Cult Dehumanization: How the Daybell Doctrine Made Children "Zombies" | Spiritual Abuse
Cult Dehumanization: How the Daybell Doctrine Made Children "Zombies" | Spiritual Abuse  
Podcast: Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
Published On: Wed Mar 11 2026
Description: The last photograph of Tylee Ryan was taken at Yellowstone. September 8, 2019. She's sixteen. She's smiling.Within a day, investigators believe she was dead. Her remains were found nine months later — burned and dismembered in Chad Daybell's backyard.Her mother's explanation, according to friends who testified? Tylee had "gone dark."This is Part 3 of "The Chosen Ones," Hidden Killers' 5-part psychological examination of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Vallow-Daybell case. Today we examine the moment a child becomes "other" in a parent's mind — and the spiritual language that made it possible.According to testimony, Chad Daybell's labeling started with Charles Vallow. Chad Daybell told Lori her husband was possessed by a demon named "Ned." She stopped using his name. Seven days after he was killed, she texted about the life insurance: "Ned probably changed it before we got rid of him."Then came the children. Tylee questioned her mother's beliefs — and was declared "dark." JJ needed more care than Lori wanted to give — and became a "zombie."Both buried in Chad Daybell's backyard. Both killed by people who believed they weren't really killing children — just destroying the demons that had taken them over.This is how dehumanization works in high control religion. You create a category. You assign people to it. And then the rules that protect humans don't apply anymore.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=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis 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 #TyleeRyan #JJVallow #HiddenKillers #ZombieDoctrine #Dehumanization #SpiritualAbuse #ReligiousTrauma #HighControlReligion