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Weird Crimes

Mother Allegedly Thought Her Missing Children Were Zombies


— April 10, 2020

Mother of missing children allegedly thought they were zombies.


Lori Vallow thought her kids were zombies, according to newly filed documents brought to court by her niece’s ex-husband.  Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, haven’t been seen since September 2019.  He also claimed his ex knows where the children are.

Brandon Boudreaux is involved in a child custody case with his ex, Melanie Boudreaux Pawlowski, Lori’s niece, and presented the “zombie” statement during a hearing in that case.  It includes an alleged conversation Pawlowski’s current husband had with his attorneys after meeting with law enforcement, and indicates Melani told him she was “concerned about Joshua and Tylee because Vallow and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, believed their children had been possessed and had become zombies.”  Zombies are described in the court documents as “human bodies that have had their original spirits forced from them and have been possessed by either a demon, a disembodied spirit or a worm or slug.”

Daybell is an author who writes about religious doomsday prophecies.  He and Lori are part of a “cult-like religion” which believes in possession, zombies, teleportation, and dark and light portals.  Pawlowski allegedly told her husband that she “learned about some of these beliefs from a temple” and from the couple.

Both Daybell and Vallow were already married to other people when they first met.  But Lori Vallow’s brother shot and killed her husband, Charles, in July.  Then, Chad Daybell’s wife died suddenly in her sleep in October.

Mother Allegedly Thought Her Missing Children Were Zombies
Photo by Chris Hall on Unsplash

“She shared concerns that she’s been told Brandon needed to die and that may indicate that Tylee and JJ (short or Joshua) needed to die as well.  She told me she was worried that [Lori’s brother Alex] may have had to ‘take care’ of the kids.  She explained that [her brother] had great faith and never wavered in his trust in the Lord.  No task would be too difficult or great for him,” Brandon Boudreaux said in the filing.  Melani also allegedly said Brandon “had been possessed by a demon or another dark entity” and urged some action “in order for his spirit to progress and for the Lord’s plan to continue.”

Police in Rexburg, Idaho began searching for the missing children in November of last year, two months after they were last seen, after authorities tried to conduct a welfare check on Joshua, according to police reports.

“Mrs. Pawlowski has cooperated with law enforcement, including meeting for hours with the FBI on three separate days.  As she told the FBI, Melani does not know the whereabouts of the missing children of her aunt, Lori Vallow,” one of Melanie’s attorneys, Robert P. Jarvis, said.  Garrett L. Smith, also a lawyer who represents Melani, added Melani doesn’t believe the kids were possessed.

Authorities have stated both Vallow and Daybell “are not cooperating with the investigation into Joshua and Tylee’s disappearance.”  Vallow was arrested on charges of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children after she and Chad were found in Hawaii.  She was extradited to Idaho where she is being held on a $1 million bond.

Sources:

Lori Vallow saw her now-missing kids Joshua and Tylee as ‘zombies,’ court docs claim

Lori Vallow thought missing children were zombies, claims relative

Cult mom Lori Vallow said ‘her children had become possessed zombies’ claim court docs

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