US mother arrested in bizarre missing children case
BBC News, February 21, 2020
The US mother whose two young children have been missing for months has been arrested in Hawaii amid a complicated search operation spanning the US.
Lori Daybell, 46, left for Hawaii in November after police in Idaho had questioned her about her children, who officers say are in danger.
The mysterious case includes three suspicious deaths.
Mrs Daybell has reportedly been linked to a doomsday cult-like religious group, according to US media reports.
She is facing two counts of child abandonment and is being held on a $5m (£3.8m) bond on the island of Kauai.
Who is Lori Daybell?
She moved to Idaho from Arizona in late August after her then-husband, Charles Vallow, was shot dead by her brother, Alex Cox.
Cox claimed the shooting had been in self defence. He died of unknown causes in December.
In November, police were called by the grandparents of one of her children to check on the family at their home in Rexburg, Idaho.
Officials say they later learned that Joshua “JJ” Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan, 17, had not been seen since September.
Authorities say Mrs Daybell gave misleading answers to investigators’ questions and outright lied about their whereabouts and even their existence. She left town the following day. Authorities searched a nearby storage unit, and found clothes and toys that appeared to belong to her children.
According to divorce documents filed by her late husband before his death, Mrs Daybell believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020”.
She also allegedly threatened to kill him if he got in her way, claiming she had “an angel there to help her dispose of the body”. He took out a protective order following the threat, court documents show.
He described her as “infatuated and, at times, obsessive about near-death experiences and spiritual visions”, and said she refused to see a therapist because “they would discover that she is a translated being”.
She has also been charged with contempt of court, after missing a January deadline to deliver her children to authorities, as well as obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt of court.
She faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted and is awaiting extradition to Idaho.
Who is Chad Daybell?
Mr Daybell is an author who has written several apocalyptic novels that are loosely based on Mormon religious teachings.
Both he and Mrs Daybell have been involved in a group that promotes preparing for the apocalypse.
The organisation, Preparing A People, has denied being a “cult” despite claims by the parents of Mrs Daybell’s late husband.
Two weeks before his marriage to Mrs Daybell, his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died.
According to her obituary, Tammy Daybell died of natural causes. After the quick remarriage, police became suspicious and ordered her body exhumed.
Mrs Daybell’s lawyer has not yet issued a statement since her arrest.
She is due to appear in court in Hawaii later on Friday, with police holding a press conference shortly afterwards.
Timeline of Joshua and Tylee’s disappearance
July 11: Lori Vallow’s husband, Charles Vallow, killed in self-defense by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona following an argument between the three people
August: The last time Joshua’s grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, said they saw the boy via FaceTime
August: September: Lori moved children Joshua and Tylee to Rexburg, Idaho
September 23: The last time Joshua was seen at his school in Idaho
October: Activity found on a Venmo account that may belong to Tylee
October 19: Chad Daybell’s wife, Tammy Daybell, dies at their home in Rexburg. Officials rule her death to be of natural causes
October 22: Tammy is buried in Springville, Utah
Late October: Lori and Chad get married
November 26: Out-of-state relatives ask Idaho police to perform a welfare check on Joshua. Lori and Chad claim he is in Arizona with a family friend. Police also learn Tylee has not been seen since September, either
November 27: Police execute a search warrant at Lori and Chad’s home, discovering the couple have fled the city
December 11: Tammy Daybell’s body is exhumed from the Utah cemetery
December 12: Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, believed to have died in Arizona
Source: BBC News, Edited by Jesus Democrats
