Chad Daybell’s family refused an autopsy for his wife after she died in their Idaho home in October, just weeks before he married Lori Vallow, the mother of two children who have been missing since September.
Fox 10 Phoenix has obtained a recording of a call between the chief of police in Gilbert, Arizona, and a Fremont County Sheriff’s office dispatcher in Idaho regarding Tammy Daybell’s death. According to the report, Gilbert police contacted the sheriff’s office there shortly after Tammy’s death because of the connection to Lori Vallow, whose husband Charles Vallow had died in Chandler, Arizona, in July. The person who reportedly shot him, Vallow’s brother Alex Cox, had ties to Gilbert.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cox, who claimed to he shot Charles Vallow in self-defense, was found unresponsive at a home in Gilbert in December, and could not be revived. Authorities have not disclosed any details about Cox’s death, and it appears that the Gilbert police chief contacted authorities in Fremont County before Cox died.
According to the recording obtained by Fox 10 Phoenix, Gilbert Police Detective Ryan Pillar told the dispatcher, “We just have some cases down here that got our attention with Mrs. Daybell,” presumably referring to Lori Vallow, who is now married to Chad Daybell. Relatives of the couple have reportedly claimed that Daybell, an author, and Vallow are involved in a so-called “end-days” religious group.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s dispatcher reportedly told the Gilbert police chief that a deputy and a coroner responded to the scene after Tammy Daybell was found dead, and said Daybell’s family did not want an autopsy.
“They just kinda looked at her and I was advised that the family didn’t want an autopsy and they just went to the funeral home and the family refused an autopsy,” the dispatcher said, according to the report.
Authorities initially determined that Tammy Daybell died of natural causes, but have since exhumed her body and re-opened the death investigation. The Fox 10 Phoenix report notes that it is unclear if a police report was filed after her death.
Vallow’s children Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, have not been seen since September. Vallow never reported them missing, and she and Daybell fled her Rexburg, Idaho, home shortly after police performed a wellness check there in late November, and discovered for the first time that the children were missing.
The couple was found to be staying in Kauai, Hawaii, in late January, and authorities there gave Vallow a deadline of January 30 to present her children to police in Idaho. Vallow missed the deadline, and has not been cooperative with the investigation.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CBS News that Tylee Ryan’s phone was found with Vallow in Hawaii, though there is still no sign of the children.
Authorities have no made any arrests in connection to the children’s disappearance, and it is unclear if they plan to bring charges against Vallow or Daybell.
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