‘Doomsday cult member’ mom ‘threatened to kill her husband’ five months before he was shot dead

The mother of two missing Idaho children allegedly threatened to kill her estranged husband less than six months before he was shot dead by her brother, divorce documents have revealed.  

Lori Vallow is currently on the run from police with her new husband Chad Daybell, both of whom are persons of interest in the disappearance of Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan, 17. The pair are believed to be members of a dangerous religious cult obsessed with the end of times.  

Lori’s previous husband, Charles Vallow, described his wife as being ‘infatuated’ with doomsday and near-death experiences in court documents filed last February, after the pair had physically separated. 

During a January 29 phone conversation, Lori allegedly told Charles that she was a ‘God assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020 and that if Father [Charles] got in her way of her mission she would murder him’, the documents state. 

Lori Vallow allegedly threatened to kill her estranged husband Charles Vallow (pictured together) less than six months before he was shot dead by her brother in July, divorce documents have revealed

Lori (pictured) is currently on the run from police with her new husband Chad Daybell, both of whom are persons of interest in the disappearance of her children

Lori and Chad (pictured) are believed to be members of a dangerous religious cult obsessed with the end of times

Lori is currently on the run from police with her new husband Chad Daybell, both of whom are persons of interest in the disappearance of her children. The pair are believed to be members of a dangerous religious cult obsessed with the end of times

Tylee Ryan, 17, (left) and Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, seven, (right) have not been seen or heard from since September. Police in Rexburg, Idaho, only realized they were missing two days before Thanksgiving when they were asked to conduct a welfare check by relatives

Tylee Ryan, 17, (left) and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, seven, (right) have not been seen or heard from since September. Police in Rexburg, Idaho, only realized they were missing two days before Thanksgiving when they were asked to conduct a welfare check by relatives

On July 11, Charles was shot dead by Lori’s brother, Alex Cox. A few months later, Lori married Chad, whose wife had died days earlier under mysterious circumstances.  Cox joined the list of mysteriously deceased family members on December 12. 

The complex web of deaths surrounding Lori and Chad came to light in mid-December when police in Rexburg, Idaho, issued a statement asking for information about Joshua and Tylee’s whereabouts.  

The search for the children, who have not been seen since September, began two months later when police tried to do a welfare check on Joshua, who is autistic. 

Rexburg police say Chad and Lori have repeatedly lied about where their children are – initially saying the boy was in Arizona – and aren’t cooperating with the investigation.  

The couple had disappeared from their Rexburg home when police returned with additional questions and search warrants. 

No charges have been filed against Chad or Lori in Idaho or Arizona but they are considered persons of interest in the children’s disappearance. 

Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow

Tylee Ryan

Rexburg police say Chad and Lori have repeatedly lied about where their children are and aren’t cooperating with the investigation. Joshua is pictured left and Tylee is pictured right

Charles Vallow (pictured) filed for divorce from Lori in February. He was killed five months later

Charles Vallow (pictured) filed for divorce from Lori in February. He was killed five months later

Charles Vallow filed a divorce petition last February seeking sole custody of Joshua, who was adopted and has special needs. 

The petition, obtained by FOX13, paints a disturbing portrait of Lori, referred to as ‘mother’ in the documents.

‘Mother has recently become infatuated at times obsessive about near death experiences and spiritual visions,’ it states. ‘Mother has told Father [Charles] that she is sealed [eternally married] to the ancient Book of Mormon prophet Moroni and that she has lived numerous lives on numerous planets prior to this current life. 

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

‘Mother also informed Father that she is a translated being who cannot taste death sent by God to lead the 144,000 into the Millennium. 

‘Mother believes that she is receiving spiritual revelations and visions to help her gather and prepare those chosen to live in the New Jerusalem after the Great War as prophesied in the book of Revelations.’  

Charles’ sister, Kay Woodcock, said he was ‘fearful’ of his estranged wife.  

‘He was sleeping with one eye open,’ Woodcock told 12 News. 

‘People I’ve spoken with said she would just be doing something and say: “Well, Charles just has to go.”‘ 

Woodcock also said that Charles had recordings of Lori ranting about her new beliefs.   

‘He said: “Nobody will believe me,” and he recorded her one night,’ she told FOX13. 

‘Even though it’s deleted, nothing is ever deleted electronically or whatever. 

‘For her to say she’s a translated being and she is reincarnated? That is scary!’

Her husband, Larry, added: ‘Some nights he’d call me just crying like a baby, and it hurt my soul.’  

Woodcock said she always loved Lori ‘as a sister’, but said she began acting differently after she met Chad, the author of 25 books about the end of the world who was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after he declared himself a prophet.

Woodcock said emails exchanged between the pair led her to believe Lori and Chat were having an affair. 

Woodcock also said she was alarmed when Lori informed her that Charles was her fourth husband. Lori’s third husband, Joseph Ryan, died of a heart attack in 2018.  

‘She’s a black widow,’ Woodcock said. ‘[Husband] three and [husband] four are dead. Five? He’s next. How he’s gonna go? I don’t know. But I wouldn’t sleep with my eyes closed.’ 

Chad Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died at their home in Rexburg, Idaho, in October and was buried in Springville, Utah. Chad’s new wife, Lori, was also widowed in 2019 when her husband, Charles Vallow, was shot dead by her brother, Alex Cox, in July in Chandler, Arizona

Amid the divorce proceedings Charles was granted an order of protection against Lori – who he claimed had drained $35,000 out of their bank account. Authorities refused his request to put her under a 72-hour mental health hold.  

He later moved from Chandler, Arizona, to Texas. When returned to Arizona in July to pick up Joshua, he got in a heated argument with Lori that ended with her brother, Cox, intervening and shooting him dead. 

Police initially determined that Cox, who had served prison sentences in both Texas and Utah for violent assaults, acted in self-defense. 

Chad, the author of 25 books about the end of the world, was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after he declared himself a prophet

Chad, the author of 25 books about the end of the world, was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after he declared himself a prophet

Charles’ older son has said he doesn’t believe his father would have gotten violent with Lori or her brother.  

‘I knew my dad was the most passive person. He hated arguing with people. He’d never been in a fight, he was not an aggressive person in any way. I don’t believe it at all,’ the son told FOX10.  

Charles death is now under investigation, along with Cox’s and the death of Chad’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.  

The 49-year-old was found dead at the couple’s home in Idaho on October 19. The cause of death was listed as natural after Chad declined to have an autopsy performed. 

Two weeks after Tammy’s death, Chad tied the knot with Lori, whom he is believed to have met through a doomsday website called Preparing a People.  

Authorities exhumed Tammy’s body on December 11, the day before Cox died. 

The results of her autopsy have not been disclosed publicly but police on Friday said they had gathered enough evidence to justify searching the Daybells’ home for evidence pertaining to her death and Lori’s children’s disappearance.  

After news of the search broke, Charles’ older son told FOX10: ‘I’m terrified for JJ. I’m terrified for Tylee. I’m terrified for everyone surrounding them and their safety. I’m terrified for my family’s safety.’

Chad (left) is pictured with his wife Tammy Daybell (right) before she was found dead on October 19. Police now suspect foul play may have been involved

Chad (left) is pictured with his wife Tammy Daybell (right) before she was found dead on October 19. Police now suspect foul play may have been involved 

The FBI searched the Daybells' home (pictured) in Salem, Idaho, for evidence pertaining to Tammy's death and the children's disappearance on Friday

The FBI searched the Daybells’ home (pictured) in Salem, Idaho, for evidence pertaining to Tammy’s death and the children’s disappearance on Friday

An FBI investigator is seen loading evidence from the Daybell home into an official vehicle

An FBI investigator is seen loading evidence from the Daybell home into an official vehicle 

Other family members have expressed similar concern for their safety. 

Brandon Boudreaux, who was married to Lori’s niece, claims his wife tried to murder him in October after she joined the doomsday cult with her aunt.   

On October 2, Brandon was shot at while driving home from the gym in Gilbert, Arizona. The bullet missed his head by mere inches as the shooter fled the scene, according to court documents obtained by The Arizona Republic.

An ongoing police investigation revealed that the shooter was driving a Jeep registered to Charles Vallow.  

Brandon has now said he believes the children’s disappearance, the three deaths and his attempted murder are connected to a dangerous religious cult that Chad recruited Lori into about 18 months ago. 

‘I just don’t know how people can get so wrapped up that they can end up in this space where these people are. It’s just so radical, so different,’ Brandon told The Arizona Republic this week.

Brandon said his ex-wife, Melani Boudreaux, had begun spending time with her aunt’s cult, a radical offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Preparing for People, before she suddenly demanded a divorce over the summer.  

‘I thought I had a happy marriage, so it was pretty overwhelming,’ Brandon said.

The parents to four young children were in the middle of divorce proceedings when someone tried to kill him in the October drive-by.  

Brandon Boudreaux, who was married to Lori's niece Melani (pictured together), was targeted in drive-by shooting in October that he believes was linked to the disappearance of Lori's children and three other suspicious family deaths

Brandon Boudreaux, who was married to Lori’s niece Melani (pictured together), was targeted in drive-by shooting in October that he believes was linked to the disappearance of Lori’s children and three other suspicious family deaths

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