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Calarogu Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter, and welcome
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back to Celebrity Trials. Yesterday we explored how Chad Dabell
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and Laurie Valo transformed from ordinary Mormons into self proclaimed
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gods with a twisted theology that justified murder. Today, we're
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diving into the dark mechanics of how that delusion became
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a death list. By spring twenty nineteen, Chad and Laurie
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had convinced themselves they could identify zombies, people whose souls
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had been replaced by dark spirits. But their rating system
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wasn't random spiritual assessment. It was a methodical process of
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marking family members for elimination, and the people who scored
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darkest on their scale the ones standing between Chad and
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Laurie and their new life together. What we're about to
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uncover isn't just religious extremism run away. It's the calculated
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planning phase of a family annihilation scheme disguised as divine revelation.
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Chad and Laurie weren't just playing god, they were playing executioner.
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Let me paint you the picture of how Chad Dabell's
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spiritual gift actually worked. According to witnesses who heard Chad
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and Laurie discuss their beliefs. Chad claimed he could sense
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people's spiritual energy and rate them on a scale that
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determined their fate. The system was supposedly based on spiritual
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light and darkness. People with highlight ratings were spiritually advanced souls.
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People with dark ratings were either possessed by evil spirits
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or had become zombies, empty vessels controlled by demonic forces.
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But here's what makes this system so insidious. The ratings
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perfectly aligned with Chad and Laurie's personal convenience. The people
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who scored darkest just happened to be the ones standing
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in the way of their relationship, their money, or their plans.
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Charles Valow dark. He was trying to divorce Laurie and
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expose her beliefs. Tylee Ryan dark. The sixteen year old
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was becoming increasingly resistant to her mother's control and Chad's influence.
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Seven year old jj Vallo also dark. According to their
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twisted assessment. Tammy Dabell the darkest of all. She was
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Chad's wife and the biggest obstacle to his new life
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with Laurie. Melanie Gibb Laurie's former friend would later testify
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about overhearing these conversations. She described how casually Chad and
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Laurie would discuss people's ratings as if they were talking
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about the weather. Oh, so and so is very dark.
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They'd say their percentage keeps dropping. But the most chilling
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evidence of their planning came from their own phones. Prosecutors
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recovered text messages between Chad and Laurie that read like
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a supernatural hit list. In one exchange, Chad and law
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Or discussed death percentages for Tammy and JJ. Think about
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that phrase for a moment, death percentages. They were literally
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calculating the likelihood of killing family members and discussing it
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over text like they were planning a grocery run. In
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another message, Chad told Laurie there was a plan being
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orchestrated for the children. When Laurie asked about this plan,
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Chad replied, I was shown last night how it fit together. Again,
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these weren't abstract spiritual discussions. These were specific, tactical conversations
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about eliminating human obstacles. Chad claimed he was receiving divine
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revelations about who needed to die and when it should happen.
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But here's what prosecutors would later prove. The timing of
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these revelations always coincided perfectly with Chad and Laurie's practical needs.
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Got a financial problem, Suddenly God reveals that an insurance
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beneficiary needs to be eliminated. Facing a custody battle, divine
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inspiration suggests the child should be liberated from their earthly body.
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By early twenty nineteen, Charles Valo was fighting for his
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life and his family, even though he didn't fully understand
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the danger he was in. After going to police in
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January and filing for divorce in February, Charles was trying
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to regain custody of JJ and protect Hily from Laurie's
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increasingly erratic behavior. But Chad and Laurie were watching his
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every move, discussing his activities in their text messages, and
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planning how to neutralize what they saw as his interference
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with their divine mission. In March twenty nineteen, Chad purchased
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the exact type of knife that would later be found
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buried with JJ's remains. This wasn't a spontaneous purchase. This
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was premeditation disguised as spiritual preparation. Around the same time,
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Laurie began making concerning statements to family and friends about Charles.
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She told her friend April Raymond that Charles had become
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possessed by a demon named Ned. She started referring to
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her husband of thirteen years not by his name, but
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by the name of the evil spirit she claimed was
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controlling him. Most disturbingly, Laurie began discussing with her brother
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Alex Cox what she called their mission. Alex, who had
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a history of devotion to Laurie and previous legal troubles,
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was ready to do whatever his sister asked, and Laurie
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was asking him to prepare for violence. Charles Valow was
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marked for death by spring twenty nineteen, though he didn't
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know it. Every conversation with Laurie became a potential trap,
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Every interaction with the children became surveillance for evidence of
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his darkness. In text messages recovered from Laurie's phone, she
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sent her brother Alex a message that would later chill prosecutors.
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We could be like Nephi. For those unfamiliar with Mormon theology,
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Nephi is a prophet in the Book of Mormon who
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who God commanded to kill Laban. Laurie was essentially telling
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her brother that God wanted them to commit murder, just
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like in their religious texts. But Laurie wasn't just spiritually
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preparing Alex for murder. She was practically preparing him too.
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She arranged for Alex to be at her house when
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Charles came to pick up JJ. She made sure Tyley
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would be there as a witness who could corroborate whatever
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story they decided to tell. She even planned the timing
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so that the shooting would look like self defense. The
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level of planning was sophisticated. Laurie knew that Alex had
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previously been involved in violent incidents but had never been charged.
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She understood that claiming self defense could work if the
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scene was staged properly, and she made sure that the
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only witnesses would be family members loyal to her. Perhaps
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the most horrifying aspect of Chad and Laurie's rating system
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was how they began categorizing Laurie's own children. These weren't
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step children or distant relatives. These were kids Laurie had raised, loved,
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and supposedly devoted her life to protecting. Tylee. Ryan was
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sixteen years old and becoming increasingly resistant to her mother's
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new beliefs and boyfriend. She didn't like, Chad Dabell. She
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questioned Laurie's behavior. She was starting to assert her independence
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in ways that threatened Laurie's control. According to Melanie Gibbs' testimony,
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Laurie called Tyleie a zombie after Tylie refused to babysit
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JJ one day. When Tylie responded, not me, mom, Laurie
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took this as confirmation that her daughter's soul had been
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replaced by a dark spirit. JJ Valo was seven years
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old and autistic. He required special care and attention that
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would complicate Chad and Laurie's plans for their new life together.
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He also represented an ongoing connection to Charles Valo's family,
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who were becoming increasingly suspicious of Laurie's behavior. But here's
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what makes their targeting of the children even more calculating.
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Both Tylie and JJ had financial benefits attached to them.
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Tyley received Social Security survivor benefits from her biological father's death.
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JJ received benefits as an adopted child. If the children died,
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those benefits could potentially continue flowing to Laurie as their
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surviving parent. Meanwhile, Chad was working on his own target,
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his wife, Tammy. But Chad's approach was more subtle than
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Laurie's direct confrontation with Charles. Chad began telling Tammy that
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he was having dreams about her death. He claimed these
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were prophetic visions, spiritual warnings about what God had planned
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for her. But Chad presented these visions as unavoidable fate,
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not as threats. Tammy, who had been married to Chad
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for nearly thirty years, was troubled by these dreams. She
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confided in friends and family members that Chad was having
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disturbing visions about her dying young, but she interpreted these
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as spiritual gifts, not as her husband planning her murder.
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Chad also began making practical preparations for Tammy's death. He
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increased her life insurance. He started talking about what he
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would do when she died, not if she died. He
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began positioning himself as the grieving widower who would need
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comfort and support from his spiritual community. What makes the
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Valo de Bel case particularly disturbing is how Chad and
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Laurie managed to recruit others into their delusion. This wasn't
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just two people planning murders. This was a small network
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of believers who provided validation, support, and practical assistance. Melanie Paulowski,
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Lourie's niece, became deeply involved in the couple's beliefs. She
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left her husband Ian to be with Chad's friend, Ian Pawlowski,
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creating a second couple who believed in the same apocalyptic theology.
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Zulima Pastaines, another friend from the Preparing a People community,
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provided spiritual validation for Chad and Laurie's beliefs. She claimed
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to have her own sp spiritual gifts and confirmed that
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Chad and Laurie were indeed chosen beings. Most importantly, Alex
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Cox served as their enforcer. Laurie's brother was completely devoted
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to her and willing to do whatever she asked. He
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had a history of violence and legal troubles, but also
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a history of avoiding serious consequences. He was the perfect
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person to carry out their plans while maintaining plausible deniability.
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More in a moment, while Chad and Laurie rapped their
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planning in spiritual language, prosecutors would later prove that money
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was a constant consideration in their target selection. Charles Valow's
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one million dollar life insurance policy made him worth more
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dead than alive, at least until he changed the beneficiary
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to his sister Kay Woodcock in early two thousand nineteen.
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When Laurie discovered this change, her text messages showed fury
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about losing access to her money. The children's social Security
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benefits provided ongoing income that Laurie could access as their guardian.
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If the children died, there might be ways to continue
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collecting those benefits without the burden of actually caring for them.
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Tammy day Bell's life insurance policies would provide Chad with
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immediate cash to start his new life with Laurie. More importantly,
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Tammy's death would free Chad from his marriage without the
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financial complications of divorce. But perhaps most calculating of all,
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Chad and Laurie realized that if they eliminated their current
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family obligations, they could access all these financial benefits while
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starting fresh together. They could use the insurance money and
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benefit payments to fund their new life as self proclaimed
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profits and spiritual leaders. By summer twenty nineteen, Chad and
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Laurie had completed their spiritual and practical preparations for murder.
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They had identified their targets, justified their deaths through religious delusion,
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and arranged for the means to carry out their plans.
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Charles Valow was scheduled to die first. He was the
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most immediate threat to their relationship and the most vocal
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opponent of their beliefs. Alex Cox was prepared to kill
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him and claim self defense. The children would follow. Their
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resistance to Chad and Lourie's authority, combined with their financial value,
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made them obvious targets for elimination. Finally, Tammy day Bell
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would be removed so Chad could marry Laurie and access
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his wife's life insurance money. What Chad and Laurie had
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created wasn't just a murder plan. It was a systematic
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family annihilation scheme that would clear the path for their
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new life together while providing the financial resources to fund it. Tomorrow,
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we'll explore how this planning became reality in the summer
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of twenty nineteen, when the killing began with a single
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gun shop in a suburban Arizona home. Because what happens
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next shows how quickly spiritual delusion can turn into very
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real violence and how a family gathering can become a
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crime scene in a matter of minutes. This is read
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Carter with celebrity trials. The most dangerous people aren't always
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the ones who look evil. Sometimes they're the ones who
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think they're doing God's work. And sometimes the most terrifying
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weapon isn't a gun or a knife. It's the absolute
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certainty that you're righteous.