Mom of missing Idaho kids screamed at her killer brother that he brought disgrace on their family'

Missing Idaho kids' mom Lori Vallow had a knock-down, drag-out fight in the middle of the street with her killer brother — who himself died mysteriously after the children went missing, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively.

The brother, Alex Cox, died last month aged 51 just 10 days after running off to Las Vegas to get married.

The unexplained death of Cox — who shot the missing children's father dead last year — is one more mystery in the harrowing case of missing Tylee Ryan, 17, and seven-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow.

The fight between Vallow and Cox was so bad that neighbors were close to calling the police on the warring siblings, a neighbor told DailyMail.com.

Mother of missing Idaho kids Lori Vallow (left) had a knock-down, drag-out fight in the middle of the street with her killer brother Alex Cox (right) — who himself died mysteriously after the children went missing, DailyMail.com has learned exclusively

MISSING: Lori's children Tylee Ryan (left) and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow (right) have not been seen or heard from since September but cops only realized they were missing two days before Thanksgiving when they were asked to conduct a welfare check by relatives who had been unable to contact JJ since September

ON THE RUN: Chad Daybell (left) and Vallow (right) are now in hiding after police started to question the whereabouts of Tylee and 'JJ'. Vallow and Daybell married in early November 

'I heard this huge commotion,' neighbor Donny Self told DailyMail.com. 'People were coming out in the street to watch what was going on.

'I thought they must be husband and wife because it was the sort of fight you don't normally have with your sister. She was screaming at him accusing him of bringing disgrace on their family.'

'I joked with my wife that I thought he might have killed her after their argument,' Self said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

Cox's demise is one of at least four unexplained deaths and one attempted murder that surround the disappearance of Tylee and her adopted half-brother JJ. The children have not been seen since September, although a text was sent from Tylee's phone to a friend in Arizona on October 25, according to the Post Register. 

JJ's grandparents, who say Lori turned into a 'monster' after meeting Daybell, are offering a $20,000 reward for information on the children's whereabouts.

Cox killed JJ's father Charles Vallow last July after a dispute. Vallow had gone to pick up the little boy — who suffers from autism — from Lori at her home on the gated Mesquite Grove estates in Chandler, Arizona, and the three got into an argument during which Vallow allegedly hit Cox with a baseball bat. Cox then shot him dead.

Police classified the killing as self-defense but have now re-opened investigations, Detective Seth Tyler told DailyMail.com. According to a statement put out at the time, Cox himself called police and tried to perform CPR on his brother-in-law after shooting him. 

THE PLAYERS: A WHO’S WHO IN THE CASE OF MISSING IDAHO KIDS TYLEE AND JJ

Lori, 46, and Charles, 62, were estranged at the time, although they had halted divorce proceedings. She went on to marry Mormon Doomsday author Chad Daybell, 51, in early November just two weeks after the death of his wife Tammy.

When police started questioning them about the missing kids, they abruptly left their home in Rexburg, Idaho, and are refusing to cooperate with authorities looking for her two children.

Investigators believe they either know where the children are or know what happened to them.

'It is astonishing that rather than work with law enforcement to help us locate her own children, Lori Vallow has chosen instead to leave the state with her new husband,' Rexburg police chief Shane Turman said.

Police say Cox was found unresponsive at a home he had moved to in Gilbert, Arizona, in the early hours of December 12 — but they are still waiting for a medical examiner's report — which could take up to three months — to confirm the cause of death.

He married Zulema Pastenes, 55, in Las Vegas on December 2.

His widow did not return calls from DailyMail.com and did not come to the door at her home in Gilbert. However, her son confirmed she and Cox had married shortly before his death.

Neighbor Self said Cox, who had a history of violent assaults, was very unfriendly and tried to avoid contact with his neighbors on the quiet residential street. 

The brother, Alex Cox, died last month aged 51 just 10 days after running off to Las Vegas to get married. 'I heard this huge commotion,' neighbor Donny Self told DailyMail.com. 'People were coming out in the street to watch what was going on. She was screaming at him accusing him of bringing disgrace on their family.' Pictured: Alex Cox (far left) with Lori (far right) with other members of their family 

Cox's demise is one of at least four unexplained deaths and one attempted murder that surround the disappearance of Tylee and JJ. Cox killed Vallow's husband Charles (pictured together) last July after a dispute. Charles allegedly hit Cox with a bat and Cox shot him dead

Lori, 46, went on to marry Mormon Doomsday author Daybell, 51, in early November just two weeks after the death of his wife Tammy. She was aged 49 and in training for a 5K run when she died. Her death had originally been classified as from natural causes but Fremont County, Idaho, coroner Brenda Dye went to a judge in Utah to ask for her body to be dug up for further tests. Pictured: Tammy Daybell with Chad Daybell 

Cox died last month aged 51 just 10 days after running off to Las Vegas to get married to Zulema Pastenes, 55, (pictured). His widow did not return calls from DailyMail.com and did not come to the door at her home in Gilbert. However, her son confirmed she and Cox had married shortly before his death

'One day I was doing some yard work in the front and he drove his Ford pickup into the front. I waved and tried to say hello, but he ignored me and just went inside.'

Self said that at one point Cox was away from the four-bedroom single story home for some six weeks — and left the garage door open for the entire time.

'It's a good job we are a quiet law-abiding community because he had a lot of stuff in there and none of it got stolen.'

When he returned to the home — which is now empty and up for rent — he moved everything out of the garage so he could fit the truck in. 'I think he just wanted to get straight into the house without having to see any of his neighbors,' said Self.

Cox's death came the day after Tammy Daybell's body was exhumed from a cemetery in Springville, Utah on December 11. Results of toxicology tests on her body are expected sometime this month. She was aged 49 and in training for a 5K run when she died.

Her death had originally been classified as from natural causes but Fremont County, Idaho, coroner Brenda Dye went to a judge in Utah to ask for her body to be dug up for further tests. 

As well as the deaths of Charles Vallow, Tammy Daybell and Alex Cox, Lori Vallow's previous husband Joseph Ryan — Tylee's father — died aged 59 in 2018 from a reported heart attack. His body was cremated and cannot be exhumed.

Brendan Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Lori's niece Melani, was shot at as he drove in Arizona from a car registered to Charles Vallow, who had been killed three months earlier. Melani is also a follower of Chad Daybell.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Previous
• 1
• Next

• REVEALED: Missing girl, 17, texted a friend 'miss you' one... EXCLUSIVE: Police suspect cult leader's first wife was...

Share this article

Missing JJ Vallow suffered from a far more severe form of autism than previously known, needing a therapy dog and his iPad at all times

Missing seven-year-old JJ Vallow suffers from a far more severe form of autism than has previously been acknowledged according to court papers obtained by DailyMail.com

Missing seven-year-old JJ Vallow suffers from a far more severe form of autism than has previously been acknowledged according to court papers obtained by DailyMail.com.

He needs a therapy dog and has to have his iPad with him at all times according to the papers filed by his adoptive father Charles Vallow.

Vallow was in the midst of divorce proceedings with Lori Vallow — which were later dropped. The papers, drawn up by his attorney, refers to him as 'Father' and calls Lori 'Mother.'

In the papers filed in Phoenix in February 2019, Vallow — who was shot dead in July last year — said his son's iPad had 'special expensive developmental apps on it that he loves and helps keep him calm.'

'Father believes that the iPad should always go with JJ regardless of what type of parenting time schedule is ordered.'

Vallow — who said he earned $240,000 a year — claimed his wife had drained his bank account, taken his truck, stolen his clothes and computer and removed JJ's support items, including vital medication and a special collar for his service dog.

'Father would like for the collar to stay with whoever has the dog and JJ,' he wrote. 'Not having his normal clothes and iPad has been very disruptive and created a hardship on JJ.'

He said she also took 2,000 points from their Enterprise Rental Car account. 'Father is worried that Mother may be planning to use the rental car points to leave the state and potentially take JJ with her.'

'Father also states that Mother's mental and emotional instability is not in the best interests of JJ for him to be alone with Mother.'

Vallow referred to Lori's older children, Colby, who is now married with a young daughter and living in Mesa, Arizona, and missing Tylee, as 'emancipated,' but did not go into further details. Colby Ryan refused to speak to DailyMail.com when approached.

Vallow said the problems came to a head while he was on a business trip in Texas. He said Lori took most of his possessions from their home.

He needs a therapy dog and had to have his iPad with him at all times according to the papers filed by his adoptive father Charles Vallow

'Before cleaning out Father's possessions at the residence, Mother cancelled Father's flight home from Texas the day of the flight. Father arrived at the airport for boarding and was informed that he had cancelled the flight but it was Mother who went onto the airline account and cancelled the ticker.

'Father then had to buy a last-minute ticket that cost him $600.

'Upon arriving in Phoenix, Father went to the parking lot to get his truck only to find that the truck was no longer parked there because Mother had used the spare key to get the truck and remove it from the airport parking lot.

'Once home, Father discovered Mother took Father's desktop computer, JJ's iPad, Father's clothes and underwear, JJ's clothes, the service dog's collar, JJ's medication among other items.

'JJ has special needs and has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD,' he continued. 'He needs his medication, service dog and iPad with special developmental apps on a daily basis to maintain his routine.

Vallow claimed that Lori believed she was 'sealed' — meaning eternally married — to the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni and that she had lived 'on numerous planets prior to this current life.'

'Mother also believes that she was married to (Christian apostle) James the Just in a past life and also lived as Mary French in the 1800s who was (Mormon founder) Joseph Smith Junior's natural grandmother.

'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.'

He said she had threatened to kill him if he got in the way of her plans and had started to call him Nick Schneider.

'Father asked who Nick Schneider was and Mother told him that Nick was Father's real name because Nick had killed Father and taken his identity.

'Mother proceeded to warn Father that she would kill him upon his return home and had an angel there to help her dispose of the body.'

Four months later, Charles Vallow was dead, shot and killed by his wife's brother.  

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKEeYKYa2dqZ32kum65yKyqoqaXYpalrceoZKShlKh6tK%2FRnpimnZRiuKq4y56pZpqipMGpsdFmmaunpZy1tXnDoqqgqpGYsm6ywKagpbFencGuuA%3D%3D