BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho attorney general has agreed to investigate the mother of two missing children and her new husband in connection with the death of his first wife. The mystery of the children’s disappearance and the deaths of three people close to the couple, including their spouses, has sparked investigations in several states and worldwide headlines.
Tammy Daybell’s death on Oct. 19, 2019, was described in her obituary as being from natural causes, and her husband, Chad Daybell, reportedly told authorities that she died in her sleep. But law enforcement became suspicious when he married Lori Vallow about two weeks later, and in December authorities had Daybell’s body exhumed. Autopsy and toxicology tests have not been released.
Lori Vallow came under police scrutiny in November after authorities learned that her two children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, had not been seen since September. Rexburg, Idaho, police say both Lori and Chad Daybell lied about the children’s whereabouts, and Lori Daybell is currently being held in jail on charges that she deserted or abandoned the kids, asked a friend to lie for her and obstructed the officers investigating the case. She’s pleaded not guilty.
Investigators say the tangled case includes two other mysterious deaths. Lori Daybell’s estranged late husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by her brother, Alex Cox, in Phoenix in July. Cox, who said the shooting was in self-defense, then died of unknown causes several months later.
