Lori Vallow-Daybell: The complete timeline of her missing children
Lori Vallow-Daybell and the case of her missing children ruled the headlines in December 2019 as police desperately searched for her kids. But it quickly became apparent Vallow-Daybell was suspect number one in the disappearance of her children.
While we now know the story ends as Lori Vallow-Daybell and her husband Chad Daybell await their trial, it’s been a tremendous journey. In case you’re not caught up on the tragic deaths of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, here’s the full timeline of what went down over the past year.
Life before the disappearance
A few events in Lori Vallow-Daybell’s past play into the disappearance of her children, and are worth noting before going into the disappearance timeline. First off, Chad Daybell is Vallow-Daybell’s fifth husband. Vallow-Daybell’s first two husbands don’t matter, but Tylee’s father and Lori’s third husband Joseph Ryan mysteriously passed away in 2018 from a heart attack.
The bigger mystery is Lori Vallow-Daybell’s fourth husband Charles Vallow. At the beginning of 2019, Charles tried to get Lori mental health help but doctors said she was mentally sound. In February 2019, Charles filed for divorce against Lori. In the divorce filing, Charles said Lori claimed she was the second coming of Christ, and if Charles got in her way, Lori would kill him.
On July 11th, 2019, Lori Vallow-Daybell’s brother Alex Cox shot and killed Charles. The death was initially ruled as self-defense, but police have reopened the investigation after the situation with Lori’s children.
The last time JJ and Tylee are seen in public
Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow disappeared from the public eye on two different days. On September 8th, 2019, the Vallow-Daybell family went to Yellowstone National Park. According to the FBI, this is the last time anyone reported seeing Tylee alive.
Lori Vallow-Daybell moved Chad Daybell, Tylee Ryan, and JJ Vallow to Rexburg, ID in August 2019, so Vallow-Daybell went to register JJ for his new school on September 3rd. For the first few weeks, JJ attends his classes as normal. But within three weeks, Vallow-Daybell pulls JJ out of school, telling those at the school she plans on homeschooling JJ.
After JJ is pulled from school, neither child is seen by anyone again. A friend of Tylee’s says she received a text from Tylee’s number saying “hi. miss you guys too …luv ya.” But outside of that text, no one heard from the children again.
Lori Vallow-Daybell and Chad Daybell start acting funny
October rolls around, and Lori Vallow-Daybell rents a storage unit. Throughout October, Vallow-Daybell and a mystery man, later identified as her brother Alex, frequented the storage unit.
Meanwhile, Chad Daybell’s ex-wife Tammy reports being shot at by a man with a paintball gun on October 9th, 2019. Just ten days later, Tammy Daybell is dead from natural causes. The family holds a memorial service for her on October 22nd.
Less than two weeks later, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell fly to Hawaii for a beach-side wedding ceremony. The two are officially married on November 5th, but of note, the wedding ring Lori wears was purchased on Amazon on October 2nd.
Between their wedding and the police report filed by relatives, Lori Vallow-Daybell and Chad Daybell claimed she had no minor children. Sources say Lori told them Tylee died years ago, and JJ never existed.
Extended family gets worried
On November 26th, extended family members of JJ are concerned as they haven’t seen him in months. They reached out to Rexburg Police to perform a welfare check on Lori and JJ. When police arrived at the townhouse, JJ was nowhere to be seen. Lori Vallow-Daybell told police JJ was in Arizona with a family friend.
The next day, police went back to the Daybell residence with a search warrant, but no one was there. According to court documents, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell flew to Hawaii on December 1st, with no children. Police open an investigation into the disappearance of JJ and Tylee at this time.
As police continue their investigation, people gave tips about Lori & Chad. Melanie Gibb reached out to police on December 6th informing them Lori & Chad called her on November 26th, asking her to lie and say JJ was with her. Tammy Daybell’s body was exhumed to perform an autopsy as well.
On December 12th, Lori Daybell-Vallow’s brother Alex Cox passed away under mysterious circumstances. His death is also under investigation. December 20th rolls around, and police go public with their investigation into JJ and Tylee’s disappearance.
The same day, the Daybell’s lawyers release a statement calling the parents “loving and devoted.” The legal team also stated they’d address the allegations against the Daybells when they stopped being fueled by rumors.
Lori Vallow-Daybell refuses to help
The end of 2019 comes, and Rexburg Police are no closer to finding JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. They release a statement on December 20th, 2019 claiming “Lori knows either the location of the children or what has happened to them.” However, Lori was still refusing to help police as she fled the state after police checked up on JJ.
On January 3rd, 2020, police searched the Daybell home and confiscated numerous electronics. Finally, on January 25th, the Kauai Police Department ordered Lori Daybell-Vallow to turn over the children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or Rexburg Police within five days.
Lori Daybell-Vallow misses the deadline, and on February 20th, she is finally arrested on two counts of desertion and non-support of dependent children. Held on $5 million dollar bail, Lori Daybell-Vallow tries to waive her extradition to Idaho, but is finally extradited on March 5th.
On March 6th, Vallow-Daybell makes her first appearance in Idaho as her bail is lowered to $1 million dollars. But she has been unable to post it, so Vallow-Daybell to this day is still behind bars.
The trial advances
While COVID-19 has altered how quickly the case can progress, Lori Vallow-Daybell’s case is still proceeding. Chad Daybell is investigated or conspiracy and attempted murder and/or murder against his wife Tammy, and Lori is investigated for those as well.
The biggest discovery in the case against Lori Vallow-Daybell though is the discovery of JJ and Tylee’s bodies. On June 9th, a search warrant was given to Rexburg Police after finding something odd in the backyard. When the mysterious object turned out to be human remains, police brought in a backhoe to dig up the body.
Chad Daybell was arrested on the 9th as well once they discovered the body in his backyard. June 10th, family members identify the two bodies in Daybell’s backyard as JJ and Tylee. Lori Vallow-Daybell’s charges are changed to two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
At this point in time, nothing has progressed further with either case. Both Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell are pleading not guilty to all charges. The legal team for both are trying to combine their cases into one, to make the trial easier. For now, Lori’s trial is set to run from March 22nd to April 2nd, 2021.
