Murders of Tylee Ryan and J. J. Vallow

Chad Daybell
Daybell's 2020 mugshot
Born	Chad Guy Daybell (1968-08-11) August 11, 1968[18] Provo, Utah, U.S.[18]
Alma mater	Brigham Young University (BA)
Spouses	Tamara Douglas ​ ​ (m. 1990; died 2019)​ Lori Vallow ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	5

Chad Guy Daybell (born August 11, 1968, Provo, Utah)[18] married Tamara "Tammy" Douglas (May 4, 1970 – October 19, 2019) in Manti, Utah, on March 9, 1990. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1992 with a B.A. in journalism[18] and worked for a time as a copy editor for a daily newspaper.[19] At various times during and after his studies, he supported himself by working as a cemetery sexton, or gravedigger.[20] His first religious-themed fiction book, An Errand for Emma, was published in 1999.[21] Chad eventually left his job at the cemetery to focus on his writing. In 2001, he published One foot in the grave, a non-fiction book which chronicled his experiences working in cemeteries.[19]

In 2004, Chad founded Spring Creek Book Company, which he used to self-publish his beliefs regarding end times and other religious books. His partner in this venture was a man identified in media only by the name Douglas, a graphic artist and manager.[22]

Chad published dozens of fiction and non-fiction books, aimed at a Latter Day Saint audience. His novels often depicted apocalyptic situations and dystopian futures, and featured characters based on his own family.[23] Chad claimed that he had had two near-death experiences, which allowed him to receive supernatural visions. He commented: "I don't fictionalize any of the events portrayed [in my books]. I'm really not that creative… My torn veil allows information to be downloaded into my brain from the other side. The scenes I am shown are real events that will happen."[24]

Chad and Tammy had five children: Garth, Emma, Seth, Leah, and Mark.[18] By the end of the 2000s, the Daybells faced financial problems. At that time, Chad's publishing business guaranteed an annual income of approximately $2,000. Both spouses had to work part-time to supplement that income,[25] with Chad being employed again as a cemetery sexton.[20] Eventually, Chad salvaged his company and found an audience among people concerned by the Second Coming of Christ. He published several other authors,[26] notably end-of-days clairvoyant Julie Rowe.[27]

Suzanne Freeman, another author published by Chad Daybell, later said that his religious views had radicalized during the 2010s, that his books had become less focused on Latter Day Saint teachings, and that she had stopped working with him after becoming convinced that his beliefs about the coming Apocalypse were dangerous.[26]

In 2015, Chad claimed he heard a voice telling him to relocate to Rexburg, Idaho. He and Tammy moved there from Springville that June.[28]

Lori Vallow Daybell
Daybell's 2020 mugshot
Born	Lori Norene Cox (1973-06-26) June 26, 1973 Loma Linda, California, U.S. [29]
Other names	Lori Norene Lagioia Lori Norene Ryan Lori Norene Vallow Lori Ryan Vallow Lori Vallow Daybell Lori Ryan Daybell
Spouses	Nelson Yanes ​ ​ (m. 1992, divorced)​ 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	Colby Ryan Tylee Ryan Joshua Jaxon "J.J." Vallow

Lori Ryan Daybell,[lower-alpha 3] also referred to as Lori Vallow Daybell, was born Lori Norene Cox on June 26, 1973, in Loma Linda, California.[29]

In 1992, at the age of 19, Lori married her high school boyfriend Nelson Yanes, but the marriage ended in divorce shortly afterwards.[36]

In October 1995, Lori married William Lagioia when she was 22 years old.[37] They had a son named Colby in 1996, before divorcing in 1998.[28]

In 2001, Lori married Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr., who legally adopted Colby.[28] The couple's biological daughter, Tylee, was born in 2002. They divorced in 2005.[28] In 2007, Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, attacked Ryan, claiming he had been abusive to Lori and the children.[38] Cox was sentenced to jail for the incident. Ryan was later found dead in his apartment in 2018 from a heart attack. Lori, listed as his next of kin, was notified, but his family was not informed until five weeks later when no one had claimed his body.

In February 2006, Lori married Leland Anthony Vallow, commonly going by the name Charles, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[28] Charles, who was a lifelong Catholic, converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for Lori. Charles had two sons from a previous marriage,[39] and in 2013, they adopted his grandnephew, Joshua Jaxon "J.J." Vallow.[40] The couple later moved to Kauai, Hawaii in late 2014.[28]

Around 2015, Lori became interested in Chad Daybell's Standing in Holy Places series of books. The Vallow family moved back to Arizona in 2016, and in the fall of 2018 Lori met Chad for the first time at a "Preparing a People"[lower-alpha 5] event. Chad claimed to Lori that they had been married in seven previous lifetimes. They started communicating privately afterwards.

After their initial meeting, Lori's husband went on a business trip, giving her the opportunity to hold a small overnight gathering at her home. Chad and Gibb were among the attendees, with Chad captivating Lori and the group by sharing his unique religious beliefs. He claimed to have lived 31 different lives on different planets and categorized people as “light” or "dark," based on their affiliation with Jesus Christ or Satan. Chad referred to Lori as an "eternal being" of 21 separate lives, five of which coincided with his own experiences on Earth. This belief system fascinated Lori, leading her to develop a strong attachment to Chad and his teachings.[42]

On December 5, 2018, Chad and Lori appeared together on the Preparing a People[43] podcast episode "Time to Warrior Up". Chad later stayed at the Vallow residence in Arizona.[28]

Chad and Lori shared a well-documented obsession with certain Mormon-influenced[44] apocalyptic beliefs,[45] which Chad discussed in numerous books and podcasts.[46] Melani Boudreaux, Lori's niece, reportedly shares these beliefs.[47] According to a 2020 affidavit, Vallow's beliefs extended to a belief in zombies.[48] Vallow and Daybell reportedly told close friend Melanie Gibb that they belong to the Church of the Firstborn, a fundamentalist Mormon group that is often identified as a doomsday cult.[49]

By February 2019, according to Charles Vallow, Lori informed him that "she no longer cared about him or J.J.". She claimed to be the reincarnated wife of Joseph Smith and vanished for 58 days.[40] The same month, Charles filed for divorce, citing threats to his life, as well as the theft of US$35,000 from their joint bank accounts and his truck. He sought a protective order against Lori at the advice of his attorney.[50]

On July 11, 2019, Charles was shot and killed in Chandler, Arizona, by Lori's brother Alex Cox,[51][52] who claimed self-defense. Cox alleged that he confronted Charles about abusing his sister and retrieved his gun in response to being struck with a bat.[53] Police did not pursue the matter further, and Tylee and J.J. witnessed the incident.[54] In June 2021, Lori was indicted for conspiracy to murder Charles.[55]

Before Charles' death, his attorneys stated he had been primarily concerned for J.J.'s safety and well-being, as he needed a consistent routine due to his special needs.[50] Charles was also concerned for Tylee, but he was unable to include her in the filings as she was not his biological daughter, nor had he filed to legally adopt her, and thus he had no legal standing. He withdrew the petition one month later, saying he "wanted to try to make the marriage work."[28]

On October 9, 2019, Tammy reported being shot at in her driveway by a masked man with a supposed defective paintball marker. The perpetrator was not identified. Ten days later, Tammy was found dead in her home, apparently from natural causes. Chad claimed that she had retired the previous night "with a terrible cough" and died in her sleep.[56]

Tammy's body was not autopsied initially due to Chad’s refusal and the coroner’s acceptance of his decision. However, two months later, Tammy's body was exhumed and examined. The autopsy results, completed by February 2021, were publicly revealed in April 2023 during Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial. It was determined that Tammy Daybell had been asphyxiated by someone else.[8][28]

Shortly after, the Fremont County prosecutor's office announced they would be handling the case going forward. In a subsequent interview, one of Tammy and Chad's children, Emma, said that her family had not been contacted regarding the results of her mother's autopsy.[57]

According to police reports, Chad Daybell received $430,000 in life insurance payouts after Tammy's death.[25]

Alex Cox[lower-alpha 4] died on December 12, 2019.[58] His death was attributed to blood clots and high blood pressure.[59]

Chad and Lori were married in Hawaii on November 5, 2019, two weeks after the death of Chad's first wife, Tammy Daybell.[61] The couple resided in a gated community in Kauai and reportedly lived off the money Chad Daybell had received from his wife's life insurance.[25] During this time, they falsely told others that Tylee had died in 2017 and/or that Lori had no minor children. On November 26, police visited Lori's townhouse in Rexburg for a welfare check on J.J. at the request of his grandmother. Lori claimed that J.J. was in Arizona with a family friend, Melanie Gibb.[28] However, when contacted by police, Gibb stated that J.J. had not been with her for several months.[3] That night, a neighbor observed Lori and Alex Cox packing a truck outside her home.[62] The following day, when the police and FBI arrived to search the house, it was abandoned. Chad's home was also searched by investigators.[62]

Gibb eventually contacted the police, revealing that both Lori and Chad had asked her to lie about J.J.'s location, but she refused. Police efforts to locate J.J. led to the discovery that Tylee was also missing.[3] From December 2019 to January 2020, law enforcement agencies intensified their investigation into the disappearances of the children, as well as Tammy's death and Chad and Lori’s departure from Idaho. Evidence was collected, and Tammy's body was exhumed for an autopsy. Colby and J.J.'s grandparents pleaded with the Daybells to return the children, even offering a $20,000 reward. Investigators expressed concern for the children’s safety, asserting that they were not with Chad and Lori and that Lori had refused to cooperate with the investigation, opting to leave the state with Chad instead.

The Daybells’ lawyer stated that "Chad Daybell was a loving husband and he has the support of his children in this matter,” adding that Lori was a “devoted mother” who “resents assertions to the contrary.” The lawyer expressed the intention to “addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor."[28]

Authorities focused on a storage locker in Rexburg that was rented by Lori in October 2019. They discovered belongings linked to Tylee and J.J., including clothing, bikes, and photographs. These items had been left behind when Lori abruptly left Rexburg in late November 2019. Video footage captured Lori and her brother, Alex Cox,[lower-alpha 4] moving items to and from the locker before her departure.[63]