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| Lori, JJ, Tylee and Tammy. |
Lori Vallow Daybell along with her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, were charged back in April 2020 with the murder of her of her daughter 16-year-old, Tylee Ryan, her 7-year-old adopted son, JJ Vallow and Chad's first wife, Tammy.
Lori also faces a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the case of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband.
Originally Lori and Chad were going to be tried together, but on March 7th, 2023, judge Boyce severed the cases based on new DNA evidence that was made available to all parties in the case.
Lindsey has a bachelor’s degree in law as well as one in psychology. During her career, Lindsey has worked as both a public defender and as a prosecutor.
In the prosecution's opening statement, Lindsey stated that this case is all about money, power and sex. That Lori used these three things to get what she wanted, regardless of who was in the way. She then said that the three main obstacles in Lori's way were Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow and Tammy Daybell. She then proceeded to state how each of the victims had something that Lori wanted, and all are now deceased.
Lindsey referenced the Social Security benefits Tylee had received from her deceased father. “Tylee had money; Lori wanted it. Tylee is gone.”
JJ Vallow was difficult and took time and effort to care for, especially after the murder of his father Charles. The time and effort that Lori would rather direct toward Chad. JJ had social security benefits; Lori wanted it. JJ is gone.
Tammy Daybell stood in the way of Lori having Chad and money from a life insurance policy in Tammy’s name all to herself. And Tammy is gone.
“The defendant and Chad did what they had to do to any obstacle that was in their way of getting what they wanted,” Stated Lindsey.
Lindsey then went on and talked about Tylee's remains that were found in a shallow grave on Chad's property. That all that was left of her were "charred remains." "A mass of bone and tissue - that's what was left of this beautiful young woman - the defendant's daughter," Lindsey told the jury.
She also mentioned that Tylee's DNA was found on a pickaxe and shovel that were found located in a shed on Chad's property.
Lindsey then went on to talk about JJ's remains that were also found in a shallow grave on Chad's property. She talked about how his remains were found in garbage bags with duct tape around his head and arms.
Then Lindsey talked about how Tammy and Chad were home alone when she died and how Chad had moved the body. She also states that less than three weeks after Tammy's death that Lori and Chad were in Hawaii getting married.
Lindsey then states about how Lori switched Tylee's money over to go from her daughter's account to her own a little while before Tylee's death. She also talks about how she started receiving benefits on JJ's behalf before his death and continued to collect the money to support her lifestyle.
Lindsey then backtracked a little bit and stated that all of this started back in 2018 when Lori met Chad for the first time at a Preparing a People conference and how she was a big fan of him and his books. And that it seemed Lori and Chad had an instant connection and that they were flirty towards one another. Lindsey also touched base on Lori and Chad's shared religious beliefs, that they believed they had been married in past lives and that they were meant to be together. The couple also started telling people that they were figures from the bible. Chad even wrote a story for Lori that depicts them as these biblical figures and how that story mirrored some things going on in Lori and Chad's lives.
Lindsey goes on to say that after their initial meeting, Chad and Lori's relationship moves quickly and that they were in constant contact. How Chad even traveled to Arizona to visit Lori at her house while she had a gathering there while her husband was away. This is when Chad and Lori started talking about their rating system for rating people light or dark. And how people that were rated dark had essentially been taken over by evil spirits. Lindsey said this is when Chad started telling people how to get rid of the evil spirits. The first step was castings. Castings were prayer and energy work that time and time again didn't work, so they would have to move on to the next step which was destroying the body. They allegedly had to destroy the body because when the castings didn't work that meant that the person was just a zombie and unsavable.
Lindsey stated that Chad and Lori used their religious beliefs to justify to others their actions from affair to murder. This is when Lindsey segued into Lori's extremely close relationship with her brother Alex and how he would do anything for Lori. She said that Chad and Lori made Alex believe that his sole purpose in life was to protect Lori. Lindsey also talked about how when Lori moved to Idaho that Alex quit his job and followed her there.
Lindsey went on to talk about how Lori told people how she thought that Tylee and JJ were dark. Lori also started telling people that she was here on a mission to gather the 144,000 and she couldn't do that with kids in her life.
Lindsey goes on to talk about how when Alex followed Lori to Idaho, that he texted her that he had changed the Wi-Fi password to "Too many kids." Lori sent the text "funny" back.
Then Lindsey talked about a month or so after the kids were last seen how Lori took many trips, the first of which was to Arizona where she met with her niece Melanie Polowski and Zulema Pastenes. And Lori did a casting on Tammy. That same day is when Tammy came face to face with a masked man who pointed a gun at her, she heard a couple of pop sounds and then the gunman ran off. Later that day, a phone call was overheard from a mad Lori and an unknown individual where Lori stated something about "he can't do anything right." That night there were records that Lori and Chad had talked on the phone several times.
After Arizona, Lori then traveled to Missouri with Melanie P. and the two met up with Audrey Arcario. While in Missouri, Lori led another casting on Tammy. By this time, Lori and Chad had deemed Tammy as possessed by a evil spirit named Viola. Shortly after the trip to Missouri, Lori and Melanie P traveled to Hawaii with Audrey in tow. Lindsey talked about how the kids didn't go on these trips with Lori and how the kids were nowhere to be found and about how Lori continued to spend the kid's money on herself. And even though Lori didn't have the kids with her, she had Tylee's phone which she used to send her son Colby money.
Lindsey talked about while in Hawaii, Lori was in constant contact with Chad and once Tammy died, Lori immediately went back to Idaho. Once Lori was back in Idaho she went to Chad's house and met his kids and as well as his friends and neighbors. And that Chad and Lori when meeting them, couldn't keep their hands off each other. Chad and Lori also told them about their plans to get married. When asked if Lori had kids, Chad responded by saying that Lori had a young daughter that had recently died. Lindsey said that Lori never corrected Chad about that statement and that Lori never mentioned JJ. All she said was "Well i have some step kids."
Lindsey then talked about how not long after Lori meeting the people in Chad's life how Lori and Chad traveled back to Hawaii and got married. How Lori had been looking up their wedding rings to buy in May of 2019, months before Tammy or the kids met their fates. The rings that Lori was looking up was Malachite rings. That Malachite was very important to Lori and Chad and that Malachite rings were the rings that they ended exchanging at their wedding ceremony.
Also, according to Lindsey, Chad had begun looking at adding Lori to his life insurance policy. In the policy he marked that there were no minor children. He was also looking for rental property in Hawaii and on the application, he put that they didn't have any children either.
Lindsey then talked about law enforcement showing up at Lori's apartment in Idaho on November 26th, 2019 looking for JJ. Alex and Chad were there together. Later that day the police were able to make contact with Lori, who told them that JJ was with her friend, Melanie Gibb in Arizona. However, Melanie G had been told previously by Lori that JJ was with his grandmother, Kay Woodcock. And he wasn't with Kay either because Kay had been the one that called law enforcement about her missing grandson.
When law enforcement returned to Lori's apartment, she had cleared it out and had moved to Hawaii with Chad. This is when law enforcement had really started their investigation as to the whereabouts of JJ and Tylee. They talked to Melanie G. who told them that she didn't have the kids and that she was asked not to talk to law enforcement by Chad. That she had been asked by Lori to say she had the kids and to take random pictures of kids and pretend they were JJ and Tylee.
Lindsey goes on to talk about the phone call that Melanie G made to Lori and Chad on December 8th, 2019. In the call Melanie G asked where JJ was and why Lori had told law enforcement that JJ was with her. In the call Lori refused to say where JJ was but did say that he was happy and that she knew exactly where he was. Lindsey then reminding the court that JJ had been last seen on September 22nd, 2019.
Lindsey claimed that in the phone call Melanie G confronted Lori about Tammy's death. Lori stated that they did what they had to do. Lindsey then reminded the court about how Chad and Lori had claimed that Tammy was dark and reminded the court what they have to the dark ones once casting doesn't work.
Then Lindsey went on to talk about how on December 11th, 2019, Tammy's body was exhumed to be examined and that Tammy's cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation by the hands of another person. She then stated that around the time of Tammy's exhumation that Alex made a statement saying, "I hope i am not their fall guy." She then talked about how Alex died the next day.
Lindsey proceeded to talk about the conversations that Chad and Alex had with each other about people being light and dark. She talked about how Chad and Alex's phones pinged on certain dates. Alex phone had pinged driving past Chad's house on the day that Tammy had been confronted by the masked gunman. His phone pinged again on the day after Tylee was last seen on Chad's property over whereby her remains were found. Chad's phone pinged on his own property that day close to where Tylee's body was found.
In his opening statements he described Lori as a kind and loving mother who had an interest in religion, especially the end of times. He said told the jury that the prosecution wasn't sure what happened to JJ and Tylee and that it the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.
Jim then stated she had alibis for JJ and Tammy's deaths. That JJ died in the apartment of Alex Cox with Melanie Gibb and David Warwick, while she was in her apartment. And that she was in Hawaii at the time of Tammy's death.
Kay talked about when JJ was born to her son, JJ was premature with drugs in his system and was placed in the care of Kay and her husband. She stated that her and Larry took care of JJ for the first 6 months or so of his life. However, they came to the conclusion that even though her and Larry were JJ's legal guardians, that Charles and Lori had a better lifestyle for raising a child with special needs. So when Lori and Charles approached the grandparents about taking over custody of JJ, that it seemed like the right move with the stipulation that Larry and Kay remain involved in JJ’s life.
Kay talked about how her and Larry would visit JJ every three months when JJ lived in Arizona and about every six months when he moved him to Hawaii.
Kay then talked about how in February of 2019, Charles and Lori had split up and Kay had come and stayed to take care of JJ while Charles worked because Lori had deserted them and was nowhere to be found. Then Kay took JJ back with her to Louisiana for a few weeks. Then she talked about how Charles and JJ moved to Houston where there was better schools and Kay could travel back and forth easier to continue to help take care of JJ. She talked about how Lori still was nowhere to be found. That is when Kay began helping Charle's with his business and gained access to his e-mails and banking information. And that Charles, who had a $1 million life insurance policy, had changed the beneficiary to remove Lori to leave the money to Kay so that she could use part of it to take care of JJ and the rest give to Charles other two sons.
Kay then talked about how finally in April of 2019 Lori returned to Charles a d JJ. In June of 2019, Charles bought Lori and JJ a home in Chandler Arizona. Charles did not move into the home, he still had a place and Texas, and when he'd go to Arizona to visit JJ and Lori, he'd stay in a hotel. Kay said that during that time Charles planned on divorcing Lori, but sadly the divorce never was finalized.
Kay then said that Charles died on July 11th, 2019, and after his death Lori texted Kay asking about his life insurance policy.
Then Kay talked about the last time she saw JJ was the weekend of May 17th, 2019. They had given him an early birthday party at Mr. Gatty's pizza place in Louisiana.
She went on to say that after Charles passed away that she only had contact with JJ three times and all of them were on Facetime. The first was around June 20th, 2019 and it was very different from the calls they had had with JJ before. It was a very brief call that last 35 to 45 seconds. And instead of JJ holding the device he was talking on, someone taller than him was holding it for him and he kept glancing up at whomever it was. She said the next time she talked to JJ, he was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk. The conversation lasted under a minute and again someone was holding the tablet for him. August 10th, 2019 was the last time Kay heard from JJ. Someone was holding the device for him again. He said" Hi Maw Maw and hi Paw Paw." He then looked up at whoever was holding the device and told Kay and Larry he had to go and hung up. After the last time Kay and Larry talked to JJ, they tried in vain via phone, text, email and voicemail.
Rob Wood had Kay back track and talk about how shortly after Charle's death she had made arrangements to bring JJ back to Louisiana to attend Charles’s memorial service, but JJ and Lori never did attend the service.
Kay then talked about how she had been increasingly concerned about JJ's safety and how they found out about Charle's the death the day after it happened. That is when they contacted detectives and flew out to Arizona to talk to detectives in person and reiterate their concerns. Also, after the last time Kay and Larry spoke with JJ, they talked to detectives several times about being worried about JJ.
Kay also discussed that they hired a private investigator in October of 2019 in order to try to find out where JJ ways because there were rumors that Lori had left Arizona with JJ.
Wood then asked Kay if JJ had been with her in November of 2019 when Lori had told Meleni G that that is where JJ was, Kay said that he was never there. However, Kay did say that on the 8th of that month she learned where Lori was when she tried to hook up a printer that had belonged to Charles. She had logged into Charle's Gmail where she noticed a Amazon order status email that stated a packaged had been ordered a few days before November 8th and had been delivered to 575 Pioneer Road, Apartment 175 (Lori's apartment)in Rexburg Idaho. Kay then contacted law enforcement again and told them about the delivery and also what else she had found. Someone with Charle's account had browsed for dresses for a beach wedding, a bathing suit and a men's large white linen top and pants along with a couple of malachite wedding rings on October 2nd of 2019.
In January of 2020, Kay requested a welfare check on JJ by the Rexburg Police. At encouragement by the FBI, Kay also put out a reward in the aide for the search for JJ as well as media interviews. Around this time Kay discovered that Lori had married Chad.
Then Kay confirmed that she became aware of the bodies of JJ and Tylee being found in Chad’s backyard on June 9th, 2020, buried in shallow graves.
Under cross-examination by the defense, Kay was asked about how long she and Larry cared for JJ and about the adoption arrangements as well as the demise of the relationship between Charles and Lori.
Brandon testified that he had a close relationship with Tylee and JJ and choked up when he described how his oldest son and JJ had a special connection and spent a lot of time together.
Brandon talked about how he watched her grow up and he was also the one who baptized Tylee into the LDS church when she was eight years old.
He then talked about how Lori was more like a mom figure to Melanie P than an aunt and that Melanie P was always trying to be like Lori.
Brandon then talked about how in 2018 things changed with Melanie P. Before she had not been a big fan of going to church and he was the one who would drag her along. In 2018 she became more active in the church and started going to firesides, which were special religions activities. However, the firesides that Melanie would attend, Lori would be in tow for most of them and they were not sponsored by the church. Melanie P also felt the need to go to the temple everyday she also started to believe that the world was going to end soon.
Brandon went on to talk about how his family's relationship with Lori's family started to decline at the begging of 2019. Brandon and Melanie P received text messages and phone calls from Charles and Lori, where Lori had accused Chad of cheating on her.
Brandon then testified about how his marriage to Melanie P started to deteriorate after she had refused to go to his grandfather's funeral in June of 2019. The argument escalated and she claimed that she didn't feel safe with Brandon anymore, accused Brandon of hacking into Lori’s laptop and accused Brandon of being gay.
Brandon said that in July of 2019 they started divorce proceedings at Melanie P's request. He rented Melanie P a home and as soon as Brandon sold the house that they had been living in, he rented himself a place for the time being as well.
He then started talking about how on October 2nd, 2019, someone parked in front of his house and shot at him as he drove home from the gym. Brandon described a barrel of a gun with a silencer on it appearing out of the window of a Jeep he recognized as the one that Charles had bought Tylee. Brandon then heard a “bang” and his driver's side window was shot out. He sped away and dialed 9-1-1. Later he met with law enforcement and told them how he had recognized the jeep. He also talked to Lori's brother Adam Cox and her nephew Zach Cox about his encounter.
After the shooting Brandon said that he remembered the emails that Charles had sent him before he died about the religious groups Melanie P was involved with. When he checked the emails, he came by Chad Daybell's name. From there he started Googling Chad's name and found Tammy's obituary. Brandon then reported all this to the police and told them that there was something strange going on and then asked them to follow up on things. Further conversations with family, friends and police led Brandon to realize that no one had seen Tylee or JJ for some time.
Brandon began to get choked up again when he started talking about when he learned Tylee and JJ's remains where located. He talked about how he drove up to Rexburg on June 11th, 2020, and met with Larry and Kay. While in Rexburg, Brandon was asked by police to identify JJ's remains which he did.
There were no further questions asked of Brandon and court was adjourned for the day.
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