Police in Chandler, Arizona say they plan on filing charges against Lori Daybell in connection with the July 2019 shooting death of then-husband Charles Vallow. Department spokesperson Sgt. Jason McClimans confirmed the intention to The Arizona Republic.
The charge would be conspiracy to commit murder. They would send the case to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and prosecutors would decide whether to go forward. Of course, that’s all a matter of time. The police plan is to submit the case in four to six months.
Daybell’s brother Alex Cox shot and killed Vallow back when the family lived in Arizona. He insisted this was self-defense. No charges were filed at the time, and he would not be charged with murder anyway. He died last December of what authorities called a bloodclot.
“We will not be releasing any press releases when the case does go over and once we do send the case it will be at the discretion of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to release information on any charging or status of the case in court,” McClimans wrote.
NEW: Chandler PD lead detective on Charles Vallow death investigation says he’s “close” to submitting charges to Maricopa Co. Attorney. “Close” may be 6 months or more. 4 search warrants out for digital data linked to Lori Vallow. Conspiracy to commit murder is potential charge. pic.twitter.com/S83ZgzNmg3
— Justin Lum (@jlumfox10) August 6, 2020
Of course, that’s not even half the story. Daybell, then known as Lori Vallow, moved to Idaho with her children Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan shortly after the shooting. The kids, then 7 and 16 respectively, were last seen in September, police said. Lori Vallow married Chad Daybell in Hawaii on November 5. JJ’s paternal grandparents called in a welfare check, but instead of helping police, the Daybells bolted out of town.
Lori Daybell was arrested in February for snubbing a court order to turn over the kids, and allegedly getting a friend to lie to investigators. The children’s bodies were found on Chad Daybell’s property in June. Now the couple, and the late Cox are accused of engaging in a conspiracy to conceal the deaths. No one has been charged in causing this deaths.
Chad Daybell’s previous wife Tammy Daybell died in October. Her death wasn’t initially considered suspicious, but Fremont County investigators began taking a second look after the disappearance of Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
[Screengrab via KTVB]