Moment Lori Vallow Is Confronted Over Missing Children Captured On Video

Footage of the moment mom Lori Vallow is ordered to produce her missing children shows she was confronted by cops while sunbathing alongside husband Chad Daybell in Hawaii.

The incongruous scene played out by a pool in Kauai as a bikini-clad Vallow relaxed with a book in the sunshine in January 2020, even as authorities were desperately searching for her 7-year-old son Joshua "JJ" Vallow and her daughter Tylee Ryan, who was 16. She and Daybell now stand accused of murdering the children, as well as killing or plotting to kill their respective ex-partners in a complicated case which dates back to 2019.

Jurors are currently considering the case at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, amid a trial into Vallow's alleged role in the children's deaths and the murder of Daybell's wife Tammy Daybell in a case that is gripping the nation. After the trial has concluded, Chad Daybell will also stand trial over the three alleged murders in Idaho, the Independent reported, while Vallow will then face an additional trial for conspiracy to murder her husband Charles Vallow who was shot to death in Arizona.

The couple, who were allegedly part of a "Doomsday cult" and believed in zombies, have both have denied all the charges.

The video of Vallow, now 49, being served papers by the pool was shared online by Investigative Journalist Justin Lum of Fox 10, who tweeted a link to the clip on YouTube with the caption: "LORI & CHAD POOLSIDE: This vid taken by Kauai PD shown during trial, only seen in court. It's 1/25/20 as Lori Vallow gets served w/ docs to physically produce JJ Vallow & Tylee Ryan & show they were safe. Sadly, we know they were killed 4 months earlier."

Sharing a cover of a book, he added: "This is the book Lori had with her by the pool. Visions of Glory by John Pontius. He writes about his near-death experiences and the end of days."

In the video clip filmed by officers, Vallow—who is also known as Lori Vallow Daybell—is approached as she lies on a sun lounger next to Chad Daybell. She sits up slightly as one of the officers hands her a sheaf of papers and says: "You've been served." Another officer asks: "You have any questions regarding that?"

Vallow does not reply, but begins to read the document, which said she was being ordered to prove that her children were safe and well, as Daybell sits up on his own lounger. Vallow shook her head then sat up fully to continue reading the papers. Some online commentators on Twitter claimed they could see her breathing quicken as she realised the enormity of the situation.

Eventually she asked the officers, "Do you need something from me?" When asked again if she had any questions, she shrugged and shook her head and the officers wished her a nice day and left.

Vallow failed to prove her children were alive and the couple were arrested the following month.

The couple were eventually charged with first-degree murder relating to the deaths of Vallow's children. Both youngsters disappeared around September 2019, with worried relatives raising the alarm in November of that year. Their bodies were finally found in June 2020, buried in the yard of Chad Daybell's property, East Idaho News reported.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Garth Warren told the court that J.J. was asphyxiated with a plastic bag and had duct tape over his mouth. He was unable to determine Tylee's cause of death due to the condition of her body, according to East Idaho news.

Chad Daybell is accused of murdering Tammy Daybell in October 2019 just weeks before he married Vallow. The marriage was Chad Daybell's second, and Lori Vallow's fifth, ABC News has previously reported. It was initially thought Tammy Daybell died from natural causes, but suspicious authorities later exhumed her body and said she died from asphyxiation, according to the Independent.

Lori Vallow was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder after allegedly plotting to kill her estranged husband Charles Vallow with her now-deceased brother, Alex Cox. Cox fatally shot his brother-in-law in July 2019, but insisted he had been acting in self-defense and he was never charged. Cox himself later died in December that year, reportedly from a blood clot in his lung.

After the prosecution called dozens of witnesses in Lori Vallow's trial, her legal team shocked the court when they declined to call a single one. Vallow's lawyer Jim Achibald said simply: "We don't believe the state has proved its case so the defense will rest."

A date for Chad Daybell's trial has yet to be set, and Vallow's second trial in Arizona also has yet to be scheduled.

Newsweek has emailed Lori Vallow's attorney, Jim Archibald, seeking comment.