Vallow–Daybell doomsday murders
The disappearance of Tylee Ryan and J. J. Vallow…
Background
Chad Daybell
Chad Daybell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968 or 1969 (age 55–56) |
| Spouse(s) |
Tamara Douglas
(m. 1990; died 2019)Lori Vallow (m. 2019) |
Born in 1968 or 1969, Chad Daybell married Tamara Douglas (born 1969 or 1970) in Manti, Utah on March 9, 1990. In 2015, Chad Daybell allegedly heard a voice twice telling him to relocate to Rexburg, Idaho; he and Tamara moved there from Springville, Utah that June.[1]
On October 9, 2019, Tamara Daybell was assaulted in her driveway by a masked man with an unloaded paintball marker; the Fremont County sheriff's office did not find the man. Ten days later she was found dead from natural causes; Chad Daybell claimed that she had retired the night before "with a terrible cough" and died in her sleep.[1]
Lori Cox
Lori Vallow | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lori Cox 1973 or 1974 (age 50–51) |
| Spouse(s) |
Unknown boyfriend (m. 1992)William Lagioia
(m. 1995; div. 1998)Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr.
(m. 2001; div. 2005)Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow
(m. 2006; died 2019)Chad Daybell (m. 2019) |
| Children |
|
Born in 1973 or 1974, Lori Cox married her high-school boyfriend in 1992. She married William Lagioia in Travis County, Texas on October 22, 1995; the couple had a son—Colby—in 1996 before they divorced on February 25, 1998. When Lori Lagioia married Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr. in 2001, he adopted Cody and had a daughter—Tylee—before filing for divorce on August 13, 2004; the divorce was finalized on May 18, 2005. Joseph Ryan died on April 3, 2018 of a myocardial infarction.[1]
Vallow marriage
On February 24, 2006—282 days after her previous divorce—Lori Ryan married Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow in Las Vegas.[1] A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lori converted her husband to the church.[2] In July 2014, the couple adopted Vallow's grandnephew, Joshua Jaxon "J. J." Vallow, before moving to Kauai late that year.[1]
Around 2015, Lori Vallow found Daybell's Standing in Holy Places series of books, becoming "obsessed" therewith (according to a friend). After about two and a half years in Hawaii, the Vallow family moved to Arizona. On December 5, 2018, she first joined Daybell on the podcast Preparing a People (episode "Time to Warrior Up"), and would do so more in the future.[1] In February 2019, Lori Vallow told her husband that "she no longer cared about him or J. J.", and that she was the reincarnated wife of Joseph Smith, before vanishing for 58 days.[2] That same month, Charles Vallow filed for divorce, saying that his wife had "threaten[ed] to murder him" and stolen US$35,000 (equivalent to $41,710 in 2023); Vallow dropped the suit in March saying, "he wanted to try to make the marriage work".[1]
On July 11, 2019, when Charles Vallow arrived at his wife's Chandler, Arizona residence to pick up J. J., he was shot and killed by her brother, Alex Cox. Cox claimed the shooting was in self-defense, and was not charged. Later that day, the residence reportedly hosted a pool party with "loud music and lots of people swimming." J. J.'s grandmother reported that soon thereafter, the boy's service dog was returned to its kennel, and on August 10, 2019, she spoke with the seven-year-old for the last time. In September 2019, after being evicted from the Chandler house, Lori Vallow (née Cox) moved to Rexburg, Idaho with Tylee Ryan and J. J. Vallow; she told different stories to explain the move to Idaho, including returning to school and having found work.[1]
Disappearance
As of September 3, 2019[update], Rexburg's Kennedy Elementary School is the last confirmed place J. J. Vallow was seen;[2] Tylee Ryan went unseen at about the same time. That same day, Chad Daybell becomes unexpectedly incommunicado, last speaking with filmmaker Devin K. Hansen via text messaging.[1]
Boudreauxes
Brandon Boudreaux, Lori Vallow's nephew-in-law in Gilbert, Arizona, was the target of a drive-by shooting on October 2, 2019. The vehicle involved was a Jeep registered to the late Charles Vallow. Boudreaux had recently accused Lori Vallow of inducting his wife (Melani Boudreaux) into a cult. Melani Boudreaux left home for "Boise" in mid-October; on November 14, she was arrested by police for trespassing on her in-laws' American Fork, Utah property. When the Boudreaux's divorce was finalized in late November, Brandon received custody of their four children. On November 30 in Las Vegas, Melani Boudreaux married Ian Pawlowski, a Rexburg divorcee of four months.[1]
Vallow and Daybell
It was around November 2019 when Vallow and Daybell were married, possibly in Hawaii. That same month, they were both telling people that Tylee Ryan had died in 2017, or that Lori (née Cox) had no minor children. At the request of her grandmother, the police visited the Daybell's Rexburg, Idaho residence (565 Pioneer Road) on November 26 to conduct a welfare check on Tylee Ryan. Lori Daybell told police that the teen was in Arizona with family, and by the time that lie was verified, police found the Daybell's house abandoned the next day. Witnesses reported that the couple had no children with them.[1]
From December 2019 – January 2020, the Rexburg police, Fremont County sheriff's office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation increase the investigation into Ryan and Vallow's disappearance, Tamara Daybell's "suspicious death", and the Daybells' flee from Idaho. The Daybell's house was searched, evidence was collected, and Tamara Daybell's body was exhumed for autopsy. Colby Ryan and J. J. Vallow's grandparents pleaded with the Daybells to return the children, with the latter offering a reward of $20,000 (equivalent to $23,546 in 2023). Investigators contended that "'Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger.', […] the children are not with Chad and Lori. [… Lori] knows where they are or what has happened to them, but has 'completely refused to assist this investigation, [choosing instead to leave the state with her new husband.'" Through their lawyer, the Daybell's said, "Chad Daybell was a loving husband and has the support of his children in this matter. Lori Daybell is a devoted mother and resents assertions to the contrary. We look forward to addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Krutzig, Sally (January 7, 2020). "A timeline of the events surrounding the disappearance of J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan". Post Register. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c Mejia, Garna (January 1, 2020). "Grandparents Of One Of Missing Rexburg Children Speak Out". Salt Lake City: KSL-TV. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.