Niece Of Idaho 'Cult' Mom Knows Missing Kids’ Whereabouts, Her Ex Claims
Feb. 25 2020, Updated 10:49 p.m. ET
“Cult” mom Lori Vallow’s children have been missing for months, but a former relative claims his wife knows their whereabouts.
Brandon Boudreaux, who is currently divorcing Lori’s niece Melani Boudreaux, alleges his spouse was “involved in a cult where numerous members, adults and children alike, have been being killed off like flies.”
According to divorce filings, Lori and Melani are both under investigation in the disappearance of Lori’s children Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua, 7, who have been missing since September 2019.
Brandon’s filing states: “Melani’s knowledge of the whereabouts of her aunt’s two missing children and her unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement in finding those children, is daunting to Brandon. Melani’s current husband has told law enforcement something to the effect that Melani says sometimes children are full of light and then just like that they go dark.”
The paperwork also alleges Melani was part of a plot to have him killed and was planning to profit from his death by making herself a financial beneficiary. He also claimshis wife was “hoping to cash in on that policy to help support the cult that she is believed to be a part of.”
As readers know, following the news of her children’s disappearance, Lori, 46, and her husband, Chad Daybell —the author of several religious-themed fiction books about prophecies — fled the city. They were on the run for months before they were found last month in Hawaii. The cult mom was later arrested and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. She also faces charges of arrests and seizures — resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court — as well as willful disobedience of court process or order.
If convicted, Lori faces a maximum of 14 years in prison on each count of desertion of a child and is being held on a $5 million bond.
She and her husband are allegedly part of Preparing A People, a "cult" that the kids’ aunt Kay Woodcock, believes has something to do with the deaths of Chad's late wife, Lori’s late husband, and the disappearance of Tylee and Joshua.
Kay's brother, Charles Vallow, 62, was shot dead by Lori's 51-year-old brother, Alex Cox, inside her home in Chandler, Arizona.
In October 2019, Chad’s ex-wife, Tammy, 49, was found dead in her family home. Officials at first said she died of natural causes, but they later declared her passing as suspicious.
Now, the current investigation into Lori and Chad has prompted another look into the death cases.
Lori's brother Alex, who had shot her ex, also died of mysterious circumstances in December 2019. Authorities have not yet released a cause of death.