Who’s who in the Daybell case
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During our coverage of the deaths of people surrounding Chad and Lori Daybell, we have reported the names of many family members, friends and public officials in multiple states. At times, it can feel like a complex web of relationships. The following is a who’s who of people connected to the case to make our coverage easy to understand.
We update this story from time to time as circumstances change and the Daybells go through the court system.
Who are the victims in the Chad and Lori Daybell case?
At the center of everything are two dead children and two dead spouses.
Authorities say Chad and Lori Daybell were having an affair and conspired to kill or directly killed two of Lori’s children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow; Lori’s then-husband, Charles Vallow; and Chad’s then-wife, Tammy Daybell. The pair were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but held strong religious beliefs not found in the church’s teachings concerning the end of the world, previous lives and people who become “zombies.”
Tylee and JJ disappeared in September 2019, when Tylee was 16 and JJ was 7. (Earlier reports indicated Tylee was 17, but now that we have a more solid timeline, it’s more likely she was 16 — almost 17 — at the time of her death.) Their bodies were found in June 2020 in Chad’s backyard.
In May 2021, Chad and Lori were charged with murder in the deaths of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy. Click here for more information on the charges. In addition, a grand jury in Arizona indicted Lori only (not Chad) with conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the death of Charles Vallow and Brandon Boudreaux, Lori’s former nephew-in-law,
Chad was in the Fremont County Jail from June 2020 until March 21, 2024, when he was transferred to the Ada County Jail ahead of his trial. In June 2021, Lori was placed into the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, but in April 2022, a judge found her competent for trial. She was found guilty and sentenced to three life sentences without parole. After serving a few months at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, she was moved to Maricopa County in Arizona where she is awaiting trial.
CLICK HERE FOR A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Lori Vallow’s five husbands
Knowing about the Daybells’ previous spouses is essential to understanding this case.
Lori Vallow Daybell has been married five times. Her former husbands are:
- Nelson Yanes. Married 1992. Ends in divorce. No children.
- William Lagioia. Married 1995-1996. Ends in divorce. Children: Colby Ryan
- Joseph Ryan. Married 2001-2004. Ends in divorce. Dies in 2018 of apparent heart attack. Children: Tylee Ryan
- Charles Vallow. Married 2005-2019. Ends in Charles’ death. Children: Joshua “JJ” Vallow (by adoption). Charles had two children through his previous marriage to Cheryl Wheeler. See our interview with Wheeler here.
- Chad Daybell. Married 2019-present. Children: Chad had five children with Tammy Daybell, his now-deceased wife.
The Vallow family
Kay Vallow Woodcock is sister to Charles, Lori’s fourth husband. She and her husband, Larry Woodcock, are JJ’s grandparents, which makes Charles JJ’s biological great-uncle. Charles adopted JJ.
Kay and Larry have spoken with the media since the early stages of the investigation. Here’s their reaction to the fate of the children. After Chad and Lori were charged with first-degree murder, the Woodcocks said they “want a capital case” against the couple.
Months before his death, Charles told police he was worried about Lori’s mental health and said she wanted him dead. He also expressed worry for JJ’s safety.
Alex Cox shot Charles to death July 11, 2019, in Chandler, Arizona.
The Cox family
Alex Cox was Lori’s brother. He maintained he killed Charles in self-defense. Alex died suddenly in December 2019. The medical examiner said he died of blood clots in his lungs, and it was a natural death.
Alex had married Zulema Pastenes two weeks before his death. She testified during Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial and spoke to Chandler Police. She said that if she had moved to Idaho, as Chad and Lori wanted her to do, she would not be alive today.
“I now (see) that they had a real nefarious plan to do something to me or Alex or that we were the final piece to move to Rexburg and by the grace of God, I didn’t move there,” she said. Read the full story here.
Before he married Zulema, Alex had a wife named Debbie, who married him in 1992 and divorced him the following year. She told the Chandler Police officers that Alex and Lori — brother and sister — would simulate sex acts in front of her and the rest of the family.
“He also talked about (how she was) hot, and he sexualized her quite a bit. He did touch her breast and things,” Debbie said. “Alex and I only lived together married about four or five months. Then I just knew that family was too weird and that I made a big mistake, so I got out.”
Read more about Alex and Lori’s bizarre relationship here.
Melani Pawlowski is Lori’s niece through a sister (deceased). She lived next door to Lori in Rexburg when the children disappeared. Melani married Ian Pawlowski and was involved in a custody dispute with her ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, regarding their four children.
Brandon was shot at in October 2019 and believes Alex was the shooter.
Before the children’s bodies were found, Melani, as well as Lori’s mother, Janis Cox, and sister, Summer Shiflet, told the media they did not think Lori was capable of harming JJ and Tylee. They have since issued a statement.
In an emotional phone call with her sister, Shiflet said Lori threw the children away “like garbage.” Listen here.
Rex Conner, Janis Cox’s brother (and Lori’s uncle), spoke with EastIdahoNews.com during Lori’s trial. He thanked those who had been following the case or helping it along.
“What’s hit me more than anything is an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to see how many people are involved in trying to get justice for Tylee and JJ and Tammy and Charles,” Conner said. See the interview with Conner here.
Conner’s daughter (and Lori’s cousin) Christie Lott, grew up with Lori. She said seeing Lori in the courtroom was “terrible, horrible yet healing” and said the trial was “like a funeral for Lori,” who is now a “totally different person.” See our interview with Lott here.
The Ryan family
Annie Cushing is the sister to Lori’s third husband, Joseph Ryan, and is Tylee’s aunt. Cushing wonders if foul play was involved in her brother’s apparent heart attack, but her questions may never be answered as an autopsy was not performed, and Joseph was cremated. See our interview with Cushing here and read her statement when the children’s bodies were found here. After the Daybells were charged with murder, she released this statement.
Although Tylee’s brother Colby shares the Ryan name, Colby’s biological father is William Lagioia. Colby has spoken out on behalf of Tylee and JJ during this ordeal. In an Instagram post after the bodies were found, he called the children his “beautiful, amazing, sweet angels.” Read his full message here.
He also expressed anger, disbelief, sadness and frustration at his mother in a call to her while she was at the Madison County Jail. Listen here.
The Daybell family
Chad’s previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died suddenly on Oct. 19, 2019. Read her obituary here.
Chad married Lori on Nov. 5, 2019. Chad and Lori were allegedly having an affair before Tammy’s death. Tammy’s body was exhumed in December 2019 and the medical examiner said she died from asphyxiation.
Tammy’s sister Samantha Gwilliam told police about the pet cemetery on the Daybell property, which led to the discovery of Tylee and JJ’s bodies.
After the murder charges were announced, Tammy’s family released this statement. As Tammy was a school librarian, they have also started a nonprofit that gives books to children.
Chad and Tammy’s children, Garth Daybell, Emma Murray, Seth Daybell, Leah Murphy and Mark Daybell have told CBS News’ “48 Hours” that they believe their father is innocent.
“I don’t know why they (the bodies) would be there,” Murray said. “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. … We presume innocence in this country. Just because things look funny, we don’t send people to jail.”
Other members of Chad and Tammy’s families have not been as supportive of him. Tammy’s family, Chad’s brother Matt and other family members of Chad issued respective statements following the discovery of the children’s remains.
Friends and associates
Melanie Gibb was Lori’s best friend, attended religious-themed conferences where Chad spoke and was with them the moment they met. We did a series of interviews with her. Gibb says Lori tried to get her to lie to police about the children’s whereabouts, which she refused to do. Gibb describes Chad and Lori’s relationship as a “fatal attraction.”
Gibb’s then-boyfriend, now husband, is David Warwick, who also knew Chad and Lori. He was one of the last people to see JJ alive.
Audrey Barattiero was part of Lori and Chad’s inner circle for a time. When she terminated her friendship with Lori, Lori allegedly threatened to kill her: “She said she would cut me up and wasn’t in the mental place to do it but would get herself in a place to do it. There would be blood and bleach and something about trash bags. She would bury me in a place nobody would ever find me.” More details on the incident here.
Julie Rowe is an author whose accounts of her near-death experiences and end-times predictions were published by Chad’s company, Spring Creek Book Company. In 2019, Rowe was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for publicly speaking out against the church, teaching false doctrine, and practicing priestcraft for content in her podcasts and website, she said. After the children’s disappearance, she initially supported Chad and Lori but has since spoken out against the couple.
Suzanne Freeman is also an author published by Spring Creek Book Company. She had a disagreement with Chad on rights for her books and the types of books he was publishing. In 2017, she wrote him an email in which she said, “I know without a shadow of a doubt what you are preaching will not lead to happiness. It will lead to death and sorrow.”
Jefferson County resident Christopher Parrett Sr. operates the Another Voice of Warning or AVOW, which is a paid forum website where some Latter-day Saints have discussions or offer conjecture about their religion, and Chad was an active participant. When news of the children’s disappearance became public, Parrett strongly supported Chad for months, but he publicly denounced him after the bodies were found.
Click here for more on the religious circle surrounding Chad and Lori.
Law enforcement and legal teams
The home where Tammy died and JJ and Tylee were buried is in the Salem area of Fremont County, which is Sheriff Len Humphries’ jurisdiction.
Tylee and JJ lived with their mother in a townhome in Rexburg (in Madison County). Shane Turman was the police chief there when the children disappeared. He told EastIdahoNews.com in 2019 — before the bodies were found — that police believed the children were in “pretty serious danger.” As of June 2022, Rexburg’s police chief is now Joshua Rhodes.
The prosecutor in Madison County is Rob Wood. After the children’s remains were found on Chad’s property (which is in Fremont County), Wood became the special prosecutor in the case against Chad concerning the children as well. Also participating in the prosecution is Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake. Rachel Smith, a special prosecutor from Missouri experienced in homicide cases, assisted until Feb. 2024. Deputy Attorney General Ingrid Batey was appointed as a special prosecutor in March 2024 and Fremont County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rocky Wixom is also assisting.
Chad and Lori have both been represented by multiple attorneys. In December 2019, Sean Bartholick, of Rigby, Andrus & Rigby, represented them and told the public, “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.”
After Lori was extradited from Hawaii, the couple was represented by Mark Means, but Means eventually represented Lori only. That changed in December 2021, when he was kicked off the case due to a conflict of interest from him previously representing Chad and other ethics concerns.
During the trial, Lori was represented by court-appointed public defender Jim Archibald, who had been co-representing Lori with Means since August 2021, and John Thomas.
Chad has retained the services of John Prior, a private attorney based in Meridian.
