Kay Woodcock took the witness stand in the Chad Daybell murder trial Thursday and said after she found out Charles Vallow “was murdered,” she became “extremely worried” about her grandson, Joshua “JJ” Vallow.
Vallow, Lori Vallow Daybell's former husband, was shot and killed in Arizona by Lori Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, who claimed he acted in self-defense. Police, however, later determined it was not self-defense.
Charles Vallow, Woodcock's older brother, and then-Lori Vallow adopted JJ when he was an infant. Woodcock explained that JJ was her biological grandchild. She said he was born 10 weeks early with drugs in his system and he remained in the hospital for over six weeks. After that, he lived with Woodcock and her husband for about eight months until he was adopted.
She said Charles and Lori Vallow had been "doting" parents and talked about pleasant visits with them over the years. She said through JJ, she and her brother became closer.
But Woodcock said contact with her grandson was sparse over the month after Charles Vallow's death with only a few FaceTime calls. She said Lori Daybell was "very evasive." After the last call she had with JJ on Aug. 10, 2019, Woodcock said she called, texted and emailed his mother multiple times but never received a response.
Chad Daybell is on trial facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of JJ and his sister, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as his former wife, Tammy Daybell, in late 2019. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of each of the victims, grand theft and two counts of insurance fraud.
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Woodcock said she heard about her brother's death on July 12, the day after it happened, when his older children reached out to her to confirm texts sent by Lori Daybell telling them he had died. She said they verified it through searching his name on the internet.
The grandmother said she arranged to fly with JJ, so that he could go to his father's funeral in Louisiana. But after everything was planned, Lori Daybell "backed out of the deal." Woodcock said she believes Lori Daybell backed out after learning that Woodcock was the beneficiary of Charles Vallow's life insurance policy instead of her.
Woodcock testified about logging on to her brother's email on Nov. 8, 2019, almost three months after she had last heard JJ's voice, and finally learning that Lori Daybell had moved from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho.
Woodcock said she had been trying to connect Charles Vallow's printer to her computer and woke up early "with a compulsion" to go finish. She said the Gmail login page was open for his email, and she tried one of his favorite passwords and the email opened.
Woodcock said she saw an email from Amazon about a delivery that had an address in Rexburg. She talked to a private investigator she had hired who helped her see the Amazon browsing history. She found a search for malachite wedding rings, beach wedding dresses, men's beach clothing and a yellow bathing suit.
She said the searches were made on Oct. 2, 2019, before Tammy Daybell's death.
"Lori was obviously involved with Chad Daybell and … it was just mind-blowing that they were looking at wedding rings before Tammy's death," she testified.
When defense attorney John Prior asked Woodcock whether she received a life insurance check after Charles Vallow's death, she responded, "I don't know if they were the only two involved in the murder, but yes," implying that she believes Chad Daybell was involved, too.
Woodcock looked directly at Chad Daybell as she moved from the witness stand to her seat in the gallery.
Chad Daybell is not facing any charges related to Charles Vallow's death, as Prior has tried to emphasize when questioning several witnesses.
Lori Daybell was found guilty last year of murdering her children and conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, and was sentenced to five terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
She is charged in Arizona with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the death of Charles Vallow, and her former nephew-in-law, Brandon Boudreaux. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Cox died in December 2019 of natural causes, according to investigators, before being charged in any of the deaths.
Judge Steven W. Boyce said Thursday that one of the 18 jurors selected for the case has been excused for medical reasons, so now there are 17 jurors listening to the evidence in the case. Of the initial 18 jurors, six were alternates, so now there will be five alternates.
This story will be updated.