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'Cult mom' Lori Vallow talks of murdering 3rd husband Joseph Ryan in audio recording: 'I was going to kill him'

In addition to awaiting trial for the disappearance and death of her two minor kids, Lori’s possible involvement in her third husband’s death has also come to light
PUBLISHED NOV 5, 2020
(Madison County Sheriff's Office)
(Madison County Sheriff's Office)

"Cult mom" Lori Vallow along with her fifth husband Chad Daybell is currently behind bars awaiting trial for the disappearance and death of her two minor kids - JJ Vallow, seven, and Tylee Ryan, 16. The pair is also being probed for the deaths of Lori’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and the first wife of Chad, Tammy Daybell. While the former one was killed by Lori’s brother Alex Cox in July 2019, about the latter one, Chad said she died in her sleep after falling ill in October 2019.

However, the death of Joseph Ryan, who was Lori’s third husband, is still a mystery. Earlier in March, an FBI source told PEOPLE, “We are aware of Mr. Ryan's death and it has become part of the investigation into Lori Vallow." Now his sister, Annie Cushing, has told the Post Register that the Phoenix Police Department has hinted that no investigation will be done in her brother’s death, whose remains were found more than a week later after he died on April 3, 2018. Though the 58-year-old’s death was ruled as a heart attack, there are several proofs that suggest Lori has something to do with his death.

An audio recording has also indicated the same. The recording, whose metadata stated that it was recorded on October 19, 2018, was shared with the Post Register by Cushing. In the recording, Lori was heard saying at a Preparing A People gathering, “When people hear my story, they’re like, ‘I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe you lived through that. I can’t believe that you’re still here.’” It has been reported that she was speaking about Joseph whom she divorced years back. “I had been married to someone who was very awful, who raped my children, and I had divorced him and gotten away from him,” she stated.

Lori’s son Colby Ryan, 25, had also confirmed that he was sexually abused by Joseph, who was his adoptive father. As Lori and Joseph divorced, he tried to get the custody of then three-year-old Tylee “just to rub it in my face.” And to an extent he won also, as the court allowed him visitation with his daughter, which left Lori dejected. “I was going to murder him. I was going to kill him. Like the scriptures say. Like Nephi killed. Just to stop the pain and to stop him coming after me and to stop him coming after my children. I just thought I couldn’t take it anymore. And I would go through the scriptures and find all the things. Like: ‘If he comes against you once, if he comes against you twice, if he comes against you three times then you can kill him.’ It says it in the scriptures in the Book of Mormon. I was like there it is. There’s my answer,” the mother said in the recording.

Going further she said, “I don’t want to do anything that’s wrong. I did not have a murderous heart. I just wanted to stop the bleeding and stop the pain. And so someone wise was speaking to me and said, ‘You need to go to the temple.’ So I went and met with my bishop, and I was like, ‘I’m either going to turn my life to the temple or I’m going to commit murder. So do you want to give me a temple recommend?’ I was perfectly honest because at that point I had nothing left to lose.”

In the recording, Lori also said that time was “a turning point,” in her life that led her more towards religion. She then proudly described how she has special spiritual powers. “I have had some wonderful experiences. I have been administered to by the angel Moroni. I have seen him. I have had lots of angelic ministry with people who wake me up at 4 o’clock in the morning and tell me things to do. I no longer need to sleep very much, because I’m woken up constantly by angels giving me instructions on things I can do to help further the father’s work,” she explained.

Lori then said that God's decision to choose her for his mission left her surprised. “And he gave me a pre-mortal memory of me. And I got to see myself as a warrior fighting for the savior in the pre-mortal world. And I went to other worlds and I fought. And I was one of his strongest warriors. And I saw it. And he showed me so I could never deny it again. I was not sweet and I was not innocent. I am old. I have fought. I have fought in this war for millennia. And that’s who I am. And I came down here to be a warrior and fight. And I only thought that I was sweet and innocent,” she added.

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