Lori Vallow trial – live: Court hears devastating call from cult mom’s sister after children’s bodies found

The trial of “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is underway in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, where the mother-of-three is accused of killing her two youngest children and her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife.

The 49-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Mr Daybell’s first wife Tammy, 49.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. In June 2020, their remains were found buried on the Daybell property. Tammy died one month after their disappearance in October 2019.

The string of mysterious deaths and murders, and the bizarre cult beliefs of those involved, have generated huge interest in the case. Ms Vallow allegedly also conspired to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow and is charged separately in a case in Arizona.

In court on Tuesday, a video call was played between Ms Vallow and her sister Summer Shiflet in which the latter sobbed and shouted at the defendant about the deaths of her children, saying even if she hadn’t killed them she had not cared they were “thrown away like garbage”.

Key points

• Lori Vallow’s chilling internet search history

• JJ vanished after ‘knocking over picture of Christ’

• Lori Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing daughter

• Cult mom told friend her husband needed to die to prepare for Second Coming

• Lori Vallow trial hears emotional prison call with surviving son

• Shocked court hears how JJ was found buried in red pyjamas

Court adjourns for the day

22:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce says testimony will conclude for the day and Agent Daniels will return to the stand tomorrow morning.

The trial will resume at 830am MT on Wednesday.

22:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Daniels now talks about JJ’s burial site. He observed a raised berm near a pond with shorter grass than the surrounding area.

Police went layer by layer to remove the earth from the site. More photos are shown including one of three big rocks that were found under the upper layers of soil.

“This is screaming to me as a team leader that something is odd. Something shouldn’t be here,” Agent Daniels says.

22:23 , Oliver O'Connell

A search of the barn was then conducted as with a burial, tools are obviously necessary.

They found four shovels and a pick axe, as well as a green bucket and two white buckets. The shovels were dirty and could have been used in and around a fire. They were turned over to Rexburg PD.

The pick axe had “material” on the blade portion. Photos of the tools are shown to the court.

Other equipment of note included pruning shears, a saw, and an axe.

More tools were found in the garage (a shovel, two axes, a hoe, and a posthole digger) and some of those were also seized, as were bricks similar in size to those found with Tylee.

22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

After all the remains had been collected the backhoe dug deeper and wider into the site to ensure nothing had been missed. For context, the bucket had been found approximately two feet down.

“This was especially important on JJ’s burial. His was the first burial we found and we wanted to make sure Tylee’s remains weren’t in the same area.”

22:11 , Oliver O'Connell

WARNING: Graphic description

The search continued on 10 June, with a sifting operation set up to try and find more possible remains in the ground.

Eventually, they hit what they realise is “a mass of a human - dismembered, melted”, underneath which were a green bucket and a partial skull.

“It took a while for us as investigators to figure out what happened here — what is this,” Agent Daniels says.

After having documented the scene they tried to lift the remains out and they just fell apart. The anthropologist and coroner conducted an inventory of which body parts they had.

Agent Daniels says an assessment had to be made: “How many pieces are we still looking for or do we think we have everything we need to take?”

More close-up photos are shown as evidence.

Agent Daniels says it was unclear if it was one person or two, so the inventory was especially important.

21:59 , Oliver O'Connell

WARNING: Graphic description

As the digging continued a hard substance like concrete was uncovered in the dirt and the backhoe was used to remove it.

Beneath that, they discovered charred and pink flesh. An anthropologist on site identified the remains as human. They removed the piece and laid them out on a blue tarp.

Photos are being shown to the court. Lori has reportedly not looked up once.

Another photo shows more pieces of remains.

“You can see the bigger bones sticking out of the ground,” Agent Daniels says and describes her remains as “melted together” in the ground.

The remains were placed in a body bag, given to the coroner, and removed from the scene.

Court resumes following afternoon break

21:54 , Oliver O'Connell

WARNING: Graphic description

As the excavation of the site where Tylee was discovered continued a backhoe was brought in. They had initially found dog and cat remains using hand tools, but the backhoe allowed them to cover more area.

A photo is shown of a piece of what is described by those in court as a pice of vertebrae that was uncovered. A second bone was also found.

“With the size of the bone being found... I could also smell an odor I could associate with human remains decomposing so between this bone being found and a second bone being found the decision was then made not to use the tractor anymore,” Agent Daniels says.

The odor got stronger the more they dug and some bricks were also uncovered before more bones were found and they knew they had discovered a grave.

It was unclear what the bones were but they were much bigger than those previously discovered.

21:38 , Oliver O'Connell

21:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce calls for the afternoon recess.

The trial will resume in 15-20 minutes.

21:16 , Oliver O'Connell

As ash and earth is removed from the fire pit it is sifted for evidence such as bone fragments, organic material, jewelry, etc.

They found a necklace chain as well as cloth and fabric in the firepit.

As the scene was processed, the smell became overpowering. A soil sample was taken.

A charm was also found in the grass near the firepit, not in the pit itself.

21:06 , Oliver O'Connell

A series of maps, photographs and overhead images of the property are entered into evidence.

Agent Daniels points out the fire pit, burial sites of the children, and other key points.

A photo from Chad’s bedroom window shows that you can see JJ’s burial site from there as well as from the kitchen window.

Photos taken at the firepit show there are disturbances in the earth before any search was undertaken.

Det Daniels says that when he noticed there were impression in the ground at the pet cemetery, he told his team to start processing the area.

20:49 , Oliver O'Connell

The ERT was asked to help come up with a search strategy to execute a search warrant on 9-10 June 2020 at the Daybell property. They were looking for human remains and other evidence of crime.

They had prepared for about a week’s work and there were eight team members present who were all given a role.

After an initial walkthrough, areas of priority were established for the search — the firepit, the pet cemetery, the pond, and various sheds and outbuildings. Agent Daniels says they wanted to look at the whole 3-4 acres.

Among the technology used was a drone. Some 500-700 photos were also taken during the serving of the search warrant.

New witness: Steve Daniels, FBI

20:37 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Steve Daniels, a special agent with the FBI with 25 years of experience.

He is the senior leader of the evidence response team (ERT).

20:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney John Thomas begins cross-examination of Det Schmitt by asking about the storage unit surveillance videos. He says he reviewed them most recently one month ago.

Asking about the sport club, Thomas asks how people sign into the club, and Det Schmitt says it is done on an honour system with nobody monitoring it.

Thomas asks whether it is an assumption that C Quint is Alex Cox (it’s also the name on his vehicle registration), he confirms it is. There was no follow-up investigation to ask if anyone saw Alex there.

Det Schmitt confirms he was in the firepit area when the teeth, bone, and flesh were found.

No further questions.

20:32 , Oliver O'Connell

After Chad was arrested, he was transferred to the Fremont County Jail. He was released.

Det Schmitt returned to the Daybell property where he was assigned to help search the fireput and pet cemetery.

He found teeth and burned pieces of flesh and bone.

Some of the dirt was pretty hard and it appeared as if concrete or cement had been put in the ground. A backhoe was called in and eventually, officers found a melted green bucket that contained Tylee's remains.

20:29 , Oliver O'Connell

On 9 June 2020, as police searched Chad Daybell’s property, Det Schmitt was assigned the task of keeping an eye on Chad in case he decided to try to leave the property.

“At one point in time when the search dogs were on the scene, Chad got out of his vehicle that was parked in the driveway in front of his house. They were searching the area where JJ’s remains were found and Chad was facing toward that direction.”

Lt Ron Ball and Det Ray Hermosillo then came over to talk with Chad.

Det Schmitt recalls: “At some point in time, Chad went back into his house. He came out with a backpack and got into his vehicle. He sat there in his vehicle and then drove across the street to his daughter’s house. After some time, Chad came out of Emma’s house, got in his vehicle and started going south on 1900 East in Fremont County.”

Chad was stopped and arrested.

20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

In January 2020, Det Schmitt visited the Unified Sportsman Club - a firing range.

Alex had signed in there under different names including his own and C Quint, as well as just Alex. He used the name C Quint multiple times over the month of October 2019. He also signed in on 3 September but there is no paper record of that.

Court resumes after lunch

20:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Lunch is over and Judge Boyce is back on the bench.

The jury is brought in and prosecutor Rachel Smith resumes questioning of Det Rick Schmitt, formerly of Rexburg PD, about the self-storage facility visited on multiple occasions by Lori, Chad and Alex.

He says on one occasion Alex took a long rifle case and a bunch of totes to the facility. On 22 October he took out a gun storage case and tote, and on 28 October he took four gun cases. Chad was with him on that visit.

Lori Vallow’s chilling internet search history

19:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Chilling internet searches have revealed that “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow shopped for life insurance policies for her children two months before they were murdered and buried on her new lover Chad Daybell’s property.

FBI analyst Nicole Heideman took the stand at Ms Vallow’s murder trial in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Monday to testify about the shocking discoveries on the 49-year-old’s cellphones, email addresses and online search history.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Cult mom Lori Vallow’s chilling internet searches revealed

Timeline of the Lori Vallow case

19:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Confused by the twists and turns of the case? Here’s a timeline of what happened and when:

Timeline of the Lori Vallow Daybell case

19:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Court breaks for lunch.

The trial will resume at 1pm MT.

19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex was not seen in the video but the following day was when he and Lori came back to pick up the back seat and spare tire.

On 2 October, Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Lori’s niece Melanie Pawlowski, is shot at in a drive-by shooting in Arizona but escapes unscathed.

The assailant is driving a grey Jeep Wrangler with the back tire removed.

19:07 , Oliver O'Connell

On 2 February 2020, Det Schmitt joined Det Kunsaitis, who testified earlier in the trial, and went to the self-storage facility which Chad, Lori, and Alex had visited many times.

Video surveillance showed the three visiting at different times to pick up things from the unit.

In footage from the beginning of October, he saw Lori putting a box and tote inside the unit. On On 2 October, he saw Lori and Chad going into the unit bringing in the Jeep spare tire and backseat from the Wrangler.

19:04 , Oliver O'Connell

On 8 January 2020, he received video footage from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office that showed the entrance of Yellowstone National Park on 8 September 2019.

“I was looking for a blue Nissan Rogue, a Silver Ford pickup or a gray Jeep Wrangler.”

He saw a vehicle that looked like the pickup truck. Further video showed Alex, Lori and the children at the park on that day.

New witness: Rick Schmitt, former Rexburg PD detective

18:59 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is retired Rexburg Police detective Rick Schmitt who now works at BYU-Idaho in the public safety department.

He helped in the search for the missing children and joined the surveillance of the grey Jeep Wrangler on 4 November 2019.

On 17 December he and other detectives went to Springville, Utah, to interview Chad and Tammy Daybell’s family. He also investigated the changes made to Tylee’s Venmo account.

18:43 , Oliver O'Connell

The prosecution has a brief redirect in which Summer confirms that Lori lied to her about the children being safe on a phone call with her.

No further questions.

Summer is released from her subpoena.

18:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Asked if she is still in touch with Colby Ryan, Lori’s surviving son, Summer says she is.

Archibald asks if, like Colby, she believes Lori changed after meeting Chad Daybell.

She agrees.

No further questions.

18:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Questioning moves on to Alex, her older brother.

Summer describes him as fun and hilarious but sometimes crude. As a teenager, he suffered a brain injury and she believes that affected him

“He seemed stuck in making teenage decisions. He got in his car accident when he was 16 and made decisions like a 16-year-old most of his life.”

18:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Asked about religious beliefs, Summer says they were brought up to believe Jesus was kind and loving. In late 2018 she heard Lori and Alex talk about multiple lives and it was not just new, but it was not consistent with their religious background and teachings.

When Lori told her about previous lives, non of it made sense as much as she wanted to believe it. Lori did not tell her anything about zombies, the light/dark scale, castings, the 144,000, or that she was a leader.

Asked if she was concerned about her sister’s new beliefs, Summer says: “Of course I care about my sister but I don’t really know what to think about it.”

18:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Archibald asks: “Would you ever imagine her sister wanting to kill her kids?”

Summer replies tearfully: “No.”

Archibald asks: “Would you ever imagine your sister wanting to conspire to kill her kids?”

Summer says: “No.”

18:33 , Oliver O'Connell

Summer says that having seen Lori with her children she believed she would never do anything to hurt them.

Archibald asks if Summer was still involved in her sister’s life after she and Charles separated. She says yes and describes them as compatible and happy until then, hence the adoption of JJ. Summer only heard that Charles had filed for divorce in the media.

She describes Tylee as “beautiful and witty and very talented in a lot of different ways”.

Summer confirms that Tylee had pancreatitis and describes her relationship with Lori.

“Tylee had a little sassy streak in her but I always felt Lori was very patient with her. Lori loved her and Tylee loved her mom.”

18:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Direct examination concludes and defence attorney Jim Archibald begins cross-examination of Summer.

He begins by telling Summer, who is crying, that he is sorry she had to relive that call.

Archibald asks about the family. She is the youngest of five: Stacy (Melani’s mother) who died; Alex; Adam; Lolly (who died at six weeks old); Lori; and Summer.

She and Lori were close growing up being only two years apart.

Summer recalls Lori’s previous marriages and says she got married herself and now has three children.

18:24 , Oliver O'Connell

The call reaches a crescendo: “I am telling you, because I love you with all my heart, please consider that Chad has lied and been deceived and you have been deceived and this is not what you think it is. There is nothing okay about killing children. Nothing.”

Summer is sobbing and barely breathing in the recording: “And even if you dndn’t kill them and Alex didn’t kill them and Chad didn’t kill them, you threw them away like garbage! In a pet cemetery!”

“They were innocent and they were loved,” Summer says. “Come up with an explanation publicly!”

The call ends.

18:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori tries to argue that no one knows what she has been through.

Summer counters: “So I’m deceived? Everyone in the world is deceived?”

Lori tries again but Summer says: “You don’t think your mother and your sister and son deserve to know that your children are gone?! Why didn’t you call to tell us this?”

18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Summer screams at Lori that she never called to tell her that her brother Alex had died or that her children were missing.

“You don’t think that will cause pain throughout our entire family?!” she screams.

Lori says, “You don’t think I’m in pain?”

“No I don’t. You were dancing on the beach having a great time! You got wedding pictures while your kids are in the ground?”

Lori says: “Nobody knows.”

Summer snaps back: “Nobody knows except you and the Lord? There is nothing in the scriptures that is Godly about hurting a child! They deserve a proper burial with family that loves them in the least!”

18:17 , Oliver O'Connell

“You cut me and mom off for four months! Now we find this out and you expect me to just keep going with zero explanation and you expect me to just keep believing without ever having a question?” Summer asks her sister.

Lori tries to deflect, but Summer screams at her that it has nothing to do with what is being said on TV.

18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Summer accuses Lori of dancing on the beach in Hawaii while her children were in the ground and that she had to know they were there.

She screams at Lori that she would have taken the children.

18:13 , Oliver O'Connell

The call is raw and emotional with Summer sobbing that Tylee and JJ were found buried in Chad’s backyard.

Summer says she feels sick to her stomach and that Lori let this happen to them and they were thrown away like garbage.

18:11 , Oliver O'Connell

In June 2020, after authorities found the bodies of Tylee and JJ, her feelings toward Lori changed because she felt lied to and her trust was broken.

She received a request from Lori for a video visit with her in prison which is now played to the court.

Summer wipes away tears.

18:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Having had a close relationship with Lori, she asked her in February 2020 after her arrest about the children’s well-being. Lori told her that they were safe.

“I don’t remember the exact wording but she basically told me she knew where they were and they were safe.”

Summer gets emotional as she continues with her testimony.

New witness: Summer Shiflet, Lori’s sister

18:07 , Oliver O'Connell

After a brief sidebar, Lori’s sister Summer Shiflet takes the stand.

She has been allowed to observe other testimony as she is in court to represent Tylee Ryan, her late niece. Summer has been present throughout yesterday’s and today’s testimony.

Lori smiles at her.

She confirms that Lori is her older sister and that Tylee and JJ were her niece and nephew. She says she played an active role in their lives.

Summer says she first learned they were missing through media reports in December 2019 and was not in contact with Lori at the time and did not know where her sister was.

18:03 , Oliver O'Connell

After confirming that Lori Vallow was in Hawaii on the day of Tammy Daybell’s death, the cross-examination is over.

There is a quick redirect by prosecutor Rob Wood in which he asks if it was possible to turn off GPS. Mr Ballance says yes, Google, for example, has an opt-out option.

Mr Ballance is finished testifying but his subpoena remains in case further questioning is required.

17:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas asks Mr Ballance if he can say with certainty that a particular phone was at an exact location on the Daybell property.

He replies there is no 100 per cent certainty, but they can make estimations within a range.

Thomas asks why some of the texts sent between the parties in the case can be read and others cannot.

Mr Ballance explains that it depends on how records are kept by the cell phone carriers — Verizon is the only carrier to keep text messages and this is only for between three and seven days.

It is possible to do a forensic download of a device to retrieve data stored on it, which could include texts and other records/content.

Court resumes after morning break

17:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney Jim Thomas asks FBI special agent Nick Ballance to describe the process of “drive-testing” that he spoke of yesterday.

This is the process of measuring radio frequencies relating to cell towers. It took the FBI’s Cellular Analyst Survey Team (CAST) about a week to map out the area around Rexburg, Idaho.

Watch: Lori Vallow’s sister and family arrive at court this morning

17:35 , Oliver O'Connell

17:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Morning recess is called.

17:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination of Special Agent Ballance is conducted by defence attorney Jim Thomas.

He begins by asking Mr Ballance about his training with the FBI at Quantico to become a special agent.

17:03 , Oliver O'Connell

As has previously been heard in court, while Tylee was killed on 9 September, her phone was used by Lori to send her brother Colby Ryan texts and Venmo payments.

He testified that the language used did not sound like his sister and financial records show the transactions coming from accounts linked to Lori.

The last usage of Tylee’s phone was on 15 December 2019 when it received two incoming text messages.

Direct examination ends.

16:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Tammy’s funeral is held in Springville, Utah, on 22 October.

Chad and Lori exchange texts that day and an outgoing call is placed by Chad to an unknown number.

16:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to the day before Tammy was murdered, there were multiple texts exchanged between Chad, Lori, and Alex between 1.36pm and 8.54pm and calls lasting between 30 minutes and 50 minutes in length.

Between 9.35pm and 10.55pm there are 16 more texts between Alex and Chad.

At 10.05pm Alex’s phone is detected on Salem Road. From 10.07pm to 10.45pm he is in a church parking lot near Chad and Tammy’s home.

Between 11.34pm and 11.36pm Chad texts Lori three times. The content of these messages is not known.

At 11.53pm, Alex calls Lori for 16 minutes. Lori was in Hawaii at the time.

From 11.54pm to 12.09am Alex is traveling southbound on Highway 20, away from the Daybell home.

Tammy was found dead the next morning.

16:43 , Oliver O'Connell

That afternoon, while unloading her car, Tammy Daybell was accosted by a masked man outside her house, who shot at her with what she describes as a paintball gun.

She died 10 days later on 19 October. In opening statements of the trial it was revealed she had died of asphyxiation.

Lori Vallow trial hears how Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy was killed

16:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The next data set is from 9 October 2019 — the day someone shot at Tammy Daybell, Chad’s wife.

At 9.57am, Chad tells Lori by text he is going to stop by the store to “get that other number working”.

At 10.26am he texts her that he will now call from a 401 number (which has been attributed to him). A minute later he calls her from the new number.

Between 1.11pm and 2.22pm, there is a call from Lori to Chad and multiple texts between Chad and Alex.

Alex is at Lori’s townhome between 12pm and 1.23pm. From 1.23pm to 2.37pm Alex is at his own townhome.

At around 2.42pm he begins to move toward Idaho Falls and is tracked at or near Sportsman’s Warehouse between 3.42pm and 4.12pm. He then moves toward the Daybell home and is in the vicinity between 4.47pm and 4.56pm.

At 5.03pm he is pinged in Sugar City, which is between Rexburg and Chad’s home. At 5.16pm he is back at his own home, where he stays.

There are numerous texts between Chad, Lori, and Alex, between 5.38pm and 10.31pm that night.

16:24 , Oliver O'Connell

At 10.20am — eight minutes after it was last detected on Chad’s property — Alex’s phone is located south in the Rexburg area.

Soon after this, there are three texts sent from Chad to Lori, and a 545-second call between Alex and Lori (based on the FBI’s understanding of whom owned which phone, deduced from account log-ins and communications confirming ownership).

16:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Moving on to 23 September — the last day JJ was seen alive — Mr Ballance walks the court through cell phone activity between 3.59am and 8.35am.

There are numerous texts between Lori and Chad in this period.

Alex is at his townhome between 9.01am and 9.41am and receives a call from Chad at 9.25am.

There were then more texts and calls between Chad and Lori from 9.30am to 9.45am.

At 9.45am, Alex is within range of Lori’s wifi at the townhomes and at 9.49am he is traveling north on Highway 20.

Alex (tracked through the HomerJMaximus account) was on Chad Daybell’s property from 9.55am to 10.12am near a small pond close to where JJ’s body was found bound up in a shallow grave. The phone is detected to various margins of error at his location ranging from 4 metres to 100 metres.

16:01 , Oliver O'Connell

FBI analyst Nick Ballance is being questioned about relevant cell phone activity by prosecution attorney Rob Wood.

A full report of his findings is entered into evidence.

A map is shown to the court of the activity of the account “HomerJMaximus” which is registered to Alex Cox on 9 September 2019.

Between 10.35am and 12.20pm that day there are multiple texts between Chad and Lori and a call at 11.45am.

Alex leaves Chad’s property around 11.46am and heads back toward Rexburg. It was around this time that Chad texted his wife Tammy Daybell that he was having a fire to burn tree limbs and that he had shot and buried a raccoon in the pet cemetery.

Tylee Ryan’s body was found in a shallow grave at the fire pit the following June.

Court resumes

15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Steven Boyce is back on the bench and the jury is being brought back in.

FBI analyst Nick Ballance returns to the witness stand to continue his testimony about tracking and tracing the various cell phones of Lori, Chad, and Alex.

Before proceedings got underway, both defence and prosecution attorneys met with Judge Boyce, leaving Lori sitting alone, writing on a yellow notepad.

Lori’s sister could take stand today

15:33 , Oliver O'Connell

There is a good turnout from Lori Vallow’s family in court today, including her sister Summer Shiflet. It is believed that Summer could take the stand today as a prosecution witness, though she smiled at her sister upon entering court, Nate Eaton of East Idaho News reports.

Tracing the burner phones

15:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Yesterday, the jury heard testimony about the ridiculous number of burner phones Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and Alex Cox have over an 18-month period.

There were 21 devices (but only nine “of interest” — i.e. used regularly) and yet Lori never reported Tylee and JJ missing and was deliberately elusive when police went looking for her and the children.

When police originally performed a welfare check in search of JJ, Chad was elusive about his close relationship with Lori and even told them he didn’t have her number.

There are many reasons for having multiple phones, though almost none paint a person in a good light in front of a jury.

As yesterday’s proceedings wrapped up, we learned that a device linked to Alex was the only one that could be tracked to the vicinity of the fire pit and pet cemetery on Chad’s property on both the days on which Tylee and JJ are believed to have been murdered — 9 September and 23 September 2019.

The court reconvenes in approximately 20 minutes.

Who is Lori Vallow?

14:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow is a mother of three, a former game show contestant, a Mrs Texas Beauty Pageant contestant, and a cult follower. But is she also a killer? Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallow: Who is the ‘cult mom’ on trial for her children’s murders?

All the bizarre moments from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp reports on the bizarre details about the cult beliefs which allegedly led to the murders that have come to light at trial.

In addition, beyond the testimony, there have also been some bizarre happenings taking place inside the courtroom...

Bizarre moments from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial so far

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Here are the key revelations from the trial – so far — as compiled by Rachel Sharp:

Cult beliefs and charred remains: Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial

Who are the key players in the Lori Vallow trial?

11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

In a courtroom in Idaho, “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow is now on trial for the murders of her two youngest children and her lover’s wife.

The 49-year-old mother-of-three is charged with the murders of daughter Tylee Ryan, 16; and son Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7; both of whom vanished without a trace in September 2019.

Almost one year later – in June 2020 – their bodies were found buried on the grounds of her new husband Chad Daybell’s property in Idaho.

Ms Vallow is also charged with the first-degree murder of Mr Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, who died suddenly in October 2019.

One month after her death, Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell married on a beach in Hawaii.

Here are the key players in the sprawling case:

Who are the key players in Lori Vallow’s trial?

Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing daughter

10:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A former friend of Lori Vallow has revealed the “cult mom’s” chilling response after being confronted about her missing teen daughter.

Read more...

Lori Vallow’s chilling response to question about missing Tylee revealed

Who is Lori Vallow?

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow is a mother of three, a former game show contestant, a Mrs Texas Beauty Pageant contestant, and a cult follower. But is she also a killer? Rachel Sharp reports

Lori Vallow: Who is the ‘cult mom’ on trial for her children’s murders?

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend in secret recording

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A phone call between “cult mom” Lori Vallow and her former best friend was played in court during her ongoing trial for the murders of two of her children.

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies in secret recording

Everything we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp delves into the deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies which surrounds Lori Vallow and her doomsday author husband Chad Daybell.

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell ‘doomsday cult’ murder trial

ICYMI: Vallow trial hears emotional prison call with surviving son Colby Ryan

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

On day six of testimony in the trial of “cult mom” Lori Vallow, the jury heard a recording of a phone call between the defendant and her eldest son from the early months of her incarceration.

Colby Ryan, Ms Vallow’s son from her second marriage, was called a witness for the prosecution. He is her only surviving child following the murders of daughter Tylee, 16, and adopted son JJ, 7, in September 2019.

In the emotional call between mother and son, Ms Vallow refused to switch on her camera, while Mr Ryan demanded to know whether Jesus had really told her to murder his siblings.

Read more...

Lori Vallow trial hears gut-wrenching prison call with surviving son Colby Ryan

Lori Vallow’s cousin reveals haunting fear about children’s murders

Tuesday 25 April 2023 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori Vallow’s estranged cousin has revealed one of her most haunting fears about the murders for which the so-called “cult mom” is currently on trial.

Megan Eyden, whose father is Ms Vallow’s uncle, spoke out about the bombshell case in an interview with NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield aired Friday night.

Megan Sheets reports.

Lori Vallow’s cousin reveals haunting fear about children’s murders

Court adjourns for the day

Monday 24 April 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Court has adjourned for the day.

The trial resumes at 830am MT tomorrow.

Monday 24 April 2023 22:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex’s movements — based on the location of his device — place him with a 6m margin of error at the fire pit on Chad Daybell’s property from 9.21am through until 10.57am on 9 September 2019.

Tylee’s remains were discovered there in early June 2020.

Monday 24 April 2023 22:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Agent Ballance underscores the point that he is tracking devices and not individuals. He can see the location of a phone, but cannot say definitively whose pocket it is in.

However, he shows that an account linked to Alex Cox was in the vicinity of Lori Vallow’s apartment between midnight and 5am on 9 September before multiple communications between Alex and Chad between 7.20am and 8.04am.

The implication here appears to be that Tylee was murdered and then taken to Chad’s property to be burned and buried.

There was a lot of text communication between Chad and Lori on the same morning between 8.15am and 9.06am.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ballance reviewed 30 cellphone records and numerous Google accounts associated with Lori Vallow and prepared a report.

In lieu of an afternoon break, Mr Ballance’s testimony will continue and court will end a little early.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Ballance conducted a “drive test” to measure how far cellphone towers in the Rexburg area can reach. He drove the area in June 2020.

A cellphone will always defer to the strongest and clearest cellphone tower — which may not necessarily be the nearest if there are obstructions in the way.

This allows you to get a general idea of where an individual device is, but does not allow you to pinpoint an exact location.

However, this data can be combined with other data such as Google location tracking to build up a clearer picture.

New witness: Nick Ballance, FBI

Monday 24 April 2023 21:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Next up on the witness stand is FBI special agent Nick Ballance. He is assigned to the Boise resident agency out of the Salt Lake City Division.

He is part of the FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST). They take cell phone data, put it on a map, and help track where phones have been. There are between 70 and 80 CAST agents nationwide.

Mr Ballance begins by explaining how networks route calls through their cell phone towers and how a denser population will mean more towers.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:23 , Oliver O'Connell

On redirect, Blake asks a few clarifying questions before being released from the stand but not form her subpoena, so she may be recalled later.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas asks about some of the searches conducted — specifically Gerber life insurance and life insurance for children, and if these were all one search or multiple searches.

Agent Heideman replies that they were both multiple searches and a visit to a website.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:17 , Oliver O'Connell

Thomas asks Agent Heideman to clarify some of the information she presented and explained.

He asks her about the seven temple trips Chad and Lori took together and if they went as part of a group. Ms Heideman says she does not know and tht she only checked on Chad and Lori’s attendance.

Thomas says these seven visits are only a “fraction” of the time Chad and Lori went to the temple. Agent Heideman agrees.

She is asked how the temple visits relate to the days of the deaths and what the significance is.

Ms Heideman says that while she put together the timeline, she “can’t say what the purpose of their visits were”.

Monday 24 April 2023 21:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Defence attorney John Thomas is cross-examining Agent Heideman.

He asks why she thought “Ned Schneider” was an important term to flag while she was doing the search. He asks if she did any further research to find out the significance of the terms.

She says it was a cursory search to aid in the investigation and things of which we were aware of appeared in the search history.

Thomas asks about other terms that were flagged — e.g. the malachite rings, the significance of Tuesday, given that the children died on Mondays and Tammy died on a Saturday.

Monday 24 April 2023 20:53 , Oliver O'Connell

The exhibit concerns Chad and Lori’s visits to LDS temples and how those visits straddle the dates of the murders with the final visit coming 10 days after Tammy’s death.

Monday 24 April 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The objection relates to the dates on which Tammy, JJ, and Tylee died as presented by the prosecution. They have not proven the dates and so the jury has been instructed that the presentation is demonstrative and not evidence.

Monday 24 April 2023 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes but almost immediately goes into a sidebar over an objection by the defence relating to another Powerpoint presentation being submitted as evidence.

Monday 24 April 2023 20:29 , Oliver O'Connell

The state requires additional records, so the court has gone on a 10-15 minute recess.

Monday 24 April 2023 20:21 , Oliver O'Connell

A series of loving texts between Chad and Lori are shown to the court, dating from immediately after the killing of Charles Vallow by Alex Cox.

There are references to Kauai and “the plan” and an intention to get married on 5 November (which they eventually did).

Monday 24 April 2023 20:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Evidence of wedding planning by Chad and Lori dates back to when both of their spouses were still alive — specifically, a search for malachite rings, and later attempts at purchases.

There was a successful purchase on 2 October 2019, before the attempted shooting of Tammy and her murder. When the FBI put the description into Amazon it pulled up the same rings CHad and Lori can be seen wearing in their wedding day photos.

They were bought on Charles’s Amazon account after he was deceased, with the larger ring being exchanged twice for different sizes.

Court resumes after lunch

Monday 24 April 2023 19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce is back on the bench and prosecution attorney Lindsey Blake continued direct examination of FBI agent Nicole Heideman.

Another Powerpoint is being introduced as evidence — this one regarding Lori and Chad’s wedding plans.

Court breaks for lunch

Monday 24 April 2023 18:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce calls lunch.

The trial will resume at 12.45pm MT.

Monday 24 April 2023 18:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Despite numerous aliases on each other’s contact lists — “Bubby”, “Boyd Dial”, “Melani 2”, “Bishop Shumway”, “Bishop Miller”, etc — each user could be identified by phone usage.

This includes the content of messages sent and received, calls made, and confirmation texts from services including one from Allegiant Air relating to a named user.

Monday 24 April 2023 18:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Heideman was asked to attribute the phone numbers uncovered in the investigation to individual users. Another Powerpoint is entered into evidence, summarising the findings.

She says investigators determined Chad had nine phone numbers between October 2018 and January 2020. Lori Vallow had six phone numbers. Alex Cox had six phone numbers. For each, individual, three numbers were of interest due to the communications with each other during relevant time frames and the most frequently used.

Monday 24 April 2023 18:21 , Oliver O'Connell

And the relevant searches from Lori Vallow’s account, including searches for life insurance for children months before their murders, and how to sell a service dog (JJ’s dog was got rid of by Lori).

Monday 24 April 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Here are the relevant searches from Chad Daybell’s account,

One of the burner phones had a Rhode Island area code and was activated on the same day.

New witness: Nicole Heideman, FBI

Monday 24 April 2023 18:07 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Nicole Heideman of the FBI who was asked to review some of the Google searches on Chad and Lori’s accounts.

Prosecutor Lindsey Blake is questioning her. A Powerpoint is submitted into evidence showing relevant searches from the accounts.

Monday 24 April 2023 18:01 , Oliver O'Connell

In a final follow-up question from Thomas, Det Stubbs is asked: “Did you ever see anything from Lori saying I’m going to kill the kids? Let’s kill the kids? Kill the kids?”

Mr Stubbs responds “no” to all the questions.

“Based on anything you’ve seen, is there anything in there where Lori had texted or emailed - any type of data that says anything about wanting to kill her children?” Thomas asks.

“No.”

Monday 24 April 2023 17:59 , Oliver O'Connell

In redirect, Det Stubbs is asked about the general use of burner phones.

Monday 24 April 2023 17:58 , Oliver O'Connell

After detailing various courses he has taken over the years relating to the gathering of data from cell phones and computers, Thomas asks Det Stubbs about the burner phones, and specifically their use by drug dealers.

He asked whether the detective believes Lori or Chad were involved in drugs to which he replies “not to my knowledge”.

Thomas notes there are many reasons for having a burner phone.

Asked about Chad’s search regarding wind direction, Det Stubbs says it was off because of the specificity of the search and that he never looked it up again.

He is then asked about the ring sizes and says he does not know what the ring sizes of Chad, Lori, Alex, or Zulena are.

No further questions.

Monday 24 April 2023 17:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination of Det Stubbs by defence attorney John Thomas begins.

He starts by asking about Mr Stubbs’s forensic training. He started in the field in 2010, and now about 50 per cent of this work is in examining computers/devices.

Monday 24 April 2023 17:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Chad and Lori’s wedding photos are submitted into evidence.

Det Stubbs says they were on a flash drive seized from the couple in Hawaii. They were married on 5 November 2019, just weeks after the death of Tammy.

Monday 24 April 2023 17:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Verizon records show multiple phone numbers associated with both Lori and Charles Vallow.

Det Stubbs moves on to talking about Lori’s email account. On 25 August 2019, the user searched for malachite wedding rings and wedding rings made of malachite. An order was placed for two rings in sizes 11.5 and 4.25.

At this point, Tammy Daybell was still alive and married to Chad.

Further searches included:

- Definition of possessed searched

- how to remove the rear seat of my Jeep Wrangler (YouTube video watched)

- weddings dresses in Kauai (searched on the day of Tammy Daybell’s funeral)

- various flights to Hawaii on different airlines

- travel to Missouri to visit LDS sites (Lori was in Missouri the day Tammy was shot at)

Monday 24 April 2023 17:13 , Oliver O'Connell

A USB drive containing Chad Daybell’s internet search history is entered into evidence.

On 8 September, the user of the account linked to Chad looked up what the wind direction was going to be for the next day.

Det Stubbs says this was significant because “that is the day Chad Daybell had said he was going to burn limbs and killed a raccoon in his yard.”

The search showed that the wind would be in the south or southwest, as the court heard last week.

Court resumes

Monday 24 April 2023 17:03 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is back and testimony resumes.

Det Stubbs presents a document attached to a warrant submitted to Google that contains the names and email addresses of people associated with Lori.

He explains that some of the email addresses were connected to “burner” phones.

“It’s a common phone used by people distributing illegal drugs so they can’t have their number tracked.”

Det Stubbs says Google and other tech companies “keep a web” of every device you’re using, from phones, laptops, and email accounts, and are able to connect it all to an individual user.

Monday 24 April 2023 16:31 , Oliver O'Connell

A juror is not feeling well, so Judge Boyce calls a mid-morning break.

Court will resume in approximately 15 minutes.

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