On Wednesday, a forensic accountant testified that Social Security payments intended for J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan were deposited into Lori Vallow Daybell’s bank account around the time they vanished in September 2019.
During Mike Douglass’ testimony, the court was shown how various payouts for J.J. and Tylee Ryan were made to Vallow Daybell’s bank account between October 2019 and January 2020. In August, Tylee’s Social Security payments went to Vallow Daybell’s bank account, according to East Idaho News.
Two days before Tylee’s Social Security payments were changed to go to Vallow Daybell’s account, Vallow Daybell completed an apartment application. In the application, she allegedly stated that she received $5,740 a month from Social Security.
J.J. received Social Security payouts because his adoptive father, Charles Vallow, had died. Tylee also got Social Security payments because her biological father was deceased.
For reference, Charles Vallow was Lori Vallow Daybell’s fourth husband. The pair had adopted J.J. — whose paternal grandmother is Charles’ sister — before Charles’ death in 2019.
Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, had fatally shot Charles in Arizona in 2019, months before J.J. and Ryan vanished. Cox died later that same year, and Vallow Daybell is charged with plotting Charles’ murder.
Currently, Vallow Daybell is on trial in Idaho for killing J.J., Ryan, and Tammy Daybell. Tammy’s husband is Chad Daybell, who is Vallow Daybell’s fifth husband and is facing the same charges.
Wednesday’s testimony regarding the Social Security payments is relevant because Ryan and J.J. were last seen alive in September 2019, meaning prosecutors believe Vallow Daybell took her children’s Social Security payments after killing them.
Vallow Daybell illegally received $22,545 in Social Security payments between October 2019 and January 2020, according to The Independent.
J.J. and Tylee were missing for nine months before they were found buried on Chad’s property in June 2020. Prosecutors said Tylee was dismembered and burned; her remains were located near a burn pit while J.J. was in a plastic bag wrapped in plastic. His face, arms, wrists, and feet were wrapped with duct tape.
Vallow Daybell said she was with Melanie Gibb, David Warwick, or her husband when her son and daughter died in her brother’s apartment in Rexburg, Idaho. Vallow Daybell allegedly said she was at her residence, also in Rexburg.
Vallow Daybell claimed she was in Hawaii when Tammy Daybell was killed at her husband’s home in Salem, Idaho. Vallow Daybell stated she was with two other people at the time.
Vallow Daybell — who is believed to have been involved in a so-called doomsday cult — allegedly told a friend that her children had become zombies and the only way to exorcise their bodies of evil spirits was to kill them.
Vallow Daybell underwent psychiatric treatment twice before she was deemed fit to stand trial. She is not facing the death penalty. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom per a court order.
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[Featured image: Tylee Ryan, J.J. Vallow/Facebook]
