Lori Vallow’s niece told an Arizona television station that her aunt’s two missing children are being protected from people trying to harm them.
KTVK-TV on Friday aired an interview with Melani Pawlowski (formerly Boudreaux) and her new husband, Ian Pawlowski, about the ongoing saga surrounding Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, who have not been seen since September.
Melani Pawlowski, Vallow’s niece, said her aunt had moved to Idaho from suburban Phoenix, Arizona, last year to keep the children safe. Pawlowski said after she also moved to Idaho in November, she saw some of the children’s belongings and asked about them.
“Lori says that (the children are) safe and they’re doing everything they can to keep to them from the people that are trying to harm them,” Pawlowski told the television station. “I believe that.”
Vallow has been jailed in Idaho on allegations of deserting her children. The FBI is among the law enforcement agencies investigating the case.
Vallow is linked to a number of mysterious deaths over the past year. Vallow’s brother Alex Cox killed her ex-husband Charles Vallow last summer but claimed the action was in self-defense. Cox was found dead in December. Autopsy and toxicology reports released Friday show he died of a pulmonary blood clot, KUTV reports.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the October death of Tammy Daybell, the former wife of Vallow’s current husband, Chad Daybell. Her death was initially classified as occurring by natural causes, but police are taking a second look at the case and autopsy results are pending.
In divorce papers, Charles Vallow claimed that Lori believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.”
Vallow and Chad Daybell were reportedly part of a group preparing for the world to end.
In December, Vallow and Daybell moved to Hawaii after police in Idaho were asked to check on the welfare of her children. Authorities later arrested Vallow in February.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a previous episode on the case.
[Feature Photo: Joshua Vallow & Tylee Ryan /Police Handout]
