chilling photos captured a smiling JJ, Tylee and Ms Vallow’s brother Alex Cox on a visit to Yellowstone National Park on 8 September.

The photo is now believed to be the last proof of life of 16-year-old Tylee.

After that day, she was never seen or heard from again.

Days later, on 22 September, JJ was also seen for the last time – at his school in Rexburg and by his mother’s friends at her apartment that night.

By the next morning, the seven-year-old – who had autism – had vanished.

When asked where he was, Ms Vallow allegedly told friends Melanie Gibb and David Warwick that he had to be taken away because he was “being a zombie”.

In June 2020, JJ and Tylee’s remains were discovered buried in Mr Daybell’s backyard.

Their causes of deaths have never been released but court documents give a harrowing picture of what may have happened.

JJ’s body was found in a black plastic bag wrapped in duct tape while Tylee’s body had been dismembered and burned in a fire pit, before being buried in the pet cemetery.

A doomsday cult and five mystery deaths: Everything you need to know about Lori Vallow’s trial

11:45 , Rachel Sharp

It looked every inch the fairytale wedding.

Dressed in white with pink flower garlands around their necks, the bride and groom couldn’t have looked happier as they exchanged vows on a paradise beach in Hawaii.

Photos captured the apparently blissful day as they toasted their nuptials, embraced and she danced to him playing the guitar.

But, behind the photos, something much more disturbing was going on.

Her two children had not been seen alive in two months.

His wife of three decades – the mother of his five children – had died suddenly just two weeks earlier.

And her husband had been shot dead by her brother (who would also soon be dead) not long before.

In the three years since the November 2019 wedding of Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, a deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies has come to light.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp delves into what we know so far about the case:

Lori Vallow case summary: Doomsday cult, mystery deaths and kids in a pet cemetery

Welcome to The Independent’s liveblog on the Lori Vallow trial

11:40 , Rachel Sharp

Opening statements begin today in Lori Vallow’s murder trial.

Follow along here for all the latest updates.