‘Cult mom’ Lori Vallow trial: Cause of death revealed for youngest child
Rachel Schilke
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Witnesses called by the prosecution revealed the cause of death for Lori Vallow Daybell’s youngest child during the third week of the murder trial for the “cult mom.”
Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and grand theft in connection to the deaths of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow and Tylee Ryan. The two are also facing charges in connection to the death of Tammy Daybell, the ex-wife of Chad Daybell. Vallow Daybell’s trial, separate from her husband’s, began on April 11 in Boise, Idaho.
‘CULT MOM’ LORI VALLOW TRIAL: HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW AS COURT CASE BEGINS
Gareth Warren, chief forensic pathologist with the Ada County Coroner’s Office, told the court Wednesday that J.J. Vallow died from asphyxiation, according to a report from KTVB7. The boy’s cause of death had not been made public until Warren’s testimony.
Warren conducted J.J. Vallow’s autopsy in June 2020. The pathologist said scratches on the boy’s neck were a “red flag” for him.
“Was J.J. trying to get the bag off his head? It could be scratch marks of him trying to get it off his head,” Warren said, adding that there was bruising around J.J.’s wrists, ankles, and upper arms.
Warren said he believes the bruising occurred before death.
“When someone dies, there is no longer circulation, so if someone is picked up after they’re dead by the arms, there would be no bruising like there was in this case,” Warren said.
FBI Special Agent Steve Daniels, who took the stand prior to Warren, said there were stark differences between J.J.’s and Tylee’s remains.
“Such a big contrast to us as a team, going from J.J.’s remains, very precise, versus Tylee’s remains, a melted, charred mass,” Daniels said.
Warren, who also conducted the autopsy on Ryan’s body, said her cause of death was “homicide by unspecified means,” meaning he knows a murder occurred but cannot pinpoint where or how it occurred due to the nature of the remains.
Warren said he believes Ryan was dismembered. He said a toxicology report came back positive for ibuprofen, a decomposition product, and a carbon monoxide level common in fire deaths.
“The level was very low, which means there was no indication Tylee was alive when she was burned,” Warren said.
J.J. Vallow was 7 years old and Ryan was almost 17 when they were last seen alive in September 2019. Their bodies were discovered in June 2020 on Chad Daybell’s property.
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Vallow Daybell’s views on the afterlife have been put forward as a motive for the murders and are a consistent theme in her trial. So have her beliefs in “zombie children.”
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell allegedly believed the children were possessed by evil spirits and that if they prayed, a possessed person would physically die, freeing their trapped souls from “limbo.”