Photo: Lisa Cheney of Boise, Idaho
Content warning: This story contains disturbing details.
In the courtroom, Melanie Gibb testfied that Lori believed that people existed on a scale of “light” and “dark” — with those that “signed contracts” with Jesus Christ being light and those who did the same with Satan as dark.
According to Gibb, Lori told her in September 2019 that her son J.J. Vallow, 7, had become “dark” that month, and that daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, had become dark earlier that year.
In November of that year, the children were reported missing and were never seen alive again.
Gibb also testified that when she visited Lori in Rexburg, Idaho, in September 2019, Lori allegedly told her that J.J. had an evil spirit in him — saying that her husband, Chad Daybell, had told her so.
“She let me know that J.J now had an evil spirit in him,” Gibb testified. “She learned it the day before.”
In addition, Gibb said Lori also told her that J.J.’s behavior had become more “difficult.” Gibb alleged that Lori said J.J., who had autism, had said, “I love Satan.”
Gibb also testified that during that September visit, Lori had told her that Tylee, who was not home at the time, was attending Brigham Young University, even though Tylee never attended the school.
Previously, Gibb had described the relationship between Lori and Chad.
“I saw him as the hand, and her as the puppet on that hand,” Melanie Gibb,previously told Dateline NBC. “They were both like gasoline and fire — equally destructive to each other.”
Lori is charged with murdering J.J. and Tylee, and she is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell.
J.J. and Tylee were last seen in September 2019, and on June 9, 2020, the remains of the siblings were found on a property belonging to Chad.
Lori has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Chad, who is Lori’s fifth husband, is also charged in connection with the deaths of J.J., Tylee and Tammy, but will have a separate trial.
Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, at left, and his sister Tylee Ryan.
During opening statements on Monday, Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake revealed that Tammy’s cause of death was asphyxiation.
“She died at the hands of another,” Blake said.
“[Lori] will remove any obstacle in her way to get what she wanted and she wanted Chad Daybell,” she added.
Among the long list of witnesses for the trial, Rexburg, Idaho, police detective Ray Hermosillo testified and provideda graphic accountof howauthorities discovered the remains of Lori’s children.
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“We eventually uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee — whom we assumed it was Tylee — that had been burned. There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart,” Hermosillo said on the stand.
Lori’s defense attorneys requested that she be absent from the courtroom during the disturbing testimony and said her mental health was fragile, but thejudge denied the request.
Lori’s trial is ongoing. In March, it was ruled that Lori, who spent time in a psychiatric treatment facility before being deemed fit for trial, would not face the death penalty in the slayings. She faces life in prison if convicted.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
