Serialously with Annie Elise - 5: Lori Vallow & Chad Daybell: Part 2. “The Devil At Work"

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell are at the center of a case that has stunned many due to its bizarre twists and turns. Lori Vallow is now on trial, apart from Chad Daybell. In today's epsiode of SERIALously, we dive into the perplexing story of two individuals whose actions have captured the nation's attention. This is Part 2 of our series on the Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case, so be sure to follow our podcast to listen to Part 1. And follow along on YouTube for the realtime trial update. In this episode, we will explore the timeline and what really was happening during the year of the kids missing, and how many other people may have died at the hands of Lori and Chad. Additionally, we highly recommend checking out the video version of this episode, which is available on YouTube, as it includes interview footage that provide a more in-depth look into the case. Follow Annie: https://www.instagram.com/_annieelise Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@annieelise Today's sponsors: Apostrophe Get your first visit for only five dollars at Apostrophe.com/ae Prose Take your FREE in- depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order today! Go to Prose.com/serial Babbel Get up to 55% off your subscription when you go to BABBEL.com/ae Magic Spoon Go to magicspoon.com/AE to grab a variety pack and use our promo code AE at checkout to save five dollars off your order!

buckle up and crank up that volume this is serialously with annie elise hey guys happy monday my name is annie elise your true crime bff and welcome back to an all new episode of serialously we have got a lot to talk about today, guys. We are going to be talking, of course, all things true crime, but we are doing a follow-up today to part one of the insane Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell saga. We covered part one last week, so if you have not listened to that one yet, highly, highly, highly suggest that you go give that a quick listen and then come back over here because today we are doing part two and we are following up on everything. So basically the trial has already started and

we're like knee deep in the evidence phase. There's a lot of witness testimony going on. So what we're doing in part one and part two of these episodes is we're going through every single shady situation, crazy red flag that was leading up to the trial beginning so that you can get really more grounded in who Lori and Chad are, all things that they had done because there were so many details that the public really wasn't even familiar with and so many red flags that the public didn't even know. And so we're going through all of that so that you can have like a full understanding A to Z of this insane case as the trial is underway. And it just, we're going through all of that so that you can have like a full understanding A to Z of this insane case as the trial is underway. And it just we're going through all of the twisted and psychotic things that they said that they did leading up to where we are today.

It's just it's going to be a it's going to be a crazy one, guys. So, again, I want to just give you a quick reminder that you can watch the video version of this podcast episode over on my YouTube channel 10 to life that is one zero and then the words to life but serialously the podcast is streaming on all podcast platforms so listen to the audio version but if you want the video version so that you can see the pictures that we're referencing videos that we're referencing things like that hop on over to YouTube but make sure that you're referencing, videos that we're referencing, things like that, hop on over to YouTube. But make sure that you're following along on this podcast so that you do not miss an episode. On the mysterious case that involves two missing children, three suspicious deaths, and a multi-state investigation. Lori's like gasoline.

Chad is the match. This story is insane. There's religion, sex, murder. We have one for a good job. Multiple marriages, multiple deaths. Two kids are in the center of it. Her idea was it was for her to get rid of the zombies. Are you guys innocent of any crimes?

Have you committed any crimes? Chad, Lori, can you tell me where your kids are? Would you tell me what happened to JJ? Can you tell me where your kids are? Would you tell me what happened to JJ? Can you tell me where Tylee is? She's now trying to leave the 144,000 as we get closer to the end of the world. I don't know how someone can actually believe that. Is JJ safe? He is safe and happy.

I know exactly where he is. So now let's recap really quickly what nut jobs Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell are and also Lori's brother Alex who's really intertwined with these two. It's really like the trifecta of just like nutty nut cases. So Lori claimed to have this personal connection with God in a way of where God was speaking to her, that she was the chosen one. She had told one of her friends that she was told by God to protect her. She had said that she had a vision, that she could create storms, create fire, and that she will have the eye of the Lord. She also claimed that her husband Charles was blocking her quote-unquote gifts from God, and Lori believed that she was an exalted goddess and that she was directed to lead the 144,000 with Chad to prepare for the end of the world. extraordinary abilities including teleportation causing harm to others calling up natural

disasters praying away demonic spirits and having visions like i said guys nut jobs and very indicative in my opinion of cult-like behavior they thought they were the chosen ones but don't all cult members and all cult leaders think that so now now we left off with JJ and Tylee's bodies being discovered on Chad's property, and this was in early summer of 2021. So what was happening behind closed doors for all of those months from when Lori's husband Charles was killed, their move to Rexburg, Idaho, and when the children initially went missing? We're going to examine the behavior and the movements of Lori, Idaho, and when the children initially went missing. We're going to examine the behavior

and the movements of Lori, Chad, and Lori's henchman brother, Alex Cox, during that year-long time frame and what was really going down behind the scenes. So Charles had sent messages to an unidentified person back in June of 2019 saying that he was fighting a crazy train who he's married to until he can get the heck out of there. And he also included in that message, it saying, it's stunning what she's trying to do to other people in our family. Then a few days later on June 29th, 2019, Charles actually discovered that fictitious letter that Lori sent as if it were him asking Chad Daybell to come to Arizona to help him write a book. She sent this email posing as her husband, Charles. That same day, Charles sent an email to Adam Cox, not to be confused with Alex Cox, but to Adam Cox, Lori's other brother, claiming that Lori and Chad were up to something, that he knew something wasn't

quite right, and he accused Lori of creating these false email accounts on his behalf and sending these emails to Chad. So when Charles discovered all of this, he told Lori to come clean about her relationship with Chad, and he said, come clean by the end of the day with the relationship, or I'm going to inform Tammy Daybell, is Chad's wife of this affair something's going on you need to come clean otherwise I'm blowing the lid off of everything so after Charles gives Lori this ultimatum basically saying come clean or else I am going to spill everything Charles and Lori's brother Adam intended to confront her and ultimately get her recommend card which is required to enter any LDS temple,

they were going to get that card taken away from her. But before they could do this intervention that they were planning to hold, Lori found out about it. She found out about it a couple of weeks later after they had planned it on July 9th. And she, of course, immediately went and sought out help from several people. Two people specifically, including Chad Daybell and her other brother, Alex Cox, and that is what set everything into motion. Two days later, after she discovered this planned intervention, on July 11th, Charles went to Lori's home to pick up JJ Vallow and

Tylee Ryan. Allegedly, Lori and Charles got into a very heated exchange, and Alex intervened in order to de-escalate the situation. Alex said that Charles hit him on the back of the head with a baseball bat at one point during this fight, and that he ultimately responded by fatally shooting Charles with a handgun in an effort of self-defense. That same day, though, get this, as this was all happening, this self-defense fictitious fight, I believe it was fictitious, I believe it was all a setup, that same day Chad called an Arizona funeral home. Literally almost 12 hours after Charles was killed and he tried to be, he was trying to pretend to be somebody else and even spelled his name as D-A-B-A-L rather than D-A-Y-B-E-L-L. And he was asking how much a cremation would cost. And he made a few other comments really just

showcasing the fact that he was 100% trying to impersonate some fake person that he conjured up in his head. And take a listen, because this is truly unbelievable. Hello, my name is ******. I'm with their calls. How can I help you today? We just had our death in the family, and we really don't want anything but a cremation, and then to send the cremains to a family in Louisiana. It's just a simple no nothing you have other than a cremation and sending him to the family for service in Louisiana so is there any way to know a ballpark price on that yes and I'm sorry for the loss thank you let me transfer you over to the director who can assist you with the pricing.

What is your name, please? It is Chad Daybell. How do you spell the last name, please? D-A-B-A-L, Daybell. How are you related to the person in the house? I am his nephew. And then also, this is for the Bowery of the Sons in Chandler, correct? Yes.

Thank you. Yes, he lives there in Chandler. I live in Iowa. Oh, okay. Thank you. Yes, I'm your uncle's name for reference, please? He is John Dayball. What's your last name? John. Okay.

John. Okay. Your first name? John. Uh-huh. Do you have a middle name? Myron. M-Y-R-O-N?

Yeah. And, Chan, what is your phone number in case you get disconnected? Myron. M-Y-R-O-N? Yeah. And, Chad, what is your phone number in case you get disconnected? Yeah, just number 515. I don't actually know my own number. Um, something like that would be great. Thank you. Uh, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Is he at a nursing home, hospital or residence? He passed away in a hospital.

I don't know the details. Thank you. Is he at a nursing home, hospital, or resident? He passed away in a hospital. I don't know the details. I'm just calling. Yeah, it's just for, um, to know, because sometimes it's different if it's a residential or hospital or nursing home. I'm thinking they're sending him to the medical examiner. I'm thinking of sending you to the medical examiner I'm not sure I should have had more information before I called. That's okay. I like information with shipping to which city? New Orleans. Okay, last moment to you, Chad, but stay on the line. Let me transfer you over to the director who can assist you with that. All right, thank you.

Thank you. Hello, Chad? Yeah. Thank you for holding. I do have the director, Clarissa, I'm going to have to send this to you. Okay, thanks. Thank you. Hi, I'm Carissa. I'm a new professional director with the Irish Assembly of Marines, Cemetery.

I understand that your uncle passed away. Yes. And I'm just starting the process for the family. He didn't have many relatives. I'm his nephew. I live in Iowa. I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, I have to see him go. I think he's going to the medical examiner.

I don't know all the details. So guys, this is where things go from bad to diabolical. I think he's going to the medical examiner. I don't know all the details. So guys, this is where things go from bad to diabolical. But before we get there, we are going to take a quick break because I just need to stretch my legs really quick. This chair is really cramping me up. Now that Charles has been killed, let's go into the timeline. The movements, the specific actions of Lori, Alex, and Chad, the actions that took place from the moment Charles died until when the children were found on Chad's property. And everything that Lori, Chad, and Alex were doing behind the scenes in secret, weaving their web of lies and just complete deceit. Back on June 3rd, 2019, Lori texted a friend saying, I just got home and got JJ to sleep. Let's go spiritually tonight and work on him.

We give the timing to the Lord, but we don't need to relent. This is war. And this message was a precursor of what was about to unfold with the children. Then a couple of months later on August 9th, 2019, JJ's service dog was put up for sale. Bailey, a golden doodle who was JJ's service dog, was put up for sale for $2,500. Why would you be getting rid of a service dog that you need for this young child? A couple of weeks later, on August 30th, 2019, the older brother of Tylee, Colby Ryan, spoke to his sister Tylee via FaceTime for the very last time. Any time after that that he tried to make contact with Tylee, Lori said that Tylee was unavailable to talk. This is the last contact that Colby ever had with his sister.

Then the next day, on August 31, 2019, Lori took JJ and Tylee from Chandler to Rexburg, Idaho. This is where Chad Daybell lived with his wife and his children in Rexburg, Idaho. Lori is now flocking up all the way to where the cult leader lives, which you can only imagine and guess what's going to happen next. She's going after him, wants to be with him, but he's still married and he still has his kids around. So what's the to happen next. She's going after him, wants to be with him, but he's still married and he still has his kids around. So what's the next plan? How are they going to get Tammy out of the way? We're going to get there. A couple of days later on September 3rd, 2019, the principal of Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg said that Lori enrolled JJ in the second grade. Then, two days later, September 5th, 2019, Lori told JJ's

former school that she actually got a job promotion in California and that that's the reason for his withdrawal from his original school and the move. She also tells the former school that Charles Vallow died a month earlier from taking his own life. Both complete untrue statements. First of all, Charles did not take his own life. He was killed by Lori's brother, by a gunshot wound. So why would you need to lie about that if it was self-defense, if Alex was just protecting you guys? But she does. She lies and she says that Charles took his own life, painting him as, you know, whatever she wants to paint him as. She also says that she got a job promotion in California so that's why she was pulling JJ out of school and why they were moving but they're not even moving to California they're moving to Idaho

and it's not for a job or not for a job promotion so why are you already laying the footwork to lie about your whereabouts it doesn't make sense and it smells really fishy. Now, what's interesting, too, is that just a couple of days later, Lori, Alex Cox, her brother, JJ, of Tylee being alive. This photo, in my opinion, was taken as a proof of life kind of photo. That's what I personally believe. And to act as though there's some happy family that they were going on this trip to Yellowstone, but it is the last time that anybody has been able to put a time stamp to Tylee being alive. And what's also very alarming with this is that during this time, Lori's best friend, Melanie Gibb, said that Lori had referred to Tylee as a zombie. And if you remember back from episode, the previous episode to this for part one, Lori and Chad referred to anybody who they deemed having these dark spirits as zombies. So she's saying

that her daughter, her own daughter, her own flesh and blood, Tylee, is a zombie and Tylee also goes missing. That same day, as moves are being made, and I believe they went to Yellowstone to get this picture because they needed some sort of documented proof, that very same day as they're doing all of this on this family outing, Chad signs an application with Tammy, his wife, to increase her life insurance policy to the maximum amount allowed on the policy. I get it. People sometimes increase their policy. There's no shade or blame or anything like that in that but you're doing it the same day that your paramour is making plans and up to some weird shady shit in yellowstone i don't like it make it make sense the very next day too which again the day before is the last known sighting of tiley the next day on september 9th phone records place alex co Alex Cox on Chad Daybell's property in the general vicinity and area where investigators eventually found Tylee's remains.

And that same day, as Alex Cox's phone is pinging all over Chad's property, Chad sends a text message to his wife Tammy saying that he shot a raccoon and buried it in their pet cemetery. Now, hold on. It was, in my opinion, an excuse for the fire, but I'm going to read this text exchange to you because it's such a random text to send. It makes no sense. It's almost as though he was laying the foundation to explain when she returned home why he had lit a fire on the grounds that day, why he had shot something. And remember, Alex is also on the property and Tylee was last seen the day before. So I think it's easy and fair for anybody to deduce the fact that that's the day that they were disposing of Tylee. So let me read you this text exchange. At 11 53 a.am, Chad texts Tammy, trick. He's now in our pet cemetery. Fun times. He then follows up with another message just three minutes later

saying gonna shower now and then go right for a while at BYU. Love you. Tammy responds hours later saying good for you and then Chad responds just one minute later saying, I'm back home now. So as I mentioned, at this point, it is suspected that Ty Lee was already murdered and disposed of. But JJ, the youngest, was still alive. But also, plans are now being made for Tammy's murder as well, which is why the life insurance policy was increased the same day that Tylee was killed. They were making moves in their master plan. A little over a week later, on September 17, 2019, a neighbor's camera footage picked up

movements of JJ playing outside of their Idaho home. So, JJ was still alive at this point on September 17th. Two days later on the 19th, Lori hired a babysitter through Care.com to come in to watch JJ. And the babysitter, it was her understanding that her care for JJ would be ongoing. But unfortunately, it wasn't. Because just three days later on September 22nd, JJ, who was just seven years old, attended classes at elementary school for the last time. He was also seen asleep with his uncle, Alex Cox, in Lori's apartment. And the very next day, Lori disenrolled JJ from school, and this all according to the school principal. And it's around this date and evening that it's suspected that something happened to JJ. A week later on October 1st Lori signed a contract for a 10x10 storage unit with self-storage plus.

Then throughout October and November security footage shows Lori repeatedly taking and removing items from the storage unit including belongings for both of the children. The day after getting this storage unit and signing that contract, Lori purchased a malachite ring on Amazon for $35.99. And what's so crazy about this is she didn't even use her own Amazon account. She used Charles, her deceased husband's Amazon account, to order this ring. And this ring is very significant, and the timing of the purchase is very significant. So remember this date, October 2nd. Lori buys this malachite ring on Amazon. A couple of weeks later, on October 19th, Chad calls 911,

and he says that his wife Tammy died in her sleep at their Salem home. So detectives come and visit the home, and investigators rule Tammy's death as natural. The coroner, though, does not perform an autopsy, and this was at the specific direction of Chad. Chad tells them and directs them, I don't want an autopsy, none to be done here. She died of natural causes. Case closed. Then on November 5th, less than three weeks after Chad's wife Tammy died, Chad and Lori are married in Hawaii. And guess what ring was used as their wedding ring? That malachite ring that Lori purchased on Amazon. The one she purchased on Amazon 17 days before Tammy died. Now let me just ask you guys this. I get that Lori claims that she talks to God and that God gives her instructions.

She has all these revelations. Is she trying to claim that God told her she was going to get married and that God told her Tammy was going to die in 17 days and to buy the ring now? If she died of natural causes in her sleep, as though Chad said and investigators deemed and all these things and there was no autopsy to be done, what's the likelihood and how big of a coincidence would it have to be that Lori buys her future wedding ring 17 days before Tammy died?

It's almost as though she knew Tammy was going to die in the near future, right? Not die of natural causes. It's almost as though she knew that this death was going to be coming. And also, her life insurance policy had just been increased. Almost as though somebody knew that they were going to need to cash it out it's weird it's shady but I'm telling you all things cult leader always are shady then two days after this cringe af Hawaiian wedding goes down I mean I'm telling you it was like so cringe I talked about it in the last episode but like these pictures on the beach are embedded in my

mind and will forever haunt me of Chad playing the dumb ukulele with a stupid, stupid face. But anyways, two days after their wedding on November 7th, Chad and Lori relied on a sign from God to arrive at her home on this date. And you know what's interesting? The two of them put an application to rent a master bedroom on an upstairs level of a home in Kauai, Hawaii. So they're now making moves to go to Hawaii two days after they got married in Hawaii, which I get it. You get married in Hawaii, you fall in love with the area, like, oh my god, this is beautiful. We should definitely move here. But if you have two kids, first of all, why aren't they at the wedding? But also why are you only interested in

renting a master bedroom, not an apartment where your kids could come with you and live, but you're only going to rent a master bedroom? Was it because the kids were already gone? Most likely. On November 8th, an email from Chad to a realtor in Kauai reads, Would the owners be interested in leasing this property to a clean couple with no pets and no children? There we go, guys. The bold statement, no children. They are saying that before the children are even reported as missing. Now, within the next couple of weeks, Lori and Chad go back to Rexburg. They go back to, you know, who knows, do whatever they

need to do, clean up the scene, whatever. And on November 26th, police in Rexburg, Idaho, conducted a welfare check on JJ and Tylee after JJ's grandparents, Larry and Kay, repeatedly could not get in touch with the kids. And police say that both Lori and Chad gave false statements on the kids' whereabouts. Hi. Hi. You Lori? Lori, I'm Lieutenant Ball, Police Department. How are you? You got a minute? Hi! Hi! You're Lori? Lori, I'm Lieutenant Ball from the police department.

How are you? You got him in? Yeah, I'm good. You alone, or did that help? My brother's here. We're here? This is a big mess. I just talked to the guy on the phone.

What did he ask you? He was just saying that he wanted to do a well check on JJ. So, JJ would be where? He's in Arizona. Who's he with in Arizona? He's with one of my friends in Arizona. Oh, you got a notepad? No, want me to get one? Ah, no, no. Come here. My friend Melanie. First time has autism. Her name's Melanie. I gave him all the information on the phone. Okay, so he can call? Yeah.

What is all this? We're a little concerned because, well, the officers who were here earlier were checking and they got a bad vibe like something was going on here because nobody knew anything about a child. They weren't talking. It's because a lot of stuff

has gone on. If you want to know, it's a lot of stuff. Well, that's you want to know, it's a lot of stuff. Well, that's why we're concerned because it just was kind of weird. It is very weird. I've had to move around a lot. One of my brothers is trying to kill me. Not the brother that lives here, obviously. He's kind of my protector. My other brother was in with my husband who was trying to kill me for my $2 million life insurance. So a lot of stuff has gone on in this last year.

It's been a horrible year for us. I've had to move around. And so I was going to move back to Arizona, put my son back into school there because I tried to put him in school here, public school at Kennedy. He went for two months. We tried it, but he had such a hard time. Now, the person who called is my sister-in-law, but she's his natural grandmother. He's adopted by us okay so her son who's a drug addict had a baby with a girl who's a drug addict and they took him from you know cps took him okay gave him to the grandmother she came about him and then she wanted us to adopt him which we did my husband and i who died earlier this year he passed away since he away, she's been trying to fight me for him and being really horrible to me and my friends. The? She's kind of the paternal friend.

Okay, thank you. That's what I mean. The paternal grandmother. He has autism and ADHD. He doesn't really talk to people. Like he's very special needs. So I had him in special needs school there. She was trying to, so what happened was my husband,

who we were married for 15 years and had raised all these five kids together switched his life insurance policy to her right to to his sister okay who got a million dollars when he died and we got nothing for me to raise JJ all the kids got nothing and everything I think she got a million dollars so I knew she was gonna try to sue me for him or yeah because she's not has this million dollars she can hire people to help and I have nothing but you have legal custody he's my son I adopted him right it's two years we had him from

time he was eight months old so two years old she does nothing who wants to cause me trouble so I don't tell people the truth about where we are and what we're doing because of those reasons so I look like a suspect I am not a good person raised all of my kids I've done everything that I'm supposed to do in life, but everyone is causing me trouble right now. We don't want to cause a lot of trouble. How long have you been here? We've only been here since September. This is very interesting because at this point, it's now just signaling that the kids are missing or that something is going wrong. We haven't been able to get in touch with the kids. Where are they? Let's do a welfare check. Well, weeks earlier,

Chad already had sent that email to the landlord saying they had no pets, saying they had no children. So here's the kicker here. That same evening of the welfare check, Chad and Lori left Rexburg and went back to Hawaii, literally in the middle of the night. In the middle of the night. It's unbelievable. Now during all of this, in the nights leading up to when they fled Rexburg, in the middle of the night after the welfare check, Chad wrote a patriarchal blessing for Lori's brother Alex Cox, in which he said that Alex would have nine angels assigned to protect him through his life, during which Alex had a great mission to fulfill. Now we have talked a lot about Alex being Lori's henchman being the one who killed Charles who most likely killed both children

who did all of Lori's dirty work for her which I think that the reason he did that is yes because he was in this cult and he was believing Chad a bit but I also think there was like some weird dynamic and power dynamic between Lori and Alex and I believe Alex did all of her dirty work not saying that Lori is not responsible I think she directed him to do it and I also think that Chad was behind this and was the driving force behind this because he told Alex in this blessing you have a great mission to fulfill. So is that mission making sure that Chad and Lori end up together with nothing in their way? Is that mission to get rid of the children or any obstacles that are in their way? What is that great mission to fulfill? So the day after the welfare check, Lori and Chad obviously fled in the middle of the night,

unbeknownst to anybody. So the next morning on the 27th, the Rexburg Police Department serves a search warrant, and when officers arrived, Chad and Lori were gone, in the wind, and the apartment was completely empty. At the same time, police also served a search warrant at Lori's storage unit, which they found blankets, bikes, and photos of the two children in that storage unit. A couple of days later, in a very odd, rushed twist, on November 29th in Las Vegas, Lori's brother Alex Cox marries a woman named Zulema, and it was in a very short, quick, eight-minute ceremony. I don't know if Chad and Lori actually were already in Hawaii. I know they left the apartment. They cleared it out and they left, but I have a feeling, and I don't think it's been confirmed anywhere,

but I have a feeling that they were in Vegas for this ceremony because according to flight records, Chad and Lori didn't catch an American Airlines flight to Hawaii until December 1st, and on those records, it showed that they were by themselves and that the kids were not with them. So it makes sense that they would go to this wedding, which I also believe Chad arranged this wedding for whatever reason. And then on December 1st, they fly to Hawaii. A few days later on December 6th, Melanie Gibb, Lori's best friend, contacted the Rexburg Police Department, and she told them that Chad and Lori had called her on November 26th, the day of that welfare check on the kids and the day that they had fled, and asked Melanie to lie about the location of JJ and to say that JJ was with her.

And Melanie at this point said, something didn't feel right about this. They asked me to lie about his whereabouts, so she finally did the right thing and called the Rexburg Police Department. A few days later, on December 11th, 2019, Tammy, Chad's wife, her body was exhumed by authorities to actually do that autopsy that Chad had been refusing because things weren't smelling right. So she had only died, you know, a month or so prior. He refused the autopsy. Now her body's being exhumed. They are going to perform that autopsy. What are they going to find out? Because they now believe that her death is suspicious. And we found out this week what the cause of death was, and I'm going to get to that in a second, guys. And as if the timeline and story couldn't get any

crazier, literally the next day after Tammy's body was exhumed and it was announced that they were going to perform an autopsy, it was less than two weeks after getting married in Vegas and one day after her body was exhumed, Alex, Lori's brother, suddenly dies at the healthy age of 51. Now, Alex's new wife, Zulema, spoke with officers and said that a few days before Alex died, he actually confided in her and told her that if anything happened to her, there was money in a bag hidden for her in the closet, almost as though he knew it was coming. Do you remember when he gave that to you? He didn't necessarily give it to me. He just a couple of days before he passed.

I don't know if he was like one day or two days before he passed. He said to me, Sulaiman, if anything happens to me, I want you to know that there is money in a bag in the closet, and it's for you. He said, it's not much, but it's for you. And then, so when you had that, let's go back to the conversation that you had with Alex, when Tammy's body is being exhumed.

Do you remember that conversation where you said you had confronted him and said, Alex, do you have anything to do with this? Why would you think that he may have something to do with it? So, Lori and Chad had called that day and they were the ones that told us that they were um that they were exhuming her body and the way they were talking they weren't really saying anything like oh we're

worried or anything like that um it was more of like a feeling that i had that was like this is really weird like shouldn't they be like having this kind of reaction type of thing you know not like so nonchalantly oh they're exhuming her body type of thing um I was like, why are they so not, not chivalry about it? Like, if, are they, are they hiding something? Did they do something? Did it not do something?

And so that's why I just, I wanted to, I knew that if I asked Lori and Chad about anything, they probably wouldn't say anything. But I thought that if they had been doing something, if they had done anything, Alex would probably tell me. So that's why I pressured him. Like, would you have anything to do with this? Like, facing this body and,

I think I'd find anything. Did you have anything to do with this? And he said, no. But, I mean, I don't know if that was true or not. Do you know what I mean? Okay. And the reason I ask is because, let's say, if my wife gets a call,

and they say one of her friends is being exhumed, that wouldn't be a question I would ask my wife is, did you have anything to do with this? That wouldn't even cross my mind. Do you know what I mean? It would be more like, hey, we're telling you it's getting exhumed. Right. Information-wise, this is what's going on.

So that's why I wanted you to maybe expand a little bit on maybe why you thought or suspected Chad and Lori may have done something to Tammy. Or that maybe Alex had known about something or had done something? So remember that they were saying that Tammy had become a zombie? And they were talking. I don't know who was saying who because they always like oh I was told, Laurie would say I was told and then Chad would say very little and then it was kind of communicated through her so it's kind of hard to tell who was that information was coming from but they were saying that Tammy was supposed to die on her trip to Utah she was supposed to have a huge like he had seen it in a vision that she was going to die in a car accident in the way there.

Or something was going to happen that she was going to pass away. And then when she didn't, she didn't pass away, then what they were saying was that she actually did pass away, but what happened was that she was taken over by an evil spirit, and then they were, that she had become a zombie. Okay? So, in the back of my mind here I am thinking okay they said the same thing about Charles right and then Charles ended up being shot right I'm thinking okay you guys are not trying to say that you guys are going to do something physically to people who are you know who are who are turning into zombies, according to them. That was my thought.

Okay. So, refresh my memory again, sat back on the like in the back and pressed his back towards like back of the bed the headboard and he goes no that's it there's no answer after that nothing else I was waiting for him to say something else and I'm like so like okay I'm like you're to say anything else? And he's like, no. Like, okay. So I thought when he was so, he seemed so sure of his answer, I was like, well, okay then. He didn't have anything to do with this.

Okay. And is that the same conversation, that's the same conversation you kind of got after, right? And we're pretty, maybe forceful is not the right right word but aggressive towards him as far as tell me what's going on yeah because that was when he because right after he you know so then i pressed for that for another answer and he tells me no right so then i am going so then i stand up and i started walking away because i'm like i don't know what to think at this at this point and that's when he said i think i am being being their fall guy. And I'm

like, the fall guy for what? What is it? Tell me. What is it that they're trying to pin on you? What did they do? And he just wouldn't say anything else. So then I get frustrated again because he's not answering my questions. So I turn around and I'm going to walk away again because I'm just so frustrated that he's not saying anything. And that's when he tells me either I am a man of God or I am not. What are the chances that the day after Tammy's body is exhumed, knowing that Alex is pretty much the henchman for all of these deaths, or safe to assume, I should say, that he dies mysteriously. It's way too close for comfort. Too many people are dying that are close to Lori and Chad.

A week or so later, on December 20th, the Rexburg Police Department finally announced that JJ and Tylee are missing. Police said that their disappearance is possibly linked to the suspicious death of Tammy Daybell, Chad's wife. And the following day, police called Chad and Lori persons of interest. So now the public and the police is on to them. So for the next month, news is spreading about the children being missing and Lori not cooperating. Reward funds are being set up. Kay and Larry give several interviews. Lori's son Colby and family members plead with

her to provide proof of the children's whereabouts. Everybody is just wondering, where are the children? If they're safe, if they're being hidden somewhere, even if you believe it's doomsday and you have them in an underground bunker, just show that there's proof of life. Do something. And everybody was pleading for Lori to do this, but she didn't, and she wouldn't. So on January 25, 2020, the Kauai Police Department served Lori with a notice stating that she must produce JJ and Tylee to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare or the Rexburg Police Department within five days. But she, of course, didn't, and she was arrested on February 5th. Now, over the next several months, the investigation continues, with both Chad and Lori being looked at as suspects for the children's disappearances,

and now for Tammy's death as well. But there was still no concrete proof that anything had happened to the children, and the public and family members, everybody was just holding out hope that they had just stashed them somewhere they were with a friend somewhere that they you know one of laurie's cult friends saying protect the kids everybody was hoping that that was the case even though deep down i think it's safe to say everybody myself included knew that that more than likely was not going to be the outcome unfortunately on may 8th 2020 a few months after alex cox had died the emmy's

office ruled that the alex died of natural causes and that it was due to blood clots in his lungs which is something i still have a very hard time believing because the circumstances and the timing was just too perfect and he was a 51 year old healthy man for it to be natural causes in my opinion i think the fact that he died the day after tammy's body was exhumed i don't know tell me what you guys think but i i don't know i i'm not buying that 100 on june 9th 2020 the rexburg police department the fbi and the fremont county sheriff's office served a search warrant at chad's home and within hours investigators uncovered human remains buried on the property, which were later identified as those of JJ and Tylee.

At around 11.30 a.m. on June 9th, Chad was taken into custody about a mile from his home. He was booked into the county jail on two felony charges of concealment, distribution, or alteration of evidence. And court documents suggest that JJ was buried in that same pet cemetery that he said he shot that raccoon down at on Chad Daybell's property and that Tylee's remains were dismembered and burned. So now Lori and Chad are both locked up. The children's remains are discovered. Everybody suspects that Lori and Chad are, of course, behind their murders, and everybody wants answers. Well, Chad's five adult children were convinced that their father was innocent, and they spoke out together to 48 Hours, saying that they wanted to tell his story, and how they believe J.J. and Tylee's remains ended up in their father's backyard,

and why they believe that he did not do it. They believe he wa of murder and deceit sayi needs someone to be a voi people know what's real a your father, Chad Daybell killing JJ entirely? No. bodies found buried in your father's backyard? I don't know, but I do know that if he were to commit a crime, he wouldn't be foolish

enough to put the evidence in his own backyard. Nor would a one-time professional gravedigger have dug such shallow, crude graves, says Seth. He knew how to dig graves, and that just doesn't sound believable to me. But investigative reporter and CBS News consultant Morgan Lowe says that argument doesn't hold up if Chad were in a desperate panic. Saying that somebody's prior experience as a grave digger means that they wouldn't just sloppily bury somebody. Discounts all of the psychological pressure that might be affecting

somebody who's trying to get rid of bodies. This is where Tylee's body was found. It was back here. Emma took us to her father's backyard to show us another reason why she believes her father wouldn't have buried JJ and Tylee here. You can look around for miles and miles. Their property is surrounded by plenty of places to hide a body. There's lands down there that no one would ever touch. What do you say to those people who are still very skeptical with all of this? It might seem like a convenient excuse, but if it's the truth, we have to hold to it. Emma believes the children were put in her father's yard on purpose. He was

framed. It all goes back to this woman, says Emma, her father's new wife, Lori Vallow Daybell. I think he was fooled in the worst, most deadly way possible. I guess it's possible that Chad was framed. This is either the least lucky person in the world, or this is murder. On August 3rd, 2020, during one of Chad's preliminary hearings, prosecutors introduced a recorded phone call into evidence. and this call was between Lori's best friend Melanie Gibb and the couple Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. So Melanie remember was the friend who they asked to lie about JJ's whereabouts when the children first disappeared and when that welfare check was done. So that request by Chad and Lori to lie to the police prompted Melanie to call them

a few days after she reported it to the police on December 8th and asked them why they asked her to lie. And she had the smarts to record the entire thing. And I want to play pieces of that call for you because it is unbelievable. But first, I'm going to go grab a Diet Coke. This is a recording on December 8th at 3.43 p.m. And I am calling Chad Day Bell's phone number and hopefully I will be talking to both of them, Chad and Lori. So here goes the phone call.

Hello, sweet Melanie. Hi, Chad. Hey, Lori. Hey, let me speak here. Oh, okay. All right. We're enough with the phone. How are you guys? We're okay.

How are you doing, babe? I'm doing pretty good, thanks. I was wondering, where are you guys? We're in the middle of a meeting. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I was wondering where you guys were. I was wondering where you guys were. I was wondering where you guys were. I was wondering where you guys were. I was wondering where you guys? We're okay. How are you doing, babe? I'm doing pretty good, thanks. I was wondering, where are you guys?

We're just hanging out. Are you in Idaho? We're in our Idaho. I just wanted to ask you a question, if you don't mind, Lori. Yeah, of course. I wanted to know, remember we talked about JJ going to Kay's house and you told me they went there and now he's not

there? I was wondering what happened. Well, I had to move in somewhere else because of her actions so was she was she doing something like was she trying to come get him or something or like trying to kidnap him well she's yeah she said that a couple times before but um okay I well when you know what I asked Chad the other day, I was like, hey, you know, where

is JJ? And he said, for my security, he didn't want me to know. So is there a reason I should be in danger to know where he is? No, it's nobody. It's his danger. It's the danger that there's people after me. Okay. So if you knew that puts you in a danger well just in a bad position

everybody if they don't know anything then they don't have to say they know right so you're just worried okay um to keep him protected and keep you protected and keep everybody else i appreciate that um well i was wondering why you told the police why he was with me i just needed to talk somebody that i so i wouldn't have to tell them where he really was because they are going to tell Kay where he is. Yeah, so do you think it's like your family? Or, you know, like your family, your dad, or, you know, those people? Well, my family, well, not my whole family, but as you know, most of my family is working against me and with her, basically.

Yeah. Is JJ safe? She is safe and happy. Okay, well that's good to hear. Are you afraid of anything? Like, are you afraid to tell me that you're just afraid that he, that I could be in danger like you're like I don't like if I knew like how could that hurt me I don't understand all that could hurt me if I know where he was well I'm just not telling anybody so that nobody has to say where he is or get questioned to where he is so I can keep them as safe as possible. Yeah.

Okay, I hope that he's okay. I hope you guys are okay. I did have a question that I asked Al at one point, your brother, if I wanted to know, you know, like where he was, and he said I did not want to know and that he could not be found so what does that mean I don't know why he would say that but it's the same story like I I don't even want Al to know I don't want anybody to know so that nobody has to be worried about it i mean nobody has to be questioned about it so he can be safe yeah so are you i mean are you how long are you gonna

be away for like how i mean are you ever gonna be able to come out and come back to society again are you gonna keep you know like come back i mean like what does that look like I just wondered if I was ever gonna see you again absolutely well okay so so maybe when they're done chasing you you'll be able to come out of... Will they be able to come out again, or...? Yeah, I mean, it's a ridiculous thing for them to be working with Kay to find me. There's nothing that's going on that's... You know what I'm saying? Like, they're working with her in some dark capacity. The police are working with her in some dark capacity.

There's no reason for them to be after me in the first place yeah has she has she threatened you at all yes lots of times what did she say well it's in emails and everything so so like she said she was going to come take him, or she was... There's a lot of things. Yeah. Really. I know.

It sounds like it. I'm just worried for you guys because, you know, he's missing, and, you know... I know exactly where he is. He's perfectly fine and healthy. Okay, well, I hope so. I have a scripture I wanted to share with you, if you don't mind. I'd love it. I was thinking about some of the things you guys have gone through,

and I saw the scripture today, and I wanted to ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. Okay. So, did Alma turn himself into King Noah? Or what was he required to do? Well, King Noah was incredibly wicked.

So he fled his evil ways, which was adultery and living riotously and breaking all the commandments. Right, so what was he required to do? He had to go and flee so that he would be safe and then help other people realize how jacked up the system was and the government was. What about Moroni?

What was he required to do at the end? To carry on those plates and bury them. What did he have to do to do that? He had to hide. He had to hide because they were so... Everybody was killing everybody in the society. Everybody was dying. And the scriptures had to hide in the cavity of a rock by day and go out by night. The prophets did. They did. Yeah.

Okay. So thank you for sharing that with me. Okay. This scripture is just something that may be thoughtful for you. Behold, this is Deuteronomy, section 3, verse 7 and 8. It says, For behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set not the counsels of God and despise his words, yet you should have been faithful and he would have extended his arm and supported you against

all the fiery darts of the adversary. He would have been with you in every trouble. So when we work with the Lord and our obedient he has he's gonna protect us from adversarial darts and all kinds of negativity but when we open the door to Satan he comes in and then he attacks and then he takes away to make it look like somebody else took it away but that's not how God works he doesn't work in darkness I agree with you 100% that's what the Lord is doing for me exactly what he's doing for me oh just just darkness is knocking on the door all the time because that's the way dark works with the light and I promise you that I have

done nothing wrong in this case but sometimes you have to hide in the cavity of a rock for your own life safety. And that's what the Lord requires of you sometimes. And that's how it is. And I'm sorry that's how it is, because there is a lot of darkness on the earth. I know. This. She's been after me for zero reason besides the darkness of K, which you already know she's dark. I haven't met her enough to know if she's dark or not.

I've just met her slightly, and she seemed like a normal kind of person, but then I haven't engaged with her that much, so I don't know that personally. So you don't know about her changing the thing for herself to be the beneficiary of the policy and all that stuff? None of that's dark, right? Well, I haven haven't seen those documents so i have no way of knowing you've seen them on my computer no i have no i haven't looked in on your computer before you haven't shown me anything i don't know why you're being controversial to me or if you're recording this conversation for the police or whatever i don't know what your intention is on this one call well with all my heart and

i have forever and i will always i appreciate those words but if you really love me you wouldn't have told the police that i had jay-z with me that's not that's not what a friend does i mean that just makes me look weird and it just just, it's not safe for me. That doesn't look good. I mean, you have to think of my welfare if you love me. I do, and I did exactly what I felt the Lord was instructing me to do. And I appreciate you, and I love you. And I would never do anything to harm you. And you can have all of this confirmed to you by the Lord.

Have. And my conscience is clear. I feel very understanding what's really going on, Lori. And I believe that you have been very deceived by Satan. I believe that he has tricked you. And I just, I don't believe that what you're doing is correct. I just don't, I mean, Tammy dies and then your husband died and then he's, and then he's missing. It just doesn't sound like God's plan to me. It just sounds, it gives me a gut feeling,

like in my gut, it feels weird. It doesn't feel right. I don't have peace about it. I never have felt 100% peace about it. I always felt like a little weird in my stomach about all these things. You know me, Mel. You know me. This does not sound like you. This sounds like you've been influenced by somebody dark who wants you to believe dark things and have fear, have fear of the celestial world.

I don't have fear. You obviously do. No, I have a piece of conscience and I can see clearly. Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way. I love you so much. Oh, I do. I don't know what else to say. Stand with Christ when he comes again and he's coming soon and we will all stand there and you will know at that point that he has supported me and has supported me the whole time and I have not been deceived.

I just want to testify that I know Tammy. I've done conspiracy theories. My sister-in-law is right behind it all. And I hope that you're not being influenced by that dark team. I don't know who she is. I'm sorry, you said your sister-in-law? I don't even know her. I know, but she's coming up with the same type of theories. And it's just not true. My own children were there. They testified that Tammy had been getting weaker and sick and I begged her to go

to the doctor. She just, her heart was failing her. She was physically falling apart but she hates doctors and she just passed away. That's how it happened. My son Garth was right there with me the whole time. My kids were at the house within 20 minutes of her passing. There were two coroners. I checked her out right there on the bed. All these conspiracy theories just make me sick to my stomach. Just absolutely sick. I know I've been told for years that Tammy would pass away at a young age. I had no idea that Lori would even be a part of my life. I just knew that my life had two segments. And I know Tammy's on a special mission and she's with my kids, she's visited them.

There's so much, Melanie, that you just have to have faith. And this is not some sort of master plan. There's no way, Logan, I should ever come up with this. It's just... You can understand my concern, correct? I can from an outside perspective, but from a... From someone who knows as much as you know? No, not really.

But we can feel Dave's influence on you. I can feel that for sure. He's a very good man, and he has a very strong foundation that I know. I know, but he seems to be the one that's putting the doubts in your mind. No, no. you know what? I have come to understand that my gut feeling, I was not listening to it. And I always felt uncomfortable with many things. Okay.

Well, I'm sorry that I included you in those teachings then for your own sake because I wish that you didn't have as much knowledge as you have because you will be accountable for the knowledge that you do have mom. So will you. I agree 100%. I have no fear. I have no fear of that. But I really, you know, I was reading the story of Korahor, and it is so very similar to this, you just can't see it, but he did it because he was trying to reclaim a people, and he thought at the very end, because of his carnal and natural desires, that's what influenced him.

And he was very... Carnal and natural desires? Well, honey, you've got a lot of natural desires. We all know that. That's what you think of me, Cora? Are you kidding me right now? I think both of you have similarities. It's in the scriptures.

It's in the scriptures. Now, for the past two years, three lori and chad have been waiting for the trial but it has been continued many times at both the state and defendants requests for numerous issues including the issue of lori's mental competency she was ultimately determined to be mentally competent and she and chad were finally set to have their joint trials together in april of this year, despite many requests by Chad's lawyer to sever the case from Lori. Now, since Chad had waived his right to a speedy trial,

he has all the time in the world to just wait for trial. And most recently, his lawyer argued that the state has just disclosed new evidence that could be exculpatory for Chad's defense. So they filed another motion to sever his case. Lori, on the other hand, has never waived her right to a speedy trial, so because of this new evidence, Chad's motion to sever was finally granted, pretty much because the judge didn't have a choice at this point but to allow the defense to conduct their own testing of the DNA, which would take several weeks. So now Lori and Chad are having separate trials, which brings

us to where we are today, as Lori's trial is now fully underway and many questions remain, which hopefully most of the answers to these questions will be answered as the trial goes on. What exactly happened to Tylee and JJ? When did all of this start? What role did Lori and Chad play in their deaths? And how does the religious beliefs of this couple play a role into this entire case overall? Lori is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths, as well as grand theft for collecting government benefits on behalf of her children after they were killed. Yes, you heard that right. Lori continued to receive government funds as if the

children were still alive after she knew they were not. Trash, garbage bag human being. But let me talk to you about the trial really quick. The trial is closed and it is not being aired anywhere, so I have been doing weekly recaps of the trial on my YouTube channel, Tend to Life, where we go over all of the key takeaways the bombshells and the major revelations such as this week we learned that tammy's cause of death was asphyxiation it was not natural causes we also learned that one of the pick axes that was in chad's shed on his property had the children's dna on it which a pickaxe is kind of like um i'll put a picture up on the screen but let me describe it to you it's basically like it kind of it's not a normal

traditional looking axe it almost looks like an ice pick but bigger it has like it's almost like an upside down anchor if that makes sense you know and we know that tylee was found dismembered so was that used for it possibly but there were a lot of bombshells last week in the first week of the evidence and witness testimony portion of the trial so i'm doing the weekly recaps on my main channel where i break down all of that for you because the trial isn't being aired anywhere and it's really difficult to get the audio so if you want to be fully caught up in real time as this trial is happening right now make sure that you go and check out those videos. I just published week one yesterday as we head into week two of the trial this week. This case is just one that

continues to fascinate me and feels unbelievable not only because so many people close to this couple have died but because this woman who was said to have been such an incredible loving mother cared so much about family it's almost as though and i don't want to put it all on chad like she was brainwashed by chad but for this woman to do this to her own children just to impress and be with this cult leader chad daybell and then as after the kids are murdered be so happy in hawaii at the wedding making plans for their future together a huge smile on her face as though she had no care in the world all the while her children's dismembered and dead bodies are buried on her husband's property it is sick and it's one of those things where it's like cults are always fascinating don't

get me wrong i am always fascinated by cults and we're going to talk more about that in next week's episode so hang tight but cults are always fascinating but when you have now this element of like murder involved her own children family members start dying off all of these shady emails the life insurance it is just such a complex and unbelievable case. It really is. So as I mentioned, Colts, we're going to talk more about that because I am so fascinated by Colts and I know so many of you guys are as well. And I have an amazing surprise guest for you on next week's episode of Serialistly because we are going to talk all about Colts with this guest. So do not miss that. And as a reminder, new new episodes of serialistly release

exclusively to the podcast every single monday and then the video version of the episode will be uploaded later in the week on youtube so make sure that you are following the podcast so that you hear it there first and by following the podcast there's an option on whatever podcast platform you listen to where you can literally follow it as though it's like an Instagram account so that you'll get notified when the new episodes are published. And that way you don't have to wait and be the last one to hear it when it hits YouTube. So guys, thank you so much for tuning in with me today on another episode of Serialistly. Remember, if you are in the Chad Daybell saga and Lori Vallow saga and you want to be caught

up in real time as we're watching this entire trial unfold hop on over to my YouTube channel because I'm doing my weekly recaps of everything that goes down in the courtroom I also have a source who has been in the courtroom the last few days who has been giving me some inside intel via text message which I will share that with you guys there as well and we'll break down everything that's happening in real time all right guys thanks so much please don't forget if you enjoyed this episode to rate it and leave a review and let me know what questions you guys have in the comment section of the youtube page so i can answer them in next week's episode all right guys thanks for tuning into another episode and i will

see you next monday all right bye All right. Bye.