48 Hours - Lori’s Lies: Inside the Lori Vallow Daybell Trial

Episode Date: April 26, 2023

The jurors hear emotional testimony and a never-before-played phone call from Colby Ryan, Lori Vallow Daybell’s only living child. The prosecution brings in a new set of witnesses to hint at Lori’s lies and introduce financial documents to double down on their theory that Lori’s motive was “money, power, and sex.” CBS News National Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti and 48 Hours producer Richie Fetzer bring you back inside the courtroom and share insights into the shocking witness testimonies and the new evidence brought in front of the jurors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. You ripped my heart out and you ripped out everyone in this family's heart out. Welcome to another special episode of 48 Hours. I'm Jonathan Vigliotti. You just heard the voice of Kobe Ryan, Lori Ballard-Abel only living child and brother to JJ and Tylee. Lori's trial for the murders of her two youngest children,

Joshua, JJ Vallow, and Tylee Ryan is currently in its third week. She's accused along with her husband, Chad Daybell, of JJ and Tylee's murders, as well as Chad's late wife, Tammy Daybell. They've both pleaded not guilty. Chad Daybell's trial will be happening at a later date. For two weeks, we've covered opening statements and the prosecution's first set of witnesses. Again, our team is reviewing the audio from the proceedings and sharing highlights of the prosecution's witnesses in this third special episode. Today, producer Richie Fetzer is back. He's been working with 48 Hours for almost a decade and has been covering this case from the start. A lot happened last week.

Despite there being no court Monday or Friday, 17 witnesses took the stand. So yes, there were 17 witnesses. By far, the most heart-wrenching testimony this past week came from 27-year-old Colby Ryan. He's Lori's only living child and the brother of JJ and Tylee. And it was reported that Colby avoided looking at his mother, Lori, while he was in the courtroom. And it was also reported that when he first walked in, Lori mouthed the words, oh, my baby. And Colby's testimony was emotional, especially when he was asked to identify the photo of

his sister. He was also asked to identify JJ. Let's listen to a clip. Do you recognize that person? Yes. Who is that? That's my sister, Tylee Ryan. Okay. What was your specific relation with Tylee Ryan?

She was my half-sister. Okay. Mr. Ryan, I'm going to show you what's been marked previously and admitted as States Exhibit 4. Do you know that person? Yes. Who is that? My little brother, J.J. Fallow. And prosecutors presented what we've never heard before, a phone call between Kobe and his mother

after the remains of JJ and Tylee were found on her husband Chad Daybell's property. Lori had already been arrested on child abandonment charges and was in jail. This is the first time this call has been played, and we will say this audio, it's a little bit hard to hear. A reminder, this is a jail cell recording being played back in the courtroom. Colby says, quote, you murdered my siblings. Those are strong accusations. He goes on to say, I thought I could trust you.

I thought that you were a completely different person. I don't know. I don't know. I'm your best mother. You can make judgments when you weren't there and you don't know what happened. And Colby does not seem to be holding back. I trusted you. I gave you every chance I could, past my own limitations as a human being. I pushed past all of everything to try to get to you, to help my own mother you lied to me specifically to me more times than I can count about this. To know that they're gone

and you knew and my phone's being texted by my little sister, who's not even alive. My little brother, who's the sweetest little kid ever. Colby then asks Lori if Jesus Christ is on her side. After everything that you've tried to tell me, you can tell me right now that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is on your side.

You tell me that with all the conviction in your heart that Jesus Christ is on your side right now. Please. I can't tell you that. Lori replies after a little pause, I can tell you that. You might also have heard some sniffling in this recording, and that's actually Colby crying on the stand while listening to this audio played back in the courtroom. Yeah, that's right.

Something that really stands out to me in this audio is how Lori responds to Colby during this conversation. And at one point, Matt? We all will stand there. Everything into the light. You're absolutely right. He will convict the people who acted his name with pure blasphemy. Is this funny? This is funny? This is funny. You're laughing. Like this is funny. Wow, funny. You're laughing. Like, this is funny. Wow. That's just incredible to hear.

After this, Lori tells Colby no one knows what happens except her, JJ, and Tylee. The police weren't there. The FBI weren't there. Your mom was there? Colby was there. Tylee and JJ, mom. Yeah, and just like they know, they know exactly what happened. After this, Lori goes on to tell Colby how she's always been there for her children. Go ahead and judge me. The whole world has judged me. After this, Lori goes on to tell Kobe how she's always been there for her children. I'm the one that was there doing everything with JJ every day. I was the one who did it all these years.

You did it all to throw it in the garbage. You don't know what happened. You don't know what happened. You don't know what happened. It doesn't freaking matter what happened if they're buried in your new husband's backyard. Tell me that matters what happened. You tell me that you did this in Jesus' name, Mom. What's clear from this jail cell recording, Colby is not only angry. In his mind, it seems he knows what happened, accusing his mother of murder.

Yeah, I don't think there's a question after hearing this. And even through his anger, Colby goes on to say he's praying for his mother. And I pray that you see him and fall into his grace. I pray every day. I pray no matter how mad I am at you, no matter how bad I want to hit your husband in the face with a shovel. I pray for you. I pray for him.

You've ripped my heart out, and you've ripped out everyone in this family's heart out. When I listen to those recordings from that jail cell, I mean, it's what sticks with me is that anger. Yeah, it's anger. And you also just hear, you're hearing from somebody that feels like they've been deceived by their own mother. That's something that's hard to listen to. And listening to Colby talk to her, I don't think there's any question, in his mind at least, that she's responsible for what happened to JJ and Tylee. During cross-examination, Lori's attorney asked Colby if he ever heard Lori talk about the alleged extreme religious beliefs raised by prosecution witnesses the previous week. Remember in our last

podcast, we heard from a couple witnesses about how they say lori talked about how evil spirits could inhabit people's bodies making them zombies and how she and chad had this ability to rate people as light and dark did she teach you about zombies no did she teach you about casting out evil spirits? No. Did she teach you about light and dark scales? No. So Kobe is saying he wasn't taught any of this, but he has gone on the record saying that he did notice a shift in his mother's behavior around the time that she met Chad Daybell. We're going to take a quick break. When we get back, more testimony from the Laurie Vallow Daybell trial. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island.

It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario,

the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just The Best Idea Yet.

We're back. There was a lot of talk about finances, bank accounts, social security payments, and that $1 million life insurance policy for her previous husband, Charles Vallow. Yes. So that was a big part of this past week's testimony. The prosecution seemed to really be highlighting the money part of the money, power, and sex line that they said in their opening statements. Prosecutors seemed to be suggesting that she had her brother, Alex Cox, kill her then-husband, Charles Vallow, to collect that life insurance policy. One detective who testified said that money is often a motive in homicides. This detective also looked into that $1 million life insurance policy that belonged to Charles Vallow. We heard

about that policy last week. Did someone attempt to make a claim? Yeah, when I contacted the insurance company on July... I'll object, John, or you're saying? Overruled. You can continue to answer. Thank you, sir. On July 17th, I believe it was around July 17th, I contacted the insurance company and Lori had tried to file a claim on that million dollar policy. Now, Richie, dozens of documents were entered into evidence last week. What else did prosecutors point to? So while Tylee and JG were missing, prosecutors say Lori's new husband, Chad Daybell, sent an email to a realtor in Hawaii. This was just days after he and Lori were married on that same island.

And Rexburg police detective Chuck Concitus read that email in court. Mr. Davao writes, we're interested in seeing this property. Would the owners be interested in leasing this property to a clean couple with no pets or children. Please let us know. Thank you. What is the date on that document, on that email? It's November 8th of 2019, three days after they were married. Okay. What was the significance of that to you and your investigation? Well, they're looking for a residence and telling them that they don't have any children. No children. And obviously now what we know makes that all the more chilling.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the children hadn't been seen for two months now. And Chad saying that is just really incredible to hear. Yeah. In November, before the police conducted the welfare check on JJ and before the children had been reporting missing by anyone, quote unquote, no children. Prosecutors, they say Chad wrote something else that to prosecutors seems to have major implications. And I remember learning about this as we covered this for the first episode that we did almost three years ago. It's a text that he sent to his then wife, Tammy. It was sent just one day after Tylee Ryan was last seen alive at Yellowstone National Park. Here's an FBI analyst reading it from the stand.

Well, I've had an interesting morning. I felt I should burn all the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms. While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times. One shot did the trick. Fun times. Those words are seared in my brain from that first episode we did.

To prosecutors, this seems pretty damning, doesn't it? I mean, he's giving an explanation to his wife for a fire, as well as a new grave in their pet cemetery. And then we just learned this past Monday that prosecutors introduced evidence about Chad Daybell's search history, which featured a search for what direction the wind would be blowing in that same day. And it's important to remember how badly Tylee's remains were burned, as well as the fact that she was found months later in what prosecutors call the Daybell's backyard pet cemetery. And prosecutors also spent a lot of time

pointing out lies they allege Lori's told about JJ and Tylee's whereabouts. Prosecutors bring in witnesses, a babysitter and school administrators. What's the prosecution doing by bringing in these witnesses? So it seems that the prosecution is trying to pinpoint stories that Lori was telling people. And investigators believe that Lori told blatant lies about where JJ and Tylee were because at this time, the detectives believe that JJ and Tylee had already been murdered and were buried in Lori's new husband, Chad Daybell's backyard. What did she say? So according to prosecution witnesses, Lori told many people that Tylee was attending Brigham Young University in Idaho,

which is in Rexburg. Prosecutors called the school's dean of students to testify. He says that Tylee never applied to BYU-Idaho and had never been a student there. And then as for JJ, Laurie enrolled JJ in school, but removed him about three weeks later. And she told school administrators that JJ would be homeschooled with his grandparents in Louisiana, that he'd be staying with them. And we know that that probably wasn't true, because you remember that Kay Woodcock, JJ's grandmother, is the one who initiated the investigation into the children's whereabouts when she asked for a welfare check for JJ. And investigators say Lori didn't just lie to school administrators.

She lied to them. Yes, so that's true. The prosecution played a five-minute police body camera video from that welfare check for JJ where Lori responds to Rexburg police detectives. check for JJ, where Laurie responds to Rexburg police detectives. The officer remarks that Laurie described her husband, Chad Daybell, who she'd recently married, as her brother's friend. When we addressed Chad Daybell, she referred to Chad as her brother's friend. However, at this time, number one, I had seen the two of them affectionate together in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby. Number two, at this time, we also knew that

they had previously been married. Also in this body cam footage, Lori tells officers that her friend Melanie Gibb had JJ in Arizona and took them to see the movie Frozen. Now, remember, Melanie would later tell police that wasn't true. And Melanie actually secretly recorded a phone call with Chad and Lori where she confronts them about JJ's whereabouts. She later handed that recording over to police. Detective Stubbs, the police officer wearing the body cam footage, he sums up all of these alleged lies pretty clearly here. Did you find any of those statements, were they by and large accurate or were they by and large inaccurate? By and large inaccurate. So you've got police officers, friends, school administrators, the list of people Lori's accused of lying to is very long.

I know we heard from one more person she allegedly lied to, and that's April Raymond. Who is April Raymond? So April Raymond is Lori's friend from Hawaii. She attended church with Lori, and their children would socialize with each other. April testified to a visit that Lori made to April in Hawaii in early 2019, where Lori says to April that her husband Charles was having an affair and that she needed a place to stay. Now, who was visiting with Lori Vallow when she was at your home at this time? Tylee was with her. Where was JJ? JJ was with Charles was my understanding. Okay. And did the defendant say why she didn't bring JJ? She said that she was

done with JJ and that Charles and his sister Kay would need to figure it out. Richie, what does she mean by done with JJ? So April testified that the context of that was that Lori and Charles were about to get a divorce and that she'd be no longer responsible for JJ. But it definitely sounds very ominous considering that JJ was murdered. And that wasn't the only moment April Raymond said she found strange. How about when she brought up Ned, that demon Lori claimed was inhabiting Charles' body, who we heard about last week. Let's listen to this clip. So she had said that Charles was already dead and that there was a demon living inside him and kind of using his body as a host. And that the demon's name was Ned Snyder.

Did you follow up on that? Did she give you any sort of evidence of this? When I asked, how do you know that it's not Charles? She said, because he's shorter. A demon named Ned who is physically shorter. Richie, help me make sense of this. So I mean, the name Ned Snyder always gets me. It sounds like an accountant more than it sounds like a demon. But it seems to be, at least from April's testimony, that Laurie's saying that

Charles was physically shorter, which is hard to understand. it's important to remember that this conversation april's testifying to is just five months before laurie's brother alex cox shoots and kills charles vallow and then two months before chad daybell's wife tammy daybell dies there's records that were collected by police that indicate an email address associated with Lori was used to look up and even purchase wedding rings. And then on the day of Tammy's funeral, that same account was used to search for a wedding dress in Kauai. This was all revealed this past Monday as a part of exhibits that were introduced by the prosecution. And then later on Monday, prosecutors also brought FBI Special Agent Nick Balance to the witness stand.

Balance works with the Bureau's Cellular Analysis Survey team, which maps out cell phone usage from cell tower records, Google location tracking data, and more. We can expect him to continue to testify into Tuesday. What else, Richie, can we expect in this next week of trial? So that's going to be the big question. The witness list, obviously, as I've mentioned previously, has been sealed. The thing that I wonder is when and if and how the prosecution can lay the foundation of what actually happened to JJ and Tylee. We've heard about how they were found, but I wonder if we're going to hear about how they believe they might have been killed and the circumstances around it.

All right, we'll leave it there for now. Our team at 48 Hours will be reporting on the Lori Vallow Daybell trial. We plan to bring you the latest coverage and analysis throughout the trial exclusively on the 48 Hours podcast. In the meantime, be sure to follow and listen to 48 Hours wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. Richie, thank you so much for debriefing us again. We'll check back with you soon. Great. Thank you again for having me, Jonathan. I'm looking forward to the next update on this trial. I was startled, awake. I started screaming.

A 55-hour reign of terror. I did Tyra. And he was hurting mom. And I said, please, I'll do anything. Please don't kill me. Follow and listen to the 48 Hours Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com

slash survey. Booster Juice is bringing back the classics, celebrating 25 years of Canada's favorite smoothies with the return of the Ornsticle, the original, and the Marathon. Download the Booster Rewards app today. 25 years of Canada's favorite smoothies with the return of the Ornsticle, the original and the marathon. Download the Booster Rewards app today. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty, representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld,

and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals.

Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now.