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Caalarogu Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter, and welcome
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back to Celebrity Trials. We've spent two episodes exploring how
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Chad Dabell and Laurie Valo transformed from ordinary people into
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self proclaimed gods with a divine mission to eliminate family members.
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Today we're entering the killing phase, the summer of twenty nineteen,
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when their twisted planning became bloody reality. What happened over
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the next four months wasn't just murder. It was the
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systematic destruction of a family, carried out with such callous
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precision that it still shocks investigators today. By the time
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Chad and Laurie were done, three people were dead, two
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children had vanished, and the survivors were left to piece
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together how people they trusted could become such efficient killers.
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But here's what makes this case particularly chilling. Between each murder,
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Chad and Laurie went about their normal lives. They posted
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on social media, they went to conferences, they celebrated, They
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acted like nothing had happened, because, in their twisted minds,
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they weren't committing crimes. They were doing God's work. Let
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me take you through the summer that changed everything, starting
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with a phone call that would set everything in motion.
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On July eleventh, twenty nineteen, Charles Valow drove to Laurie's
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house in Chandler, Arizona, to pick up JJ for a visit.
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It should have been a routine custody exchange. Instead, it
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became the opening act of a killing spree that would
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span four months and claim five lives. Charles had no
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idea that he was walking into a trap that had
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been months in the planning. Laurie had made sure her
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brother Alex Cox would be there. She had positioned Hilely
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as a witness. She had prepared the story they would
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tell police about self defense. According to the official police report,
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Alex Cox claimed that Charles became violent during an argument
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with Tyley. Cox said Charles threatened the sixteen year old
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with a baseball bat and that he shot Charles to
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protect his niece and sister, But prosecutors would later prove
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this was an elaborate lie. The evidence at the scene
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told a different story. Charles Valow was shot twice, once
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in the chest and once in the head. The second
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shot was fired while Charles was already on the ground dying.
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That's not self defense, that's execution. Phone records show that
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in the minutes after Charles was killed, Laurie and Alex
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were frantically calling Chad dabll not nine one one, not
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for medical help. They called their spiritual leader to report
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that the first obstacle had been eliminated. But here's the
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detail that shows you exactly who Laurie Valo really was.
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Within hours of her husband's murder, she was hosting a
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pool party. Picture this for a moment. Charles Valow's body
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has just been removed from Laurie's house by the coroner.
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The police have finished processing the crime scene, and that
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same evening, neighbors report hearing loud music and seeing lots
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of people swimming at Laurie's house. The woman whose husband
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had just been killed was celebrating. She was literally partying
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on the day of his murder. When investigators later asked
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her about this, Laurie claims she was just trying to
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keep things normal for the children. But JJ wasn't even there.
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He was in the custody of Charles's sister Kay after
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the shooting. This wasn't grief management, this was celebration. Laurie
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was marking the successful completion of phase one of their plan.
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Alex Cox was questioned by police, but never charged. He
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claimed self defense, highly backed up his story, and without
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contradictory evidence, prosecutors couldn't prove otherwise. It was exactly what
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Laurie had planned, a perfect murder disguised as justified protection.
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But Charles Valow's death had an unexpected consequence because he
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had changed his life insurance beneficiary from Laurie to his
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sister Kay just months before his death, Laurie didn't get
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the million dollar payout she was expecting. Charles had outsmarted
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her from beyond the grave. Laurie was furious. Text messages
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recovered from her phone show her raging about the insurance
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money going to Kay instead of her. In one message
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to Chad, she complained that Charles must have changed the
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beneficiary before we got rid of him. Those five words
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before we got rid of him proved that Charles's murder
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was premeditated. Laurie wasn't talking about a sudden act of
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self defense. She was talking about a planned execution that
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didn't go exactly as intended. With Charles dead, but the
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insurance money gone, Chad and Laurie needed to accelerate their timeline.
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They still had obstacles to eliminate, and now they had
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less money to fund their new life together. The children
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were next on their list. In late August twenty nineteen,
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Laurie moved JJ and time Hi from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho,
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to be closer to Chad. She told friends and family
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that she wanted a fresh start after Charles's death, but
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investigators would later prove she was actually preparing for the
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next phase of the murders. Chad helped Laurie find a
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townhouse in Rexburg, just minutes from his family home. Laurie
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enrolled Jaj in school and seemed to be settling into
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normal life, but behind the scenes, she and Chad were
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finalizing their plans to eliminate the children. September eighth, twenty nineteen,
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Tylee Ryan was last seen alive on a family trip
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to Yellowstone National Park. Laurie had taken JJ and Tyley
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to the park along with Alex Cox for what she
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told them was a fun family outing. Photos from that
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day show Tily smiling at the camera, unaware that her
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mother and uncle were planning her death. But here's what
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makes that Yellowstone trip so sinister Chad Dabell's phone pinged
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in the same area at the same time. He wasn't
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officially part of the family trip, but cell tower records
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prove he was there. Prosecutors believe this was the day
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Chad and Laurie finalized their plan for Tyley's murder. The
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next day, September ninth, Tylee Ryan disappeared. Her own mother
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would later claim that Tiley had gone to Byu, Idaho,
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but school records show she never enrolled. Laurie told other
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family members that Tylee was staying with friends, but she
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could never provide names or contact information. What actually happened
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to Tylee Ryan on September ninth is too horrific to
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fully comprehend. Investigators would later find her dismembered remains buried
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on Chad day Bell's property. The level of violence used
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against this sixteen year old girl suggests a rage that
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goes beyond simple elimination. Someone wanted to erase Tyley Ryan
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from existence. But even as her daughter lay dead and buried,
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Laurie Valo continued with her normal routine hosted on social media.
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She attended religious conferences, she went on dates with Chad
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day Bell, She acted like a woman whose teenage daughter
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was safely away at college, not buried in pieces on
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her boyfriend's property. Two weeks later, it was JJ's turn.
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September twenty second, twenty nineteen, seven year old Jjvallo was
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last seen alive by his babysitter. Laurie had asked the
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babysitter to watch JJ during the day, then picked him
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up that evening for what she said would be a
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normal night at home, but JJ Vallo never made it
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to school the next day. When the school called to
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report his absence, Laurie told them that JJ was visiting
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his grandmother in Louisiana. It was a lie. JJ was
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already dead. September twenty third, twenty nineteen, phone records show
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that Alex Cox's phone was pinging at Chad day Bell's
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property early that morning. Investigators believe this is when JJ's
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body was buried, wrapped in plastic bags and duct tails,
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in a shallow grave near where his sister had been
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buried two weeks earlier. The level of planning required to
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murder and dispose of two children while maintaining the appearance
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of normal life is staggering. Chad and Laurie had to
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coordinate alibis, burial sites and cover stories. They had to
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make sure no witnesses saw them transporting bodies. They had
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to create explanations for where the children had gone that
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would satisfy schools, family members, and child services. Most chillingly,
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they had to look JJ's autism therapists in the eye
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and lie about why he was suddenly unavailable for appointments.
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They had to tell his grandparents that he was thriving
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in his new school while his body decomposed in Chad's backyard.
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Back in a moment, welcome back to Celebrity Trials, I'm
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read Carter, and we're in the middle of the summer
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of twenty nineteen, when Chad Dabell and Laurie Valo systematically
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murdered her family members to clear the path for their
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new life. Together. With Charles Tyley and JJ dead, Chad
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and Laurie began implementing the cover up that they believed
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would allow them to get away with triple murder. But
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their lives were about to catch up with them in
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ways they never expected. October twenty nineteen, with both children
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dead and buried, Laurie needed to maintain the illusion that
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they were still alive. She continued collecting JJ's Social Security benefits.
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She told his therapists that he was adjusting well to
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his new school. She assured concerned family members that both
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children were thriving in Idaho. But Laurie made a crucial mistake.
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She kept the children's belongings. In early October, surveillance cameras
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captured Laurie and Alex Cox loading multiple storage units in
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Rexburg with items that belo belonged to JJ and Tyly bikes, clothes, toys,
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personal items, everything that would have been evidence of the
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children's existence and death. Why keep this evidence? Prosecutors believe
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Laurie was planning to eventually sell or dispose of the items,
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but she needed to wait until enough time had passed
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that no one would connect them to the missing children.
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It was a calculated decision that would ultimately help convict her.
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More importantly, Laurie was already planning the next murder. With
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the children eliminated, only one obstacle remained between Chad and
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Laurie and their new life together, Tammy day Bell. Throughout
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September and October, Chad continued telling Tammy about his prophetic
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dreams of her death. But now these weren't just spiritual visions.
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They were threats disguised as revelations. Chad was psychologically preparing
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his wife for her own murder. While setting up the
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narrative that would explain her death, Chad also began making
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practical preparations. He researched bi options and cremation procedures. He
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updated Tammy's life insurance policies. He started talking to friends
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and family about how difficult it would be to live
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without her, positioning himself as the grieving widower he was
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about to become. But Chad and Laurie had a problem.
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Unlike Charles Valow, Tammy Day Bell wasn't involved in any
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confrontations that could justify a claim of self defense. She
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was a beloved librarian and educator with no enemies and
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no history of violence. Her murder would have to look
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like natural causes or an accident. The solution they devised
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was as simple as it was evil. They would make
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Tammy's death look like a heart attack or natural illness,
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then rush to cremate her body before anyone could order
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an autopsy. October nineteenth, twenty nineteen, Tammy Day Bell went
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to bed healthy and woke up dead. Chad called nine
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one one early that morning, reporting that he had found
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his wife of nearly thirty years unresponsive in them. He
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told paramedics that Tammy had been feeling ill the night
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before and that she had a history of health problems.
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But here's what makes Tammy's death immediately suspicious. Chad seemed
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remarkably calm for someone who had just lost his wife.
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Paramedics noted that he showed no emotion, no distress, no
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signs of genuine grief. He seemed more concerned with controlling
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the narrative than mourning his loss. Even more suspicious was
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Chad's immediate insistence that Tammy be cremated as quickly as possible.
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He told the coroner that Tammy had expressed wishes to
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be cremated and that he wanted to honor her desires immediately.
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There was no viewing, no extended funeral service, no time
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for family and friends to say goodbye. The coroner initially
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ruled Tammy's death as natural causes, citing her age and
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apparent health issues, but Tammy's family was suspicious. They couldn't
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understand how a healthy, forty nine year old woman could
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die suddenly in her sleep, with no warning signs. What
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they didn't know was that Chad had been poisoning their
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minds for months with talk of prophetic dreams about Tammy's death.
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He had convinced them that her death was spiritually inevitable,
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even as he was actively planning to murder her. But
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Chad day Bell couldn't wait to claim his prize. Within
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seventeen days of Tammy's death, he married Laurie Valo in
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a ceremony in Hawaii, seventeen days. Most people take longer
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to plan a week end vacation than Chad took between
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burying his wife and marrying her replacement. The quick remarriage
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raised immediate red flags with both families. Tammy's relatives couldn't
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understand how Chad could move on so quickly from a
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woman he claimed to love deeply. Charles Valo's family was
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horrified that Laurie was remarrying so soon after her husband's
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violent death. But for Chad and Laurie, the Hawaii wedding
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wasn't just a celebration of their love. It was a
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victory lap They had eliminated four opst to their relationship.
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They had access to insurance money and social security benefits.
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They believed they had committed the perfect crimes and gotten
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away with everything. The photos from their Hawaiian honeymoon show
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two people who look absolutely care free. There's no guilt,
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no remorse, no signs that they had just murdered three people,
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including two children. They looked like any other couple celebrating
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their new marriage. But back in Idaho and Arizona, people
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were starting to ask questions, where were JJ and Tylee?
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Why hadn't anyone seen them? Why were their school enrollment
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records incomplete? Why couldn't Louri provide current photos or allow
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family members to talk to them. Kay and Larry Woodcock,
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JJ's grandparents through Charles, were particularly persistent. They had been
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trying to contact JJ since Charles's death, but Laurie kept
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giving them excuses. The boy was sick, he was adjusting
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to his new school, he was too busy to talk.
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By November twenty nineteen, the woods Cocks were convinced something
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was wrong. They contacted Rexburg Police and asked them to
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do a welfare check on JJ. They explained that no
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one had seen or heard from the seven year old
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boy in months, and they were afraid for his safety.
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November twenty sixth, twenty nineteen, Rexburg police arrived at Laurie's
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townhouse to check on JJ's welfare. Laurie told them that