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Caaleroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter, and welcome
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back to celebrity Trials. We've reached the point in the
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Valo day Bell saga where Chad and Laurie believed they
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were home free. Three people were dead, two children had vanished,
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and the couple thought they had committed the perfect crimes.
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Today we're exploring how their final murder, the elimination of
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Tammy day Bell, was supposed to complete their twisted plan,
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but instead became the beginning of their downfall. Because here's
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the thing about people who think they're untouchable. They get sloppy,
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they get over confident, they start making mistakes that reveal
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the very crimes they thought they'd covered up perfectly. Chad
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day Bell and Laurie Valo were about to learn that
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lesson the hard way. What unfolded between October twenty nineteen
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and February twenty twenty wasn't just the unraveling of a
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murder plot. It was a masterclass in how air, arrogance,
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and delusion can turn killers into their own worst enemies.
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Chad and Laurie had convinced themselves they were so spiritually enlightened,
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so divinely protected that they could murder five people and
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walk away without consequences. They were wrong. October nineteenth, twenty nineteen,
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started like any other day in the day Bell household
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in Salem, Idaho. Chad and Tammy had been married for
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nearly thirty years. They had five children together. To their
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neighbors and friends, they seemed like a stable religious couple
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living a quiet life in rural Idaho. But Chad had
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been planning Tammy's death for months, psychologically preparing her with
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stories about prophetic dreams while making practical arrangements for her
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elimination and disposal. That morning, Chad called nine one one
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to report that he had found his wife unresponsive in
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their bed. The nine one one call itself is chilling
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when you know what really happened. Chad sounds remarkably calm
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for someone who is suppers just discovered his wife's dead body.
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There's no panic, no desperation, no emotion in his voice.
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He sounds like a man reporting a minor inconvenience, not
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a devastating loss. Chad told paramedics that Tammy had been
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feeling ill the night before, complaining of fatigue and nausea.
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He said she had gone to bed early, and that
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he had found her cold and lifeless when he woke up.
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It all sounded plausible for a forty nine year old
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woman who might have suffered a heart attack or stroke
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in her sleep. But here's what made Tammy's death immediately
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suspicious to anyone paying attention Chad's behavior in the hours
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and days that followed. Within hours of Tammy's death, Chad
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was calling funeral homes to arrange for immediate cremation. He
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told anyone who would listen that Tammy had expressed a
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strong desire to be cremated, and that he wanted to
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honor her wishes as quickly as possible. There would be
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no viewing, no extended funeral service, no opportunity for family
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and friends to examine the box or asked questions. Most
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telling of all, Chad seemed more concerned with controlling the
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narrative around Tammy's death than actually mourning her loss. He
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immediately began calling family members and friends to explain how
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Tammy had been feeling sick, how her death wasn't really unexpected,
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how he had been having spiritual premonitions about losing her.
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The local coroner, influenced by Chad's explanations and the apparent
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lack of trauma to Tammy's body ruled her death as
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natural causes. No autopsy was performed. Tammy's body was cremated
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within days, destroying any physical evidence of how she actually died.
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But Tammy's family wasn't convinced. Her sister, Samantha Gilliam, would
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later testify that the family found Chad's behavior disturbing. He
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seemed too calm, too prepared, too ready with explanations for
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what should have been a shocking and unexpected loss. More
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suspicious was what happened next. Most widowers take months or
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even years to consider dating again after losing a spouse
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of three decades. Chad day Bell took seventeen days. November fifth,
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twenty nineteen, Chad day Bell and Laurie Valo were married
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in a small ceremony in Kawai, Hawaii, Seventeen days after
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burying his wife of nearly thirty years. Chad was honeymooning
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with his new bride in Paradise. The quick remarriage raised
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immediate red flags with both families. Tammy's relatives couldn't understand
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how Chad could move on so quickly from a woman
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he claimed to love deeply. They began to wonder if
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Chad had been having an affair before Tammy's death, and
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if that affair might have motivated him to want his
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wife gone. Meanwhile, Charles Vallow's family was equally disturbed. Kay
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and Larry Woodcock couldn't understand how Laurie could be celebrating
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a new marriage when her previous husband had been violently
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killed just four months earlier. They were also growing increasingly
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concerned about j J, whom they hadn't seen or spoken
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to since Charles's death. But Chad and Laurie were too
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busy celebrating to care about family concerns. Photos from their
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Hawaiian honeymoon show a couple who looked completely carefree, their smiling,
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laughing posing for romantic photos against tropical backdrops. There's no guilt,
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no remorse, no indication that they had just murdered multiple
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family members to be together. For Chad and Laurie, this
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wasn't just a honeymoon. It was a victory celebration. They
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had eliminated every obstacle to their relationship. They believed they
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had access to insurance money and social security benefits that
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would fund their new life. They thought they had committed
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the perfect crimes and gotten away with everything. But back
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in Idaho and Arizona, people were starting to ask uncomfortable questions.
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Where were JJ and Tylee? Why hadn't anyone seen them
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since September? Why couldn't Laurie provide current photos or contact
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information for the children. The Woodcock were particularly persistent, as
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JJ's grandparents, through Charles, they had legal standing to demand
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contact with their grandson. They had been trying to reach
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JJ since Charles's death, but Laurie kept making excuses. The
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boy was adjusting to his new school, he was too
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busy to talk, he was having behavioral issues related to
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his autism, and couldn't handle phone conversations. By late November,
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the Woodcocks were convinced something was seriously wrong. They contacted
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Rexburg Police and requested a welfare check on JJ. They
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explained that no one had seen or heard from the
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seven year old boy in months, despite multiple attempts to
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contact him. November twenty sixth, twenty nineteen, Rexburg police officers
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arrived at Laurie's townhouse to check on JJ's welfare. They
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found Laurie cooperative and seemingly unconcerned. She told officers that
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jj was staying with a family friend named Melanie Gibb
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in Arizona. She provided contact information for Melanie and assured
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police that JJ was safe and happy with his temporary caregiver.
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The officers had no reason to doubt Laurie's story. She
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seemed like a concerned mother who had made temporary arrangements
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for her son's care. She provided a reasonable explanation and
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contact information that could be verified. From their perspective, this
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looked like a routine welfare check that would be quickly resolved.
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But when police contacted Melanie Gibb, everything changed. Melanie told
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them that Jjay wasn't with her. She hadn't seen him
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in months. She had no idea where he was or
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why Laurie would tell police he was in her care.
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More disturbing, Melanie revealed that Laurie had asked her to
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lie to police about Jjy's whereabouts if anyone ever asked.
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Police immediately returned to Laurie's townhouse with more questions, but
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when they arrived the next morning, November twenty seventh, they
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found the house empty. Laurie had vanished overnight, taking any
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evidence of the children's whereabouts with her. The disappearance confirmed
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police suspicions that something was seriously wrong. A mother who
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had nothing to hide wouldn't flee when asked about her
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children's location. The welfare check had just become a missing
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person's investigation. December twentieth, twenty nineteen, after weeks of investigation,
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Rexburg Police officially declared JJ and entirely missing persons. They
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issued a press release asking for the public's help in
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locating the children and identifying Chad Dabell and Lori Valo
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as persons of interest in their disappearance. The announcement created
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a media sensation. The story of two missing children and
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their mother's mysterious behavior captured national attention. True crime podcasters,
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amateur investigators, and concerned citizens began following every development in
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the case. Police revealed that they had found no evidence
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that JJ and Tyley were alive or safe. School records
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showed that neither child had been enrolled in any educational
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pre since September. Medical records showed that JJ had missed
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all his autism therapy appointments. Social media accounts for both
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children had gone silent at the same time they disappeared.
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Most damning of all. Police revealed that Laurie had been
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lying about the children's whereabouts for months, giving different explanations
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to different people, and refusing to provide any proof that
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the children were safe. The media attention brought new witnesses
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forward with information about Chad and Laurie's strange behavior and
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religious beliefs. Former friends described their obsession with end Time's
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prophecies and their belief that certain people were zombies who
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needed to be eliminated. Family members revealed concerning conversations about
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rating people's spiritual darkness and preparing for the apocalypse, but
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Chad and Laurie remained confident they could weather the storm.
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They were still in Hawaii, still posting on social media,
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still acting like a couple on an extended vacation rather
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than suspects in a missing p person's case. Back in
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a moment, Welcome back to Celebrity Trials. I'm Red Carter,
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and we're following Chad Dabell and Laurie Valo as their
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perfect murder plot begins falling apart in real time. January
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twenty fifth, twenty twenty, Hawaiian police, working with Idaho authorities,
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tracked down Chad and Lourie to their resort in Kawhi.
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They served Laurie with a court order demanding that she
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produced JJ and Tyley within five days or face arrest
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for contempt of court. The court order was a brilliant
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legal maneuver. Rather than trying to prove that Chad and
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Laurie had harmed the children, authorities were simply demanding that
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Laurie exercised her basic parental obligation to ensure her children's
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safety and whereabouts. If the children were truly safe with
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friends or relatives, as Laurie claimed, producing them should be simple.
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But Laurie couldn't produce the children because they were dead
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and buried on Chad's property in Idaho. Instead, she hired
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a local attorney and began fighting the court order, claiming
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that the children were safe, but that revealing their location
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would put them in danger from unspecified threats. The legal
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maneuvering only made Chad and Laurie look more guilty. A
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mother who genuinely believed her children were in danger would
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want police protection, not court battles. A mother whose children
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were actually safe would be eager to prove it and
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end the media speculation about their whereabouts. January thirtieth, twenty twenty,
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the five day deadline passed without Laurie producing the children.
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She had officially defied a court order and was now
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subject to arrest for contempt. But authorities had discovered something
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even more damning during their investigation. Phone records showed that
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Chad and Laurie had been in constant communication in the
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days before each disappearance. Financial records revealed that both were
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benefiting from the Social Security payments and insurance policies of
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their dead and missing family members. Witness statements painted a
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picture of a couple obsessed with money, power, and eliminating
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anyone who stood in their way. Most importantly, investigators had
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identified the locations where they believed the children's bodies were buried.
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Ground penetrating radar and cadaver dogs had detected suspicious disturbances
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on Chad day Bell's property in Idaho. They were preparing
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search warrants that would finally uncover the physical evidence of
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Chad and Laurie's crimes. February twenty, twenty twenty, Lauri Valo
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was arrested in Hawaii on charges of desertion and non
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support of dependent children. The charges were relatively minor compared
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to what authorities suspected she had done, but they were
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enough to hold her while the investigation continued. Chad day
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Bell was not arrested at this time, but he was
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now the focus of intense scrutiny. Investigators were building cases
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for murder charges against both suspects, but they needed physical
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evidence to prove their theories. The arrest marked the end
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of Chad and Laurie's honeymoon period literally and figuratively. Their
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five months of freedom, celebration and confidence that they had
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gotten away with multiple murders were over. Now they would
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face the consequences of their actions, and the world would
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learn the full scope of their crimes. But even as
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Laurie sat in an Hawaiian jail cell awaiting extradition to Idaho,
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she maintained her innocence and her divine mission. In phone
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calls from jail, she continued to speak about her spiritual
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calling and her belief that she had done nothing wrong.
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She still believed she was a goddess chosen by God,
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even as the evidence mounted against her. Chad remained free,
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but under constant surveillance. He knew that investigators were closing
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in that search warrants for his property were imminent, and
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that the body buried in his backyard would soon be discovered.
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But he too maintained his delusion that he was divinely
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protected and that the truth would somehow vindicate his actions.
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Neither Chad nor Laurie seemed to understand that their perfect
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crimes were about to be exposed in the most horrific
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way possible. The children they had murdered and buried were
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about to speak from beyond the grave, providing the evidence
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that would send their killers to prison for life. Tomorrow,
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in our final episode, we'll explore the discovery that shocked
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even experienced investigators, the moment when authorities uncovered JJ and
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Tiley's remains and finally understood the full scope of Chad
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and Laurie's evil. We'll also examine the trials that brought
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justice for the victims and what this case reveals about
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family annihilation in America. This is read Carter with celebrity trials.
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The most dangerous delusion isn't believing you're chosen by God.
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It's believing that your divine calling places you above human
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law and basic morality. Chad Dabell and Laurie Valo were
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about to learn that even self proclaimed gods can't escape
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justice forever.