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Lori Vallow trial: A timeline of how a tangled web of deaths led to her arrest and murder charges with husband Chad Daybell
Lori Vallow trial: A timeline of how a tangled web of deaths led to her arrest and murder charges with husband Chad Daybell
Haven Orecchio-EgresitzApr 8, 2023, 02:29 IST
InsiderDoomsday couple Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow are entangled in a complex web of mysterious deaths and missing children.Courtesy of Rexburg Police Department
Lori Vallow is on trial in Idaho for her alleged role in the murder of her two children.
Vallow, a doomsday prepper and self-proclaimed "exalted goddess" is entangled in a web of deaths.
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The tangled web surrounding doomsday couple Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell seems like it was ripped right out of a movie script: two dead children, two dead former spouses, and the couple's involvement in a "religious cult."
The mystery began to unravel in November 2019 when the Rexburg Police Department in Idaho began the search for Lori's missing children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua "J.J." Vallow. When police conducted a well-being check and asked about the children's whereabouts, Chad and Lori lied and disappeared without a trace the very next day.
It wasn't long before authorities and local media outlets began to piece together the string of mysterious deaths the couple left in their wake, including Lori's previous husband, Lori's brother, and Chad's first wife, who Chad reportedly prophesied would die.
It wasn't until June 2020 when the bodies of J.J. and Tylee were found buried on Daybell's property.
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Vallow and Daybell were later charged in the kids' murders, and Daybell was also charged with the murder of his former wife.
Opening statements in Vallow's trial for the killing of her children are scheduled for Monday.
Vallow was later also charged in Arizona in the murder of her former husband, and she is awaiting trial in that case.
Here's a timeline outlining the tangled web of bizarre beliefs and deaths tied to the doomsday couple.
March 9, 1990: Chad and Tamara "Tammy" Daybell marry in Manti, Utah
Chad married his first wife in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah. The couple later started an independent publishing company called Spring Creek Book company in 2004. Chad wrote over 25 doomsday prep books under the company for Mormon audiences, including fantasies of a dystopian world wrought by bioterrorism attacks and catastrophic natural disasters.
2001: Lori marries Tylee's father, Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr.
Lori and her third husband, Joseph Anthony Ryan, married in 2001, however, the exact date of the marriage remains unknown. The couple went on to have Tylee Ryan on September 24, 2002. Joseph later adopted Lori's son Colby from her previous marriage. Lori and Joseph were eventually divorced by 2005.
February 24, 2006: Lori weds Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow
Lori and Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow married in Las Vegas, Nevada making him her fourth husband. Charles worked as a managing partner at R.I.T.E. Planning Group and PFS Marketing LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile.
July 2014: Lori and Charles officially adopt Joshua "J.J." Vallow
Charles and Lori finalized the adoption of their son Joshua Vallow, better known as "J.J." He was on the autism spectrum and was the biological grandson of Charles' sister Kay Woodcock, who is married to Larry Woodcock.
End of 2014: Charles and Lori move to Kauai, Hawaii with Tylee and J.J
According to business records filed by the Vallows, the family moved with Tylee and J.J. to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Lori was later found vacationing on the same island with her new husband, Chad Daybell, in January 2020 — this time without the children.
Lori Vallow's favorite book of Chad Daybell's.https://www.amazon.com/Great-Gathering-Standing-Holy-Places/dp/1932898794/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39ZW3HQCML0YV&keywords=chad+daybell+standing+in+holy+places&qid=1578421438&sprefix=chad+daybell+standing+%2Caps%2C225&sr=8-1
"Those books she got really obsessed with and started buying me those books too," Lori's friend told Fox5 in an anonymous interview. "She must have gotten close to him from his book."
December 5, 2018: The first documented connection of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow first appeared together on a podcast called "Time to Warrior Up" with Preparing a People, a doomsday prepper group that Lori's relatives worried was a religious "cult." The two appeared with others on several different Preparing a People podcasts, many of which talked about the end of the world. The organization that produced Preparing a People content has taken down content connected with Lori and Chad and has since tried to distance itself from the doomsday couple.
February 8, 2019: Charles Vallow files for divorce from Lori
Charles filed for divorce from Lori in February 2019. According to court documents obtained by Fox 10, Vallow claimed that Lori believed she was a god preparing for Christ's second coming. He also claimed Lori threatened to kill him if he got in her way, and said she transferred $35,000 of the couple's money to an unknown bank account. He later dropped the divorce filing and attempted to reconcile with his wife.
July 11, 2019: Charles is shot and killed by Lori's brother, Alexander Cox
Charles went to Lori's rental home in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up J.J. During an altercation, Lori's brother Alex Cox, fatally shot Charles in the chest twice. Lori and Tylee were there. Cox claimed it was "self-defense" and was never charged by police.
Sources: Chandler Police records
August 10, 2019: The last time Larry and Kay Woodcock reportedly speak with J.J.
Larry and Kay Woodcock — J.J.'s grandparents — said they last made contact with J.J. in August 2019 in an interview with KSL TV. The couple said they FaceTimed with their grandson for 35 seconds before the call ended.
September 2019: Lori, Tylee, and J.J. move to Rexburg, Idaho
Lori, Tylee, and J.J. moved to Rexburg, Idaho at the beginning of September 2019. According to Lori's Arizona landlord, he asked the family to vacate the home where the shooting took place, possibly prompting their move to Rexburg, Idaho. Tylee originally planned to move in with a friend in Arizona but decided she wanted to remain with her little brother, according to Tylee's friend.
"She was just protective of J.J. cause he was her little brother," the friend said.
September 23, 2019: J.J. is last seen at his new school, Kennedy Elementary in Rexburg, Idaho.
J.J. briefly attended Kennedy Elementary in Rexburg, Idaho, before Lori unenrolled him from the school. She reportedly told the school's principal that she would be homeschooling him. The last confirmed sighting of Tylee Ryan is unknown, however, police believe she was last seen around this time as well. According to police, Lori and Chad told witnesses that Tylee died in 2017. Chad told another witness that Lori had no minor children. The couple never reported the missing children to authorities.
October 9, 2019: Tammy Daybell calls police after a masked assailant attempted to shoot her with a paintball gun
Tammy Daybell, Chad's first wife, was unloading groceries from her car when a man in a ski mask attempted to shoot her with what she believed to be a paintball gun at their home in Salem, Idaho. Tammy called the police, however, the assailant ran away before deputies arrived. Investigators at the Fremont County Sheriff believed it was a prank and never found the man.
Tammy Daybell was found dead in her home at age 49, according to the Rexburg Police Department. After Chad refused to order an autopsy, the coroner listed her death as "natural."
November 2019: Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow are now married
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Idaho police searched for doomsday couple Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell following reports that Vallow's children had gone missing.Courtesy of the Rexburg Police Department
According to the Rexburg Police Department, Chad and Lori wed within a couple of weeks of Tammy's death.
November 26, 2019: Rexburg Police Department conducts a wellbeing check on J.J.
After Larry and Kay Woodcock raised concerns that they had not seen or heard from J.J. in months, the Rexburg Police Department went to Chad and Lori's home to conduct a welfare check. The couple told officers at the time that J.J. was staying with relatives in Arizona, which police later discovered was untrue. Police officers went to the couple's home again the next day with a search warrant, but the couple was already gone.
Source: Rexburg Police records.
December 11, 2019: Authorities decide to further investigate the death of Tammy Daybell
Law enforcement decided to further investigate Tammy's death, now believing it to be "suspicious" given Chad's disappearance and the mysterious masked assailant. Tammy's body was exhumed and submitted for an autopsy.
Lori's brother Alexander Cox was found unresponsive in Gilbert, Arizona. It was later released that his death was caused by blood clots in his lungs.
Source: Chandler Police Department
December 20, 2019: Rexburg Police Department officially announce an investigation into the disappearance of Tylee and J.J.
The Rexburg Police Department announced their investigation into the disappearance of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow.Courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
The Rexburg Police Department publicly announced their investigation into the disappearance of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow in December, asking for the public's assistance in locating them. In a news release, police said Chad and Lori were cooperating and the children's disappearance may have been tied to Tammy's "suspicious death."
An attorney representing Chad and Lori issued a statement on behalf of the couple denying any wrongdoing. "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," Sean Bartholick wrote in a statement.
December 27, 2019: Chad's friend Julie Rowe claims he had prophesied Tammy's death
Julie Rowe, a friend of Chad, attempts to defend her friend as news of the investigation makes headlines. Rowe claimed that Daybell had a "vision" from "angels" that Tammy would die years before her death in an interview with Fox 13.
January 3, 2020: The Rexburg Police Department and FBI search Chad and Tammy's former home
Law enforcement from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, the Rexburg Police Department, and the FBI searched Chad and Tammy's former home. Police said more than 43 items were collected from the home, including "computers, cell phones, journals, documents, and medications," which were sent to forensic experts for examination.
January 5, 2020: Lori's first son Colby makes a public plea to his mother
Colby Ryan, Lori's first son, posted a video on YouTube pleading with his mother to bring Tylee and J.J. home safely. "You have the power to end this. You have an opportunity to put this all to rest," Colby said in the video.
January 25, 2020: Local authorities locate Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow in Kauai, Hawaii
As the search for JJ. and Tylee continued, local Hawaiian authorities found Chad and Lori vacationing in Kauai, Hawaii — without the missing children. The couple was staying in a luxury condo at the Kaiulani of Princeville Townhomes priced at $6,150 per month. When authorities searched the unit the couple had been staying at since mid-December, they found no evidence that the children were ever there. Lori was court-ordered to physically produce the children before a judge in Rexburg, Idaho, by January 30.
January 30, 2020: Lori misses the deadline to produce J.J. and Tylee
Lori failed to comply with a court order to physically produce Tylee and J.J. to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She was given the order on January 26 and was given five days to locate her missing children. Her adopted son's grandmother Kay Woodcock, who is also Vallow's former sister-in-law, said she believed law enforcement would hold the "monster" accountable.
February 6, 2020: Arizona police investigate Vallow's connection to late husband Charles' life insurance policy
In Arizona, though, where Vallow's late husband Charles was reportedly shot and killed by her brother Alex Cox, detectives began looking at Vallow's connections to a life insurance policy in her husband's name, according to Sgt. Jason McClimans of the Chandler Police Department.
February 6, 2020: Surveillance video shows Vallow dumping her children's things into a storage unit
New surveillance footage revealed that Vallow had stored her children's things in a storage unit near their Rexburg, Idaho home shortly after J.J. and Tylee were reportedly last seen. Investigators found bikes, photos, clothing, and a backpack with JJ's initials.
February 20, 2020: Vallow is charged and arrested for deserting and not supporting her children
Lori Vallow was arrested in Hawaii for multiple charges including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. Vallow was held on $5 million bail, the Kaua'i Police Department said. Other charges against her included resisting or obstructing police officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court.
February 24, 2020: New footage pinpoints Tylee was in Yellowstone National Park before her brother disappeared
elegeyda/ Shutterstock
Court records revealed surveillance footage pinpointing where Tylee was last seen: Yellowstone National Park. Tylee's last confirmed sighting had been previously unknown, although law enforcement officers said she likely disappeared around the same time as her brother in September. J.J. was seen two weeks after the footage from Yellowstone on Sept. 17 playing with a neighbor, which was documented by footage from a doorbell camera.
May 25, 2021: Lori and Chad are indicted in the murders of J.J., Tylee, and Tammy
The doomsday couple was indicted in Idaho and pleaded not guilty to charges related to the killings of the two children and Daybell's wife, Tammy.
The charges were:
Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception for the death of Tylee Ryan.
First-degree murder for the death of Tylee Ryan.
Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception for the death of J.J. Vallow.
First-degree murder for the death of J.J. Vallow.
Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Tammy Daybell.
Sources: Idaho trial court
Lori Vallow Daybell glances at the camera during her hearing in Rexburg, Idaho.John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File
June 24, 2021: Lori Vallow is indicted in the killing of her 4th husband
A Maricopa grand jury in Arizona indicted Vallow on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. She later pleaded not guilty to the charge.
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October 21, 2021: Chandler police release a trove of documents showing the couple's bizarre cult beliefs
A tranche of documents from the Chandler, Arizona, police department was released to reporters. The documents, which total over 1,000 pages and were obtained by Insider, investigated the July 2019 death of Vallow's ex-husband, Charles. But they also helped piece together Vallow's descent into a fantastical and apocalyptic belief system.
The documents showed Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and their inner circle believed the world would end in July 2020.
A witness said Daybell had even invented a "light" and "dark" scale ranging from 0 to 100% to represent a person's trustworthiness.
Vallow and Daybell had often referred to Vallow's ex-husband as "Ned," and said he had an unclean spirit — but that he was far from the only one.
Lori Vallow.Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island via Associated Press
May 27, 2021: Lori is temporarily found unfit to stand trial
In Idaho, Lori Vallow was found unfit to stand trial in relation to the conspiracy to kill her two children.
November 15, 2022: Lori is found competent, and the case proceeds
Lori Vallow Daybell was found competent to stand trial, according to a court order filed by Judge Steven Boyce.
Source: Idaho trial court
Lori Vallow smiles at a camera after appearing in court on murder charges.East Idaho News/Tony Blakeslee
April 10, 2023: Opening statements are scheduled
Jury selection began on April 3 in the Ada County, Idaho trial of Lori Vallow. After 18 jurors were seated — 12 to deliberate and six alternates — lawyers were scheduled to give their opening statements on April 10.
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Vallow will not face the death penalty if she is convicted, according to court records.
