‘I was wrong.’ Lori Vallow Daybell’s sister releases message following deaths of JJ and Tylee

Summer Cox Shiflet, Lori Vallow Daybell’s sister, posted the following statement on Facebook Sunday night. Shiflet is Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow’s aunt. She gave permission to EastIdahoNews.com to share her message:

Words are hard and inadequate. Trying to type through this pain is difficult.

The last few months have been hard. The last week has been excruciating. Losing our precious Tylee and JJ in this horrific way is more than we can bear. ?

I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to all of the law enforcement that have worked so hard to find Tylee and JJ?. When I first heard that remains had been found, I immediately felt the need to pray for those who found them. And I continue to pray for those who were on the scene, removed the remains, and have to analyze them to try to piece together what those poor babies endured. I feel for those who do this work and am so grateful they are willing to do this, to help bring peace and closure to families.

I am also grateful to the Woodcocks for ordering the wellness check. I pray for them to have peace and comfort as well. My mother has been here with me the past few days and we both feel the same about this.
I feel so incredibly grateful to all of our friends and family and even the strangers that have reached out to offer their love and support. I have leaned on them more than they know.

We have prayed for the truth to come to light, but we never thought it would look like this. Believe me when I say, this has looked very different from my perspective than what the public has seen. It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon when you don’t personally know all the people involved. When you have been up close and personal, you can’t discount your own interactions, and just go by what everyone else says and thinks.

I know there are people waiting for me to admit I was wrong. If that’s all you want to know… here it is… I was wrong. I am an extremely imperfect person that loves my family with all my heart, and I wanted to believe the best in them, and I held out hope for the best possible outcome. I have always said things truthfully as I understood them, and will continue to do that as I learn new information.

While I am nowhere close to perfect, I strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I want to show love to everyone regardless of their imperfections. I do not find any joy in condemning people or in the mob mentality. There is no joy in finding out about my precious niece and nephew. And while I have moments of extreme anger… right now there is so much sorrow and hurt that I can’t even fully process all of it. The last thing I want to do is perpetuate more hate. There is already too much of that in this world. I am praying for healing for all of those who knew and loved Tyty and JJ. Even those who didn’t know them, but have been hurt by this news. I pray for healing for all who need it. Especially those who choose to lash out in anger over this. I pray for them especially, as I know when you are in pain from your own life circumstances, it is easy to act out in anger. I am trying my best not to do that.

It is going to take time to work through all of these emotions and all of this grief. But I have experienced the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life many times, and I have great hope and faith that He can heal all those who turn to Him for comfort.

Tylee and JJ are completely irreplaceable in our family. I have loved them greatly all of their lives. There are no words that can capture this loss. Words are just inadequate. We have dozens of Tylee and JJ stories that we love and share frequently. We had prayed our hearts out for them and hoped with all of our hearts they were safe. But we sadly have to face this new reality and our family will never ever be the same.

Sadly, there is no way to go back and undo what has been done. ? We can only go forward. As much as we miss them here, I know my beautiful Tyty and precious JJ are in a beautiful place with people they love. ?? I am going to do my best to help what’s left of my family to honor Tyty and JJ by putting our trust in our Savior Jesus Christ, by trying to show an abundance of love and kindness, and look into ways of helping victims of abuse, children suffering from chronic illnesses, and children on the autism spectrum.

Love you forever Tylee and JJ!!!❤️❤️??????

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