BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Lori Vallow Daybell is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and two counts of conspiracy after her two children were found dead and buried in her husband's backyard.
The case of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell captured the attention of people across the nation, even garnering a Netflix limited series. The purpose of this report is to provide a timeline the events we know in a single place and will continue to update this story . The trial for Lori Vallow Daybell begins April 3, 2023.
Lori Vallow was married to Charles Vallow. They lived in Arizona with Lori's two children JJ Vallow, and Tylee Ryan. In early 2019, police reports and body camera video show Charles Vallow pleading for Lori to get mental health help. The video shows Charles Vallow explaining to police that he is afraid for his safety and the safety of the children and that Lori had threatened on more than one occasion to kill him. Police determined she was in a normal state of mind and was medically cleared by Community Bridges, which is a non-profit behavioral health program. In February 2019 Charles Vallow filed for divorce. He claimed she viewed herself as a god preparing for the second coming of Christ, according to court documents. Charles claims Lori would kill him if he got in her way to perform her mission.
On July 11, 2019, Charles Vallow arrived at Lori's rental home to take JJ to school. Lori's brother, Alex Cox, then shoots and kills Charles Vallow. Alex and Lori told police that it was in self-defense and no charges are pressed at the time.
By the end of August 2019, Lori, Tylee, JJ, Alex, and Lori's niece Melani moved to Rexburg, Idaho. Rexburg is roughly ten minutes from the small town of Salem where Chad Daybell lived with his wife of 29 years Tammy Daybell. The couple had five kids together. Chad and Lori met at a conference where Chad was speaking and selling his books. Chad owned a small publishing company and wrote books about the end times. He reportedly believed that he was a prophet that was here to lead God's chosen few through the end times. Chad and Lori had begun a relationship before Charles and Lori had separated.
On September 8, 2019, Tylee, JJ, Lori, and Alex visited Yellowstone National Park. Police say this is the last time anyone saw Tylee alive. On that same day Chad signed an application with Tammy to increase her life insurance to the maximum amount allowed on the policy. The next day, September 9th, phone records place Alex Cox on Chad's property near where investigators would eventually find Tylee's remains. That same day Chad allegedly texted Tammy saying he shot a raccoon and buried it in their pet cemetery, the same location where Tylee was later found.
Lori enrolled JJ at Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg on September 3, 2019, but less than three weeks later JJ attended class for the last time and Lori unenrolled him. Lori reportedly told some people that she planned to homeschool JJ, and told other people that they were moving to California for a new job. Tylee was never enrolled in any school in Idaho, but Lori reportedly told people, including investigators, that she was attending BYU-Idaho.
On October 19, 2019, Chad Daybell called 911 and said that Tammy died in her sleep. It was initially ruled she died from natural causes and no autopsy was performed. Tammy was buried on October 22nd.
Two weeks later on November 5, 2019, Chad and Lori were married on a beach in Hawaii.
Chad and Lori returned to Rexburg where Police conducted a welfare check on November 26, for JJ at the request of his grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock who live out of state. They had not been able to get ahold of the boy for months and were worried for his safety. Lori told police that JJ was with her friend, Melanie Gibb, in Arizona. Police quickly determined that JJ was not with Melanie. Police said that witnesses were told by Chad and Lori that Lori had no minor children and that Lori had told people that Tylee had died years earlier.
The next day, November 27, 2019, Rexburg Police served a search warrant, but when officers arrived Chard and Lori were gone. Court documents indicate that on December 1, Chad and Lori caught an American Airlines flight to Lihue, Hawaii. The children were not with their parents.
On December 6, Melanie Gibb contacted police to say that Chad and Lori called her on November 26 and asked her to lie about the location of JJ.
As Fremont County Sheriff's Deputies continued to investigate, they determined that Tammy Daybell's death was "suspicious" and exhumed her body on December 11 to perform an autopsy. The results of that autopsy have not been released, but details are expected to be revealed during one of the upcoming trials.
On December 12, 2019, Lori's brother Alex Cox died in Arizona at the age of 51. He was found gasping for air in his bathroom by his stepson. His wife told police in an interview that a few days before he died, Alex told her that if anything happened to him, there was a bag of money hidden in a closet for her.
On December 30, 2019, Rexburg Police issued a news release saying they had information indicating that Lori knew either the location of the children or what happened to them. Rexburg Police called the parents' lack of cooperation "astonishing" as they continually refused to cooperate.
On January 7, 2020, Kay and Larry Woodcock, JJ's grandparents, traveled from Louisana to Idaho and announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the children. January 10, 2020, Chad's brother Matt Daybell pleaded for him to cooperate with the investigation. Matt said his family had little association with Chad due to his religious claims.
Kauai Police served Lori a notice stating she must produce JJ and Tyle to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or the Rexburg Police Department within five days. On January 30, Lori missed the 5 pm deadline to produce the kids, and on February 20, 2020, Lori was arrested by Kauai Police on a $5 million warrant. Lori was charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court. Lori was extradited back to Idaho on March 5.
East Idaho News reported on April 9, 2020, a letter from the Idaho Attorney General stating that Chad and Lori were under investigation for conspiracy, attempted murder, and or murder.
Chad Daybell was arrested on June 9, 2020, and initially charged with two felony counts of concealment, distribution, or alteration of evidence. That same day, Rexburg Police Department, FBI, and Fremont County Sheriff's Deputies served a search warrant at Chad's home. Within hours investigators uncovered human remains buried on the property which were later identified as JJ and Tylee.
After a string of court proceedings, including a motion to combine both Chad and Lori's trials by the prosecutor, a grand jury indicted Chad and Lori on several new felony charges, including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder on May 24, 2021. Prosecutors announced the charges during a May 25 news conference, releasing the indictment containing additional information surrounding the homicides of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy Daybell.
On March 2, 2023, District Judge Steven Boyce ruled that Chad and Lori's cases were separated, after new evidence was submitted regarding DNA testing.
A date has not been set for the trial of Chad Daybell yet.
Some of the information contained in this article comes from the reporting East Idaho News.
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