High Control Religion: How Chad Daybell Went from Gravedigger to Cult Leader
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Before the death sentence. Before the backyard graves. Before the "zombie" doctrine.
Chad Daybell was a gravedigger in Idaho who claimed the dead spoke to him.
This is Part 2 of "The Chosen Ones," our psychological examination of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Vallow-Daybell case. Today we analyze Chad Daybell — not just what he did, but how he built the authority to make others believe he spoke for God.
Chad Daybell couldn't find significance through normal channels. He wasn't a prophet in the mainstream LDS church. So he built a space where he could be one — through self-published apocalyptic novels, fringe conferences, and online communities like AVOW.
He charged for books, charged for speaking appearances, charged for "readings" where he'd tell followers their light ratings and past lives. The more people paid for access to his "visions," the more power he accumulated.
Then the beliefs became operational.
According to testimony, Chad Daybell taught that some people had been possessed by demons — that they were "zombies" who could only be destroyed, not saved. He kept spreadsheets rating people as light or dark. Everyone rated dark ended up dead.
If you've experienced religious narcissism or spiritual abuse from a charismatic leader — you'll recognize how this authority gets built.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#ChadDaybell #LoriVallow #TrueCrimeToday #CultLeader #HighControlReligion #SpiritualAbuse #ReligiousTrauma #ZombieDoctrine #ReligiousNarcissism #Deconstruction
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them. |
| 0:04.4 | Join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, |
| 0:09.1 | featuring in-depth sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. |
| 0:14.2 | With just 200 attendees, you'll also share breakfast and lunch with the speakers, |
| 0:18.2 | giving you the chance to spend time with the people shaping the world of true crime. Crimecom Birmingham is partnered by the True Crime Channel. |
| 0:25.1 | For 10% off, go to crimecon.com.com.com. UK and use the code Birmingham at checkout. |
| 0:30.5 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them, |
| 0:35.1 | join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, |
| 0:39.5 | featuring in-depth sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. With just |
| 0:45.0 | 200 attendees, you'll also share breakfast and lunch with the speakers, giving you the chance to spend |
| 0:49.9 | time with the people shaping the world of true crime. Crimecom Birmingham is partnered by the True Crime Channel. |
| 0:55.4 | For 10% off, go to crimecon.com.com.com.com and use the code Birmingham at checkout. |
| 1:00.8 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brewski. |
| 1:04.0 | Here now, Tony Brewski. |
| 1:07.0 | I want you to picture Chad Daybell's home office. It's in Salem, Idaho. |
| 1:13.5 | I know, Salem. |
| 1:15.6 | It's like a small town, maybe 10,000 people. |
| 1:20.3 | The house is modest. |
| 1:22.1 | Office is probably just a spare bedroom, |
| 1:23.9 | bookshelves lined with his own self-published novels, |
| 1:26.3 | a desk where he sat for hours |
| 1:28.8 | writing about the apocalypse. By the time he met Laurie Valo-Chad had written over 25 books, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tony Brueski, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Tony Brueski and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.