In December 2019, the world learned that two children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and his sister, Tylee Ryan, were missing. Since then, a complicated story spanning multiple states and law enforcement agencies has unfolded. This timeline goes through the key events leading up to the deaths of the children and outlines what has happened since the police arrested Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell.
This timeline provides a comprehensive look at the events surrounding the "Doomsday Mom" case, focusing on the key players and the tragic sequence of events that led to the deaths of Tylee Ryan, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, and Tammy Daybell.
Key Players
- Lori Vallow Daybell: Also known as Lori Ryan Vallow, described as the "doomsday mom." She is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in the cases of J.J. Vallow, Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, and Tammy Daybell. She is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the case of Charles Vallow.
- Charles Vallow: Lori Vallow Daybell’s fourth husband.
- Chad Daybell: He wrote more than 25 books that are considered “doomsday literature” and is the president of Spring Creek Book Company, which publishes apocalyptic literature and near death experience accounts. Daybell is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in the cases of J.J. Vallow, Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, and Tammy Daybell.
- Tammy Daybell: First wife of Chad Daybell.
- Tylee Ashlyn Ryan: Daughter of Joseph Ryan and Lori Vallow Daybell, who lived with Charles and Lori Vallow.
- Joshua Jaxon “J.J.” Vallow: Charles Vallow’s nephew who was adopted by Charles and Lori Vallow.
- Melanie Gibb: Friend of the family. Chad Daybell at one point claimed J.J. was staying with Gibb.
- Alex Cox: Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother.
Timeline of Events
The Early Years
- March 9, 1990: Tammy and Chad Daybell married in the Manti Utah Temple, according to her obituary.
- March 1, 2004: According to Tammy Daybell’s obituary, she founded the company Spring Creek Book Company with Chad Daybell. She served as Chief Financial Officer while making book covers.
- Aug. 1, 2007: Chad Daybell published the first novel in his fictional series “Standing in Holy Places.”
- 2007: Alex Cox was convicted after physically assaulting Joseph Ryan, former husband of Lori Vallow Daybell (they divorced in 2005), with a taser. Adam Cox, brother of Alex Cox, told Texas detectives, “Lori and Alex planned to kill Joe.” Angeline Law, a close friend of Vallow Daybell, said, “Lori had said before that she hired her brother to kill Joe because of stuff he did to them.”
- Sometime in 2014: Suzanne Freeman, an author who published with Spring Creek Book Company, began to feel uncomfortable with the direction of Daybell’s company.
- February 2014: Julie Rowe met Chad Daybell on the online forum A Voice of Warning, which discusses preparedness, visions and dreams.
- May 16, 2014: Daybell published Rowe’s book “A Greater Tomorrow,” where she claims that she had a vision in 2004 in which she saw the destruction of the world and the Second Coming.
- Sometime in 2015: According to an anonymous friend who spoke with Fox affiliate WNYW, Vallow Daybell began to become obsessed with Daybell and his book series “Standing in Holy Places.”
- July 24, 2015: Spring Creek Book Company was incorporated in Idaho, listing Chad Daybell as the agent. Chad and Tammy Daybell had moved to Salem, Idaho, according to Tammy Daybell’s obituary.
- Sometime in October 2018: Daybell spoke at the “Preparing a People” conference in St. George, Utah. According to footage published by ABC, Vallow Daybell met Daybell at this conference.
- Oct. 26, 2018: According to a felony indictment reviewed by East Idaho News, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell began discussing using their religious beliefs to justify killing J.J. and Tylee.
- Nov. 26, 2018: Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell appeared together on a podcast called “Time to Warrior Up,” which was made by Preparing a People, with Jason Mow and Melanie Gibb.
- Mid-December 2018: Rowe stated that this was the last time that she spoke with Daybell in person.
2019: The Year of Suspicious Deaths and Disappearances
- Jan. 31, 2019: CBS News published Gilbert Police Department body camera footage of Charles Vallow telling an officer that Vallow Daybell had become unhinged.
- February 2019: Vallow filed for divorce from Vallow Daybell. In documents obtained by KSAZ, Vallow alleged that she threatened to murder him if he tried to stop her preparations for the Second Coming in July 2020.
- July 11, 2019: Alex Cox kills Charles Vallow and claims self-defense. Later, Vallow’s death would be ruled a homicide.
- July 2019: Vallow Daybell and Daybell began exchanging text messages in what investigators described as being like “a romance novel.” According to East Idaho News, they used the names James and Elena to describe a romantic, sexual relationship.
- Sept. 8, 2019: Lori Vallow Daybell, Alex Cox, Tylee Ryan, and J.J. Vallow visited Yellowstone National Park. The FBI requested information from visitors of Yellowstone on Sept. 8 because it was the last day Tylee was seen alive.
- Sept. 9, 2019: East Idaho News reported that Cox was on Chad Daybell’s property and Chad Daybell allegedly texted his wife Tammy Daybell that he shot a raccoon and buried it in the backyard.
- Sept. 23, 2019: East Idaho News stated that this was the last day that J.J. was seen alive. He was at the Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg. Vallow Daybell unenrolled J.J. and said that she would homeschool him.
- Oct. 19, 2019: Tammy Daybell died in what the coroner originally listed as “cardiac arrest” and no autopsy was performed. Later, KSAZ reported, Chad Daybell would be charged with murdering his wife.
- Nov. 5, 2019: Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell got married in Hawaii. KSAZ reported that Tylee and J.J. had not been seen for six weeks at this point.
- Nov. 26, 2019: The police performed a welfare check because Kay Woodcock, grandmother of J.J., told authorities that she and her husband had not spoken to J.J. in months. Vallow Daybell told authorities that Melanie Gibb was with J.J., but Gibb told authorities that was not the case.
- Dec. 1, 2019: Vallow Daybell and Daybell flew to Hawaii.
- Dec. 12, 2019: Alex Cox died. According to East Idaho News, Cox died of natural causes because he had blood clots in the arteries of his lungs.
- Dec. 20, 2019: The Rexburg police department declared J.J. and Tylee missing persons and called Vallow and Daybell “persons of interest.” The police asked the public for information and said that the children’s disappearance could be linked to the death of Tammy Daybell.
- Dec. 27, 2019: Julie Rowe told Fox affiliate KSTU that Chad Daybell had a vision that Tammy Daybell would die.
2020: Discovery of Remains and Arrests
- Jan. 26, 2020: Kauai, Hawaii, police department served Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell search warrants.
- Jan. 30, 2020: According to East Idaho News, Vallow Daybell did not return her children to Rexburg.
- Feb. 20, 2020: According to USA Today, Vallow Daybell was arrested after she failed to meet the deadline to return her children.
- April 9, 2020: In a letter given to East Idaho News, the Idaho Attorney General’s office stated that Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were under investigation for murder.
- June 9, 2020: The Rexburg police department found human remains in Daybell’s backyard. It was later confirmed that they were the remains of J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan.
- June 10, 2020: Daybell was arrested and charged with two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
2021-2023: Trials and Convictions
- Sept. 1, 2021: Daybell’s children spoke with CBS News’ 48 Hours and told them that they believed that their father was innocent and Vallow Daybell fooled him.
- April 11, 2022: District Judge Steven Boyce ruled that Vallow Daybell was competent to stand trial.
- May 26, 2022: A judge ruled that Vallow Daybell and Daybell will be tried together in 2023 for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
- Aug. 24, 2022: Netflix announced that they will release a docuseries about Vallow Daybell entitled “Sins of Our Mother.”
- Sept. 4, 2022: Colby Ryan, son of Lori Vallow and star of the docuseries “Sins of Our Mother,” was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on two counts of sexual assault.
- Sept. 12, 2022: Charges against Colby Ryan were dropped.
- Oct. 6, 2022: On Oct. 6, 2022, Lori Vallow’s trial was postponed until competency can be determined.
- Oct. 28, 2022: The Deseret News reported that the judge ruled in favor of postponing Daybell’s trial.
- Nov. 16, 2022: East Idaho News reported that Vallow was found competent to stand trial.
- March 2, 2023: Boyce ruled Chad Daybell’s trial will be severed from Lori Vallow’s.
- April 3, 2023: Lori Vallow’s trial started in Ada County, Idaho.
- May 12, 2023: Lori Vallow was found guilty of murder, conspiracy and grand theft, according to Deseret News.
- June 12, 2023: Chad Daybell’s trial is set for April 1, 2024, according to East Idaho News.
- July 31, 2023: Lori Vallow was sentenced to life in prison, per Deseret News.
2024-2025: Further Legal Proceedings
- June 1, 2024: Chad Daybell was sentenced to death.
- April 22, 2025: Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the 2019 killing of her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona.
This timeline illustrates the complex and tragic series of events surrounding Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow, leading to the deaths of multiple individuals and the subsequent legal battles.
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