The niece of “cult mom” Lori Vallow said in a televised interview last week that her aunt, whose two underage children have been missing for nine months, is protecting those kids “from people that are trying to harm them.”
Vallow remains jailed in Idaho on a $1 million bond in connection with the disappearance of her children 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, who have been missing from Rexburg since September. She was arrested in January in Hawaii, where she fled months earlier with her new and fifth husband, Chad Daybell, the author of several religious-themed doomsday novels.
Melani Boudreaux, who is Vallow’s niece, sat down with KPHO-TV in Phoenix to discuss the case.
Lori Vallow appears in court for her second bond reduction hearing at the Madison County Magistrate Court in Rexburg, Idaho on Friday, May 1, 2020. Vallow's bond reduction request was denied by Judge Michelle Mallard. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP)
“I don’t know where my cousins are. Her children. JJ and Tylee,” Boudreaux told KPHO-TV. “I love all of them, and I know she’s doing whatever she can to keep her kids safe. And, I hope that we continue to see that in the future as truth continues to come forward.”
Boudreaux was dragged into the case after being accused in divorce papers filed by her ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, in February of being “involved in a cult where numerous members, adults and children alike have been being killed off like flies," the Arizona Republic reported. He alleged his ex-wife has “knowledge of the whereabouts of her aunt's two missing children.”
“Do you think that you’re going to see Tylee and JJ again?” asked investigative reporter Morgan Loew.
“I do. I absolutely do. I know Lori wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her kids,” Boudreaux responded. “I’ve seen the pain that she’s gone through and the abuse and betrayal. I’ve seen authorities let her down. I’ve seen court systems let her down.
“I don’t have the answers as to why she does the things she does and why she hasn’t spoken as to where they are, but I can’t judge her because I don’t know what she’s going through. I can only love and support her and hope for everyone to be safe,” she said.
'CULT MOM' LORI VALLOW UNDER INVESTIGATION IN SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF CHAD DAYBELL'S FIRST WIFE
Court documents filed by Brandon Boudreaux also claimed Melani told her new husband, Ian Pawlowski, whom she married in Las Vegas in November before relocating to Rexburg, that she believed "sometimes children are full of light and then just like that they go dark." Pawlowski later told police and the FBI this information.
“It was a shock finding out that Chad and Lori are gone. Kids are missing. People’s doors are being kicked down because they can’t find the kids,” Pawlowski told KPHO-TV while sat beside his wife. He explained his decision to “betray” his wife to work with the police and the FBI to secretly record her conversations with Vallow and Daybell to ultimately clear Boudreaux’s name.
“It seemed like the fastest way to get from point A to point B. Nobody knows where these kids are. There’s serious concern about their safety,” he said. “I just married Melanie and I love her with all my heart and want to get her out of this, and I saw that as the fastest way to do it. If I could get some concrete evidence for law enforcement to be able to say this is where Tylee and JJ are, or this is what happened to them, it’s an open and shut case, and it’s done and we move on with our lives. It didn’t play out that way.”
Melani Boudreaux told KPHO-TV she hasn’t seen her own children since October as her custody battle continues with her ex-husband. She and Pawlowski moved to Idaho in November.
In this Feb. 27, 2020 photo Melani Pawlowski, right, is shown with her husband Ian Pawlowski outside a courthouse in Mesa, Ariz. Her ex-husband has alleged Pawlowski knows the whereabouts of two of her aunt Lori Vallow's two children, who have been missing since September. Pawlowski's lawyers denied the allegation and said their client has cooperated with authorities in the investigation. (AP Photo/Jacques Billeaud)
"I didn't move down there to be in a 'cult,' I didn't move down there to be solely by Lori, Lori's very independent and does her own thing, and I had my own reasons for, you know, kind of having a fresh start and trying to work through my custody battle with my ex," she said.
Brandon Boudreaux has claimed that Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox, shot at his pickup truck in October while sitting in the driveway of his Gilbert, Ariz., home, narrowly missing his head. The drive-by shooting remains under investigation, but police confirmed the vehicle’s plates were registered to Vallow’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
Melani Boudreaux told KPHO-TV that she was “absolutely not” involved in what her ex-husband calls an "attempted murder plot" and “Brandon knows that.” She also explained that her talk of “zombies” with Pawlowski was just her, being in a new marriage, “dumping” theories and concerns about what had happened to her missing cousins, Tylee and JJ.
Alex Cox had shot and killed Charles Vallow in July. He claimed self-defense and was never arrested before being found dead in December in the bathroom of his Mesa home at the age of 51. An autopsy found he died of natural causes from a blood clot.
Lori Vallow, who moved from Arizona to Idaho in late August with her children, is also under investigation in the death of Tammy Daybell. Prosecutors said Vallow married the woman’s husband, Chad Daybell, in October shortly after Tammy unexpectedly died at home in Idaho. He is also under investigation in his former wife's death.
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Boudreaux further blamed the media for spinning lies rather than focusing on the truth.
“A big question we’re not asking is why is nobody asking why Charles had a $2 million policy out on Lori,” she said. “Charles and Brandon did life insurance together. There’s a lot of things that haven’t been brought to light. Things that aren’t being portrayed in the media. They’re being hidden so we can run with this cult story. Ya know, zombies. And, it’s more exciting than the truth.”
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