July 11, 2019: Lori Vallow’s husband Charles Vallow is killed by her brother Alex Cox in Arizona. Police initially conclude that Alex acted in self-defense, but reopened the case months later after the children were reported missing.
August 2019: Lori moves to Rexburg, Idaho, near where her future husband Chad Daybell lives with his wife Tammy, with children JJ and Tylee.
September 8, 2019: Tylee is last seen alive during a trip to Yellowstone National Park with Lori, JJ and Alex. In the weeks that followed, Lori tells people that her daughter is studying on the campus of Brigham Young University in Idaho.
September 23, 2019: JJ is last seen at his school in Rexburg. The next day, Lori emails the school claiming that she is moving to California with the family for a new job.
October 2, 2019: Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Lori’s niece Melani Pawlowski, is the target in a drive-by shooting in Arizona. Police identify the vehicle containing the shooter as a Jeep registered to Charles Vallow, Lori’s late husband.
October 19, 2019: Chad’s wife Tammy, 49, dies at their home in Idaho. An obituary said she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Chad refuses an autopsy and her death is ruled a natural cause.
October 25, 2019: A friend of Tylee receives a vague “miss you” text from her phone, but says it didn’t sound like the teenager.
November 5, 2019: Lori and Chad tie the knot on a Kauai beach. Receipts show Lori bought her own wedding ring on Amazon almost three weeks before Tammy’s death.
November 26, 2019: Out of state relatives ask the Idaho Police Department to conduct a welfare inspection on JJ. Lori and Chad claim he is staying with relatives in Arizona and ask their friend Melanie Gibb to lie and say she brought the boy there for Thanksgiving. Police soon learn that no one has seen JJ or Tylee since September.
November 27, 2019: Police execute a search warrant related to the children at Lori’s home and discover that she and Chad fled Idaho.
December 11, 2019: Tammy’s body is exhumed in a Utah cemetery and her death is ruled suspicious.
December 12, 2019: Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, was found dead in a bathroom at his Arizona home. Months later, an autopsy determines that he died of natural causes while overdosing on narcan.
December 21, 2019: Rexburg Police Department issues the first press release about JJ and Tylee. She announces that her disappearance may be related to Tammy’s death and is asking for information from the public.
December 24, 2019: Lori and Chad issued a statement through a lawyer saying they love their son and daughter and look forward to “addressing the allegations once they are beyond speculation and rumor.”
December 30, 2019: Police accused Lori and Chad of lying to investigators and say they believe the couple knows where the children are or what happened to them.
January 3, 2020: Police raid Chad’s Salem home and confiscate 43 items, including gadgets and diaries. They also comb parts of the snow-covered yard with rakes and metal detectors.
January 26, 2020: Lori and Chad are seen for the first time in months when police in Kauai issue them two search warrants. Lori also receives a court order to produce the children for Idaho authorities within five days. The couple are approached by the media while officers hand over the documents and refuse to say anything about the children.
January 30, 2020: Lori misses the court deadline to turn the children over to Idaho authorities.
February 20, 2020: Lori is arrested in Kauai and charged with two felonies of desertion and failing to support dependent children, and one felony each of resisting and obstructing an officer, abetting a crime, and contempt of court.
March 5, 2020: Lori is extradited to Idaho, where she is being held in the Madison County Jail on $1 million bail.
March 17, 2020: Lori pleads her innocence in a statement from her attorney while two other members of her defense team resign and the judge withdraws from the case.
March 24, 2020: Court documents filed in connection with the divorce of Lori’s niece Melani and her husband Brandon Boudreaux allege Lori told people she believed her children were zombies before they disappeared.
April 9, 2020: Authorities announce they are investigating Lori and Chad for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in connection with Tammy’s death.
June 9, 2020: Police search Chad’s Salem home for a second time and discover human remains in the backyard. Chad is taken into police custody and charged with destroying or concealing evidence.
May 25, 2021: Lori and Chad are charged with first-degree murder in the children’s deaths. Chad is also charged with first degree murder in the death of his wife Tammy.
May 27, 2021: Lori is presumed unfit to stand trial on the Idaho murder charge.
August 5, 2021: Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty for Chad.
April 11, 2022: Lori regains her competency. The criminal case against her in Idaho continues.
April 14, 2022: Lori is taken to the Madison County Jail in Rexburg, Idaho by Fremont County Sheriff officers.
April 10, 2023: Lori Vallow is tried for the murders of JJ, 7, and Tylee, 16.