Brenda Dye: Coroner in ‘doomsday mom’ Lori Vallow Daybell case reveals she 'still has nightmares’
BOISE, IDAHO: Brenda Dye, the coroner who handled the case of Lori Vallow Daybell, the notorious 'doomsday mom' who killed her two children, has revealed the emotional toll of the investigation.
Dye said he still suffers from “nightmares” about the horrific deaths of Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow.
How Lori Vallow Daybell kill her children?
Lori Vallow Daybell, 50, was convicted earlier this year of murdering her children and conspiring to murder her lover Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Tylee, 16, and JJ, seven, disappeared in September 2019 and were later found buried in shallow graves on Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020.
The trial revealed that Tylee was burned and dismembered while JJ was bound and wrapped in plastic, the East Idaho News reported. The killings were part of Lori Vallow Daybell’s delusional plot with Chad Daybell, a self-proclaimed doomsday cultist.
“It’s just hard to imagine someone doing that to someone they care for and love. I have kids and I just can’t imagine what the family has had to go through,” Dye told the East Idaho News.
How did Brenda Dye get involved in the case?
Dye, 46, who also has 22 years of experience as an EMT, was elected as the Fremont County coroner in 2018. She was only a few months into her first term when Tammy Daybell died of asphyxiation in October 2019, she told the station.
Tammy Daybell’s death and Lori Vallow Daybell’s missing children were cases that involved people Dye knew which made the grisly story even harder to cope with, she said.
She is only the second woman to serve as Fremont County coroner and one of the few female coroners in Idaho, the outlet noted.
“I still have nightmares. Every time we have a new trial…I have to relive everything again and all those emotions come back. A lot of cases are harder than others, but this has been really hard for me,” Dye said of the experience.
How does Brenda Dye plan to help victims’ families?
Dye, who is now serving her second term as coroner, said her main goal is to support local families through the grieving process and to help victims’ families.
“It takes a person who can deal with death. When people are near death, they need a compassionate person there to help them through it,” Dye said of her demanding role.
Lori Vallow Daybell is now serving three life sentences for her crimes. Chad Daybell, 55, is set to stand trial in connection with the murders of Tammy, Tylee, and JJ next year.