Neighbors say Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell admitted Tylee was dead

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Neighbors of Chad and Tammy Daybell testified Tuesday the day they first met Lori Vallow, Chad and Lori told them Lori’s daughter had recently passed away. According to the neighbors, Todd and Alice Gilbert, this conversation occurred at the end of October 2019, eight months before the remains of Lori’s two children were discovered, buried on Chad’s property.

“We asked her if she had any children, and she’d said that she had many,” said Todd. “And then Chad spoke up and said that she had a daughter that just passed on,” he said. “I told her, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ And she said, ‘Thank you,’” said Alice Gilbert.

At that time, Lori was telling relatives and friends that she was hiding JJ and Tylee from people who wanted to harm them or that Tylee was attending college. Lori’s mother and sister told Arizona’s Family that Lori said she was protecting the children.

Todd and Alice testified that Chad and Tammy had a good relationship until several months before Tammy died. However, Alice testified that the couple seemed less close in the weeks before the death.

Chad is charged with Tammy’s death. However, the Utah State Medical Examiner testified that Tammy died from asphyxiation and that bruising on her body was consistent with her being restrained.

The Gilberts told the jury that one week after Tammy’s death, Chad told them he had a new girlfriend he intended to marry. They said they were surprised that Chad was moving on so quickly. They said they met Lori shortly afterward and that she told them her husband had died of a heart attack in December 2018. In reality, Lori’s husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in Chandler four months before.

Police and prosecutors believe Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, murdered Charles at Lori’s command. Lori is charged with murder in Charles’ death. Alex Cox died in December 2019, of natural causes, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

Alice Gilbert said she confronted Chad once the children were reported missing, and police started looking for them. “I asked him, ‘Where are the kids, Chad?’ and, ‘Doesn’t Tylee want a life? A job? A car? A boyfriend?’ And he said, ‘She didn’t like people and she didn’t like me,’” said Alice on the witness stand. “And what struck you about those statements?” asked the prosecutor. “Because he said, ‘Didn’t.’ He used past tense,” said Alice.

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