Court papers claim cell phone data indicates that Alex Cox, Lori Vallow’s brother, was at the same location where the children were buried near the time they were reported missing
Police used location data from a cellphone belonging to the brother of Lori Vallow to uncover the remains of her missing children, a probable cause affidavit reveals.
Lori’s children, JJ, seven, and Tylee, 17, vanished last September. Their bodies were discovered last week buried on the Salem, Idaho property belonging to her new husband, Chad Daybell.
And while Lori and Chad are both behind bars on charges related to the children’s disappearances – it now appears Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, has become a crucial figure in working out who is responsible for the kids’ deaths.
Alex, 51, killed Lori’s estranged husband, Charles Vallow, on July 11 of last year. He claimed he intervened in a domestic dispute between his sister and Charles, before he shot his brother-in-law in self-defense.
Alex then joined Lori and her two children, JJ and Tylee, on a trip to Yellowstone National Park on September 8. It was the last time Tylee was seen alive.
Information in the probable cause affidavit – unsealed Friday – reveals Alex’s cell phone pinged at Chad Daybell’s property the following day, September 9.
His phone was purportedly in the exact spot where investigators eventually unearthed the child’s remains.
Lori’s children, JJ, seven, and Tylee, 17, vanished last September. They were both in the company of their uncle, Alex Cox, on the separate occasions they were last seen
Lori Vallow’s deceased brother, Alex Cox, is shaping up to be a key figure in the mystery. Alex had killed Lori’s previous husband during a dispute in Arizona last July. Lori is pictured in court in March
Phone data indicates that Alex spent more than two hours at Chad Daybell’s property that morning before leaving just before noon.
According to the affidavit, the FBI found a text conversation between Chad and his wife, Tamara Daybell, which took place just minutes later, in which Chad stated that he had ‘just buried a raccoon’ in the ‘pet cemetery’ on their property.
The remains of one of the children were uncovered near the pet cemetery last week.
Both Tylee and JJ’s remains were uncovered on the property belonging Lori Vallow’s new husband Chad Daybell. Human remains were discovered near both the pet cemetery and the pond. Alex Cox’s cell phone had pinged at both of those locations
Tylee was last seen on September 8, while JJ was last seen with his uncle Alex Cox on September 22
Meanwhile, seven-year-old JJ was last seen on September 22.
Two of Lori’s friends told police that they saw JJ at Lori’s apartment while he was with Alex.
JJ was said to have been ‘acting up,’ prompting Alex to take the boy back to his own apartment, which was located in the same complex where his sister lived.
The next morning, Lori told a friend that JJ ‘had been acting like a zombie’ and crawling above cabinets.
According to cell phone data, Alex was on Chad Daybell’s property that same morning – September 23.
The cell phone was traced to a spot near a pond, which is the same location where investigators dug up a set of human remains wrapped in black plastic and duct tape.
The remains belonged to someone who had light brown hair, according to the affidavit.
In December, Alex himself died of an apparent blood clot in his lung – just three months after Tylee and JJ disappeared
In December, Alex himself died of an apparent blood clot in his lung – just three months after Tylee and JJ disappeared.
Cox was pronounced dead at a home in Gilbert, Arizona on December 12 after a man called 911 and said he’d found the 51-year-old passed out in his own feces in the bathroom.
It’s unclear whether investigators are now taking another look at his death.
Meanwhile, Chad and Lori are both being held on $1 million bond in relation to the disappearances of JJ and Tylee. Both are scheduled for preliminary hearings next month.
Lori has been in jail since February on child desertion charges. Her attorney has indicated she intends to defend herself against the charges.
Chad was arrested last week and charged with two felony counts of concealment or destruction of evidence after JJ and Tylee’s remains were discovered on his property.
This file booking photo provided by the Rexburg (Idaho) Police Department shows Chad Daybell, who was arrested June 9, 2020.