Investigation into the death of Lori Daybell’s third husband is now complete, police say
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PHOENIX, Arizona — Police say the investigation into the death of Lori Vallow Daybell’s third husband is complete.
Phoenix Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Mercedes Fortune confirms to EastIdahoNews.com that the review into Joseph Ryan’s death investigation has been finalized and that he died of natural causes. Detectives re-opened the investigation after an October 2018 audio recording of Daybell came to light with her saying she “was going to murder” Ryan.
Six months before the recording was made, Ryan died of an apparent heart attack. Mercedes said the results of their new investigation have not changed.
In the recording, Daybell explained how she would justify killing Ryan using scriptures. Ryan was the father of Daybell’s daughter, Tylee Ryan. Daybell went on to say that her feelings changed when she began attending a Latter-day Saint temple regularly.
RELATED | Police reviewing investigation into the death of Lori Vallow Daybell’s third husband
Daybell’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, in July 2019. That investigation remains open, as does the investigation into Tammy Daybell’s death. Her husband, Chad Daybell, married Lori Vallow weeks after Tammy died.
RELATED | Audio recording captures Lori Daybell saying she ‘was going to murder’ her third husband
Cox died in December 2019 and a medical examiner determined his death to be natural.
Lori and Chad Daybell are charged with felonies related to the concealment, alteration and destruction of the bodies of 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, Lori’s two children. In June, investigators found the bodies buried on Chad’s Salem property.
