On March 22, the prosecution in the murder case involving Lori Vallow-Daybell released a list of witnesses they would call upon to refute Lori’s alibi during the time the alleged murders occurred.
Lori is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of her children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, and her husband Chad’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Lori filed a Notice of Alibi in January in which she said she was in her own apartment in Rexburg with Melanie Gibb, David Warwick and/or Chad Daybell when Tylee and JJ died in the apartment of her brother, Alex Cox in Rexburg.
She also said she was in Hawaii with Melanie Boudreaux and/or Audrey Baratierro when Tammy Daybell died in Chad Daybell’s home in Salem.
Here are the witnesses the state intends to call during the trial to refute Lori’s alibi.
Melanie Gibb
Gibb was a close friend to Lori and as a former adherent to Chad was a key informant on their religious and ideological beliefs. Gibb told East Idaho News that Chad claimed to receive revelations on people who were possessed by demons and had become “zombies.” She said she was present when Chad told Lori her husband, Charles Vallow, had become possessed. Charles was later shot and killed by Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, in what police determined at the time to be self-defense. After moving to Rexburg Lori reportedly told Gibb that JJ had become a zombie.
Melanie Pawlowski A.K.A Melanie Boudreaux
Pawlowski is Lori’s niece. Chad and Lori were suspected by Arizona authorities of organizing a shooting attack on her ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, at his house. He was in the process of divorcing Melanie and expressed concerns over her behavior. She was a part of the group adhering to Chad’s religious teachings. She remarried Ian Pawlowski and moved into the same complex as Lori in Rexburg, leaving her children in Arizona with Brandon.
David Warwick
Warwick was Melanie Gibb’s boyfriend and friend of Lori and Chad. He was one of the last people to see JJ Vallow alive. He said in court that he was staying at Lori’s apartment on the night of Sept. 22, 2019, and saw JJ on his way to bed. The next morning, he asked to see the boy and Lori reportedly told him that JJ was “being a zombie” and Alex Cox, her brother, took him away.
Shawn Derrick
Derrick is a general partner at Blue Sky Property Management, which manages the complex where Lori resided in Rexburg.
Zulema Pastenes
Pastenes married Alex Cox on Nov. 29, 2019 in Las Vegas. Police believe Cox was involved in the deaths of JJ and Tylee, who had gone missing two months earlier. Their relationship was encouraged by Lori and Chad. She told investigators Chad gave her a blessing and told her to marry Cox so her “mission could be fulfilled.”
Cox died from natural causes less than a month after his marriage to Pastenes. Before he died, Cox denied involvement in Tammy Daybell’s death but told Pastenes he believed he was Chad and Lori’s “fall guy,” according to East Idaho News.
Lt. Ron Ball, Det. David Stubbs and Sgt. Ray Hermosillo
Ball and Stubbs are detectives and Hermosillo is a 22-year veteran officer, all with the Rexburg Police Department. In November 2019, JJ Vallow’s grandmother, Kay Woodcock, reported to authorities that she had not seen JJ in two months and had been unable to contact Lori.
Upon learning Lori moved to Rexburg, she asked police to conduct a welfare check on JJ. On Nov. 26, Hermosillo went to Lori’s apartment and encountered Alex Cox and Chad Daybell who lied about JJ’s whereabouts. Lori was at a different apartment in the same complex and was approached by Ball and Stubbs. She told them JJ was with Melanie Gibb in Arizona, which authorities later confirmed was not true. The following day police came to serve a search warrant to Lori, but she was gone. She would later be found in Hawaii with Chad and arrested for child desertion.
Lori’s trial began Monday in Ada County.
Chad Daybell is also charged with three counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. His case was severed from Lori’s on March 2 and he will face trial at a later date.