Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother and uncle speak out, plan to release podcast and book about ordeal
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IDAHO FALLS — Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother and uncle are releasing a podcast and book to “fill the holes in a case that doesn’t make any sense.”
Adam Cox and Rex Conner have been working on “Tylee and JJ’s Silver Linings,” a 10-episode podcast, which will be available Friday. They aim to have a self-published book ready by the time Daybell is sentenced on July 31.
“There are a lot of people who have different opinions about this case,” Cox, Daybell’s brother, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “This is a story and a case that doesn’t make any sense (but) there are so many people at different levels of pain that we would like to just try to help those going through that.”
A jury found Daybell guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of her children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and conspiracy to commit the murder of Tammy Daybell, her husband Chad Daybell’s then-wife. She also faces conspiracy to commit murder charges in Arizona for the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and the attempted killing of her former nephew-in-law, Brandon Boudreaux.
Cox has not spoken publicly since the verdict and has not talked to his sister in nearly four years. He and Charles Vallow were concerned for her mental well-being and wanted to get her help when Alex Cox, Lori and Adam’s brother, shot and killed Vallow on July 11, 2019.
“Two days later, I was driving to Tucson to my friend’s house … and I said to him, ‘Something weird is going on. I haven’t heard from Charles,'” Cox recalls. “It wasn’t like him not to text or call or anything. And so my friend said, ‘What’s his name?’ I said, ‘His name is Charles Vallow.’ He gets on his computer and types ‘Charles Vallow’ and (a news story) said that Charles Vallow was shot and killed by his brother-in-law.”
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Cox remembers “crying hysterically” and getting a knot in his stomach. He drove to his parents’ house and says there was a “huge argument” because they were supporting Lori and Alex at the time.
“When the kids went missing … I had tried to talk to my family but they’d cut me off completely,” Cox says. “My first instinct when I heard they were missing was that the kids were dead. I told that to Rex, I told that to everybody because there’s no way they’re alive; otherwise, Lori would produce them.”
The series of events caused a fracture in Cox’s family. Alex Cox died in Dec. 2019 and after JJ and Tylee’s remains were found buried on Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020, Conner felt it was time to try and heal as much damage as possible.
“Rex called me and said, ‘I think it’s time that we go to your mom’s house, have a sit-down, and I’ll be there to mediate,” Cox says. “That was a very emotional day. A lot of feelings were said. … I told my mom and dad, ‘I forgive you. Let’s try to move forward.’ So over the last two years, I’ve been going to their house on Sundays to eat dinner.”
Conner received some healing by attending parts of his niece’s trial with his daughters in Boise this spring. He says he gained a greater appreciation for everyone involved in the case — from the prosecutors to defense attorneys and the judge, jury and media.
“We’re all united in finding justice for the victims of this tragedy. It’s so uniting. We don’t care what other people’s politics are or their stance on social issues of the day. We’re all united in wanting justice for these victims. That’s a silver lining. I love that,” Conner says.
Conner says prosecutors asked him to write a letter to Judge Steven Boyce offering his opinion of what type of sentence would be appropriate for Daybell. He says he was candid in expressing his thoughts.
“I said as someone who has known and loved Lori since the day she was born, it’s painful for me to say this, but I don’t believe she can be rehabilitated,” Conner says. “So I would be concerned about her being around anyone outside of prison at any point in her life. … I was talking straight to the judge saying, ‘This is the best I can do to tell you my own feelings.’ We wouldn’t know how to handle it if she were free amongst people and to be in her presence or to have the possibility of crossing her — that’s just not something we want to deal with.”
Cox and Conner have already recorded two episodes of their podcast and say it’s been therapeutic. They hope the painful journey their family has experienced — and continues to go through — can help others in hard situations.
“I know every family has problems, has issues, has division and people don’t talk to each other. I just feel like that’s such a bad thing to do,” Cox says. “A lot of families like to sweep things under the rug and never talk about it again. Those are the kinds of things that I want to present to other people … and I would try to hope that we can help with that.”
Watch our entire interview with Adam Cox and Rex Conner in the video player above.
