- Police have been looking for doomsday couple Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow to question them about Vallow’s two missing children.
- A local police department’s investigation into Vallow’s missing children in November has unraveled a series of suspicious events surrounding the couple, including the mysterious deaths of the couple’s previous partners.
- Here’s a timeline outlining the tangled web of missing children and mysterious deaths surrounding the doomsday couple.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The tangled web surrounding doomsday couple Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell seems like it was ripped right out of a movie script: two missing children, the mysterious deaths of the couple’s previous partners, and the couple’s involvement in a “religious cult.”
The mystery began to unravel when the Rexburg Police Department began the search for Vallow’s missing children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “J.J.” Vallow. However, the series of suspicious events surrounding the doomsday couple started long before the authorities started their investigation in November.
Here’s a timeline outlining the tangled web of missing children and mysterious deaths surrounding the doomsday couple.
March 9, 1990: Chad and Tamara “Tammy” Daybell marry in Manti, Utah
Chad married his first wife in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah. The couple later started an independent publishing company called Spring Creek Book company in 2004. Chad wrote over 25 doomsday prep books under the company directed towards Mormon audiences, including fantasies of a dystopian world wrought by bioterrorism attacks and catastrophic natural disasters.
Source: The Post Register
2001: Lori marries Tylee's father, Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr.
Lori and her third husband, Joseph Anthony Ryan, married in 2001, however, the exact date of the marriage remains unknown. The couple went on to have Tylee Ryan on September 24, 2002. Joseph later adopts Lori's son Colby from her previous marriage. Lori and Joseph eventually get divorced by 2005.
Source: The Post Register
February 24, 2006: Lori weds Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow
Lori and Leland "Charles" Anthony Vallow marry in Las Vegas, Nevada making him her fourth husband. Charles worked as a managing partner at R.I.T.E. Planning Group and PFS Marketing LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile. Together, the couple adopted a son on the spectrum named Joshua "J.J." Vallow. He is the biological grandson of Charles' sister Kay Woodcock, who is married to Larry Woodcock.
Sources: The Post Register, LinkedIn
July 2014: Lori and Charles officially adopt Joshua "J.J." Vallow
Charles and Lori finalize the adoption of their son Joshua Vallow, better known as "J.J." He is on the spectrum and is the biological grandson of Charles' sister Kay Woodcock, who is married to Larry Woodcock.
Sources: The Post Register, East Idaho News
End of 2014: Charles and Lori move to Kauai, Hawaii with Tylee and J.J
According to business records filed by the Vallows, the family moved with Tylee and J.J to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Lori is later found vacationing on the same island with her new husband, Chad Daybell, in January 2020 - this time without the children.
Sources: The Post Register, Insider
2015: Lori is reported to be obsessed with Chad Daybell's doomsday books
Lori reportedly became "obsessed with Chad's books" around 2015. Lori was especially infatuated with "Standing In Holy Places" series, a fictional series about various "exciting prophesied events that still must occur before the Second Coming."
"Those books she got really obsessed with and started buying me those books too," Lori's friend told Fox5 in an anonymous interview. "She must have gotten close to him from his book."
December 5, 2018: The first documented connection of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow first appear together on a podcast called "Time to Warrior Up" with Preparing a People, a doomsday prepper group that Lori's relatives worried was a religious "cult." The two appeared with others on several different Preparing a People podcast, many of which talked about the end of the world. The organization that produced Preparing a People content has taken down its content connected with Lori and Chad and has since tried to distance themselves from the doomsday couple.
Sources: East Idaho News, Insider
February 2019 to March 2019: Lori mysteriously disappears for 58 days
According to Lori's family, the mother disappeared without a trace for 58 days, leaving the kids with family members. It is still unknown where she was during this time.
Source: East Idaho News
February 8, 2019: Charles Vallow files for divorce from Lori
Charles filed for divorce from Lori in February 2019. According to court documents obtained by Fox 10, Vallow claimed that Lori believed she was a god preparing for Christ's second coming. He also claimed Lori threatened to kill him if he got in her way, and said she transferred $35,000 of the couple's money to an unknown bank account. He later dropped the divorce filing and attempted to reconcile with his wife.
Source: Fox 10 Phoenix
July 11, 2019: Charles is shot and killed by Lori's brother, Alexander Cox
Charles went to Lori's rental home in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up J.J. During an altercation, Lori's brother Alex Cox, fatally shot Charles in the chest twice. Cox claimed it was "self-defense" and was never charged by police. According to Charles and Lori's property manager, Joe Pongratz, neighbors reported a pool party at Lori's house later that day with "loud music and lots of people swimming."
Sources: East Idaho News, The Post Register
August 10, 2019: The last time Larry and Kay Woodcock reportedly speak with J.J.
Larry and Kay Woodcock say they last made contact with J.J. in August 2019 in an interview with KSL TV. The couple said they FaceTimed with their grandson for 35 seconds before the call ended.
Source: KSL TV, East Idaho News
September 2019: Lori, Tylee, and J.J. move to Rexburg, Idaho
Lori, Tylee, and J.J. moved to Rexburg, Idaho at the beginning of September 2019, although the reason for their move remains unclear. According to Lori's Arizona landlord, he asked the family to vacate the home where the shooting took place, possibly prompting their move to Rexburg, Idaho. Tylee originally planned to move in with a friend in Arizona but decided she wanted to remain with her little brother, according to Tylee's friend.
"She was just protective of J.J. cause he was her little brother," the friend said.
Source: The Post Register
September 23, 2019: J.J. is last seen at his new school, Kennedy Elementary in Rexburg, Idaho.
After a short period of attending Kennedy Elementary in Rexburg, Idaho, Lori unenrolls J.J. from the school. She reportedly told the school's principal that she would be homeschooling him. The last confirmed sighting of Tylee Ryan is unknown, however, police believe she was last seen around this time as well. According to police, Lori and Chad told witnesses that Tylee died in 2017. Chad told another witness that Lori had no minor children.
Source: East Idaho News, Rexburg Police Department
October 9, 2019: Tammy Daybell calls police after a masked assailant attempted to shoot her with a paintball gun
Tammy Daybell, Chad's first wife, was unloading groceries from her car when a man in a ski mask attempted to shoot her with what she believed to be a paintball gun at their home in Salem, Idaho. Tammy called police, however, the assailant ran away before deputies arrived. Investigators at the Fremont County Sheriff believed it was a prank and never found the man.
Sources: Rexburg Standard Journal
October 19, 2019: Tammy is found dead in her home
Tammy Daybell is found dead in her home at age 49, according to the Rexburg Police Department. After Chad refused to order an autopsy, the coroner listed her death as "natural."
Sources: Rexburg Police Department, The Daily Beast
November 2019: Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow are now married
According to the Rexburg Police Department, Chad and Lori wed within a couple of weeks of Tammy's death. It remains unclear exactly when and where the pair got married.
Sources: Rexburg Police Department, Rexburg Standard Journal
November 26, 2019: Rexburg Police Department conducts a wellbeing check on J.J.
After Larry and Kay Woodcock raised concerns that they had not seen or heard from J.J. in months, the Rexburg Police Department went to Chad and Lori's home to conduct a welfare check. The couple told officers at the time that J.J. was staying with relatives in Arizona, which they later discovered was untrue. Police officers went to the couple's home again the next day with a search warrant, but the couple was already gone.
Source: The Post Register
December 11, 2019: Authorities decide to further investigate the death of Tammy Daybell
Law enforcement decides to further investigate Tammy's death, now believing it to be "suspicious" given Chad's disappearance and the mysterious masked assailant. Tammy's body was exhumed and submitted for an autopsy.
Source: The Post Register
December 12, 2019: Alexander Cox dies for unknown reasons in Arizona
Lori's brother Alexander Cox was found unresponsive in Gilbert, Arizona. The cause of his death remains unknown.
Source: The Post Register
December 20, 2019: Rexburg Police Department officially announce an investigation into the disappearance of Tylee and J.J.
The Rexburg Police Department publicly announce their investigation into the disappearance of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow and ask for the public's assistance in locating them. In a news release, police say Chad and Lori are not cooperating and the children's disappearance may be tied to Tammy's "suspicious death."
An attorney representing Chad and Lori issues a statement on behalf of the couple denying any wrongdoing. "Chad Daybell was a loving husband and has the support of his children in this matter. Lori Daybell is a devoted mother and resents assertions to the contrary. We look forward to addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor," Sean Bartholick wrote in a statement.
Sources: Rexburg Police Department, Rexburg Standard Journal
December 27, 2019: Chad's friend Julie Rowe claims he had prophesied Tammy's death
Julie Rowe, a friend of Chad, attempts to defend her friend as news of the investigation makes headlines. Rowe claimed that Daybell had a "vision" from "angels" that Tammy would die years before her death in an interview with Fox 13.
Source: Fox 13 Salt Lake City
January 3, 2020: The Rexburg Police Department and FBI search Chad and Tammy's former home
Law enforcement from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, the Rexburg Police Department, and the FBI search Chad and Tammy's former home. Police said more than 43 items were collected from the home, including "computers, cell phones, journals, documents and medications," which have been sent to forensic experts for examination.
Source: The Post Register
January 5, 2020: Lori's first son Colby makes a public plea to his mother
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISx2UB3UJl0
Colby Ryan, Lori's first son, posts a video on YouTube pleading with his mother to bring Tylee and J.J. home safely. "You have the power to end this. You have an opportunity to put this all to rest," Colby said in the video.
Sources: YouTube
January 25, 2020: Local authorities locate Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow in Kauai, Hawaii
As the search for JJ. and Tylee continues, local Hawaiian authorities find Chad and Lori vacationing in Kauai, Hawaii - without the missing children. The couple was staying in a luxury condo at the Kaiulani of Princeville Townhomes priced at $6,150 per month. When authorities searched the unit the couple had been staying at since mid-December, they found no evidence that the children were ever there. Lori was court-ordered to physically produce the children before a judge in Rexburg, Idaho, by January 30.
Sources: Insider, Daily Mail
January 30, 2020: Lori misses the deadline to produce J.J. and Tylee
Lori failed to comply with a court order to physically produce Tylee and J.J. to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She was given the order on January 26 and was given five days to locate her missing children. Her adopted son's grandmother Kay Woodcock, who is also Vallow's former sister-in-law, said she thinks law enforcement will hold the "monster" accountable.
Sources: Idaho State Journal, Insider
- Read more:
- Doomsday couple Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were found vacationing in Hawaii - but their kids are still nowhere to be found
- Inside Preparing a People, the doomsday prepper group Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were involved in
- Lori Vallow didn't meet the Thursday deadline to turn her kids over to the state. Their grandma believes the 'monster' will face consequences.
- Doomsday writer Chad Daybell based characters in his books on his family. Now people are reading them for clues.