In October 2019, someone fired at Brandon Boudreaux outside his home in Gilbert, Arizona. Investigators identified Lori Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, as the suspected gunman. A jury convicted Lori in June 2025 of conspiring to kill Brandon, and she received a life sentence in Arizona. But this combined episode turns to someone who was much closer to Brandon: his then-wife, Lori’s niece Melani Pawlowski. Melani has not been charged in the shooting and has denied any involvement.

At Lori’s trial, prosecutors pointed to Melani’s connections and questions about the timing of communications. An FBI agent te...

Lori Vallow Daybell's appeal of her convictions for murdering JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan and conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell reaches Idaho's Supreme Court on November 2, 2026. Sandra Birchmore case defendant Matthew Farwell crashed into a utility pole, and police reports say every airbag deployed.

The judge took her lawyer, Mark Means, off the case, ruling he couldn't work for two people charged in the same murders. Her appeal asks for a new trial, saying that broke her right to keep the lawyer she hired.

Farwell's plea is not guilty, and he blamed a deer running...

If the Idaho Supreme Court sends Lori Vallow Daybell back to trial, the families of JJ, Tylee and Tammy relive it all. Her lead claim rests on Mark Means, the attorney she hired and lost.

Chad Daybell funded her defense, and the judge ruled one lawyer couldn't serve two people charged in the same killings. Lori wants a new trial, saying losing Means took away her right to pick who defended her.

Her Idaho jury heard about Charles Vallow's killing and the shot at Brandon Boudreaux, before Arizona juries convicted her in both. Her lawyer...

Our full panel on Melani Pawlowski is here in one episode, with psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and retired FBI behavior chief Robin Dreeke, plus a segment on the Sandra Birchmore case. On Melani, we go from how she was pulled in after losing her own mother as a child, to her months next door to Lori Vallow in Rexburg, to the custody fight a week after Lori's arrest. A memo attributed to her new husband says she feared JJ and Tylee "needed to die," and she later testified against Chad Daybell. Shavaun then looks at William Farwell, a Stoughton cop...

The last part of our panel on Melani Pawlowski looks at her life after Lori Vallow's arrest in Hawaii on February 20, 2020. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and retired FBI behavior chief Robin Dreeke join me on the custody fight in Mesa, where Melani asked for joint custody a week later and her attorney told the court where her loyalty still sat. Brandon's side filed a memo attributed to her new husband saying she'd been told Brandon needed to die. By January 2021, her full visitation was set to return. A Gilbert detective had sworn she was a person of interest in the...

In the second part of our panel on Melani Pawlowski, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and retired FBI behavior chief Robin Dreeke go inside the months she spent living next door to her aunt Lori Vallow in Rexburg, Idaho. Melani testified she was taught some people carried a darkness that couldn't be cast out and would end up killing them. Brandon Boudreaux testified she asked for a divorce after saying God told her he was gay. On a recorded call after Alex Cox's death, she told Lori she wanted Brandon to stay afraid of Alex. A memo attributed to her new...

Melani Pawlowski, then Melani Boudreaux, was Lori Vallow's niece and a mother of four in Gilbert, Arizona, when Lori started pulling her into the world she shared with Chad Daybell. Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott and retired FBI behavior chief Robin Dreeke join me for the first part of a three-part panel on how it happened. Lori was the one who told Melani her mother had died when Melani was a child, and Brandon Boudreaux testified Lori became a mother figure to her. Melani met Chad in November 2018 and testified she'd heard he had a gift for seeing light and dark...

Lori Vallow Daybell's niece Melani has never been charged in the October 2019 shooting at her then-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, and says she knew nothing. FBI testimony puts her phone on a 35-minute call with Lori's in the hour around the shot, and a filing attributed to Ian Pawlowski says she believed Brandon had to die for the Lord's plan. Robin Dreeke and I set her story beside two more. Gypsy Rose says she's 100 percent certain Ken Urker's death wasn't suicide, three weeks after saying she didn't know. And in the Matthew Farwell trial, Sandra Birchmore's therapist testified Sandra feared something...

Melani Pawlowski called Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell "Mom and Dad," she testified at Chad's 2024 trial. Robin Dreeke and I ask how deep that went. A document attributed to Ian Pawlowski, filed in Brandon Boudreaux's custody case in 2020, says Melani believed Brandon needed to die as part of the Lord's plan, and didn't expect anyone to act. Their lawyer said she didn't believe the religious ideas she passed along. After the October 2019 shot, she told Gilbert police she knew nothing and refused to share Lori's or Alex Cox's phone numbers. Weeks later, Lori kept giving her different answers about...

An FBI agent testified that on September 25th, 2019, while Alex Cox's phone sat at the Idaho Falls Walmart where a burner was bought, Lori Vallow's phone took a call from her niece Melani's. Weeks later, in the hour around the shot at Brandon Boudreaux in Gilbert, Arizona, Lori's phone was on a 35-minute call to Melani's. Melani, Brandon's wife at the time, has never been charged and denies any role, though Lori's prosecutor told the 2025 jury she was in on it. Robin Dreeke and I look at the address, the morning handoff, the missing money motive, and the 2021 case...

Lori Vallow Daybell has told every courtroom, every camera, and every interviewer the same thing: she’s getting out. She told Keith Morrison on Dateline that Jesus showed her the future and she was not in prison. She told an Idaho sentencing judge that Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered. She told Arizona jurors their job was to protect her from the state. She offered to go on Dancing With the Stars after her exoneration.

On November 2, the Idaho Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the legal version of that belief. Her attorney Craig Durham filed fi...

Lori Vallow Daybell's children were found buried on Chad Daybell's property in Rexburg, Idaho. Their mother was convicted unanimously and is serving seven life sentences across Idaho and Arizona. She told an Arizona judge she believed Jesus would free her from prison. Her appellate attorney Craig Durham has now filed five constitutional claims with the Idaho Supreme Court — and the most aggressive ask on the table is complete dismissal of every charge.

The state's 59-page response systematically dismantles each claim. On speedy trial, Lori was found incompetent twice — 353 days of delay she caused. On due process, the stat...

The appeal is fully briefed. The Idaho Supreme Court has the case. And every single argument Lori Vallow Daybell's team has raised collapses under the facts.

Her appellate attorney Craig Durham filed five constitutional claims — removal of her chosen attorney Mark Means, denial of counsel during a disqualification hearing, due process violations during her incompetency, improper admission of Arizona 404(b) evidence, and speedy trial violations. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Nye responded with fifty-nine pages that dismantle each claim methodically. Means had a documented conflict — he represented both Lori and Chad, who paid for the representation and claimed Mean...

Lori Vallow still believes she'll be exonerated.

In a March 2025 Dateline interview, she maintained her innocence. She claimed visions from Jesus. She showed no remorse.

Her son Colby is left to figure out how to live in a world where his mother killed his siblings — and still thinks she was right.

This is Part 5 of "The Chosen Ones" — the conclusion of our psychological examination of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we focus on the aftermath: how survivors rebuild when the person who harmed them never acknowledges what they did...

Everyone around Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow saw something. The question is why they didn't act.

This is Part 4 of "The Chosen Ones" — our deep dive into the psychology of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we examine the inner circle: the people who participated, enabled, or stayed silent while four people died.

We cover:

ALEX COX — Lori's brother, who shot Charles Vallow, and who investigators believe killed Tylee and JJ. According to testimony, Alex "100% believed" what Chad Daybell taught. He told his wife to shoot him if he ever...

September 8, 2019. Yellowstone National Park. The last known photo of Tylee Ryan.

According to investigators, she was dead within twenty-four hours. Her remains were found nine months later in Chad Daybell's backyard.

This is Part 3 of "The Chosen Ones" — our deep dive into the psychology of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we examine Chad Daybell's "zombie" doctrine in detail: how it worked, who it targeted, and how it justified the murders of Tylee, JJ, Tammy, and Charles.

According to trial testimony:

During Chad Daybell's murder trial, prosecutors introduced some of the most chilling evidence in true crime history: spreadsheets.

Documents recovered from Chad Daybell's computer showing lists of names — Tammy Daybell, Charles Vallow, Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, and many others — each assigned a "light and dark rating" on a spiritual scale Chad Daybell invented.

Everyone rated "dark" ended up dead.

This is Part 2 of "The Chosen Ones," our deep dive into the psychology of spiritual abuse and religious trauma through the Daybell case. Today we examine how Chad Daybell built his belief system, where it c...

October 2018. A "Preparing a People" conference in Utah. Chad Daybell walks up to Lori Vallow and tells her they were married in a past life.

This is the moment everything changed.

Part 1 of "The Chosen Ones" examines how Chad Daybell used spiritual love bombing to transform Lori from a devoted LDS mother into someone who believed she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000."

We break down the mechanics of spiritual abuse:

First, he made her feel seen. Chad Daybell told her she was special, chosen, set...

Lori Vallow Daybell is serving seven life sentences. Chad Daybell is on death row. Combined, they owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to the families of Tylee Ryan, JJ Vallow, Tammy Daybell, and Charles Vallow. They will never pay it. But under Idaho's current Son of Sam law, there's a disturbing possibility: they could still profit from media deals.

This week, Idaho Senator Tammy Nichols introduced legislation to modernize the state's 48-year-old statute — and the Daybell case was explicitly on her mind. The bill unanimously advanced out of committee for a public hearing. It addresses st...

Three women. Three abductions. Same beliefs. Same geography. Same church.

Elleshia Seymour is now in Croatian custody after allegedly fleeing Utah with her four children because she believed the apocalypse was coming. She left behind a to-do list instructing herself to shred documents and buy a burner phone. She left a note she described as a "message from God." And she left a secret TikTok account filled with videos warning that Salt Lake City would be destroyed and COVID vaccines were turning people into zombies.

Her children — ages 11, 8, 7, and 3 — are now trapped in a state-run orph...

Lori Vallow Daybell wants a new trial. Prosecutors just explained why she'll never get one. The Idaho Attorney General's office filed a 59-page brief this week responding to the "Cult Mom's" appeal, and it's a comprehensive takedown of all five constitutional claims. Her attorney conflict argument? Mark Means represented both Lori and Chad Daybell at the same time — co-conspirators in a capital murder case. Chad paid for the representation. The court had no choice but to disqualify him. 

Her speedy trial claim? She was found incompetent twice, resulting in 353 days of delays. She requested the venue change. You...

As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we revisit the opening week of one of the most sensational murder trials in America — the Arizona case of Lori Vallow Daybell, the self-proclaimed “Doomsday Mom” now defending herself against charges of conspiracy to murder her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

In this two-part breakdown, Tony Brueski teams up with former prosecutor and defense attorney Eric Faddis and retired FBI Behavioral Analysis Chief Robin Dreeke to unpack the chaotic courtroom drama, bizarre legal strategy, and psychological meltdown that have turned this trial into both a legal cautionary tale and a stud...

As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we revisit one of the most surreal and unsettling trials in modern American true crime — the Arizona murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the so-called Doomsday Mom who’s decided to defend herself in court while accused of orchestrating the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

This episode pulls listeners straight into the Chandler, Arizona home where it all happened: two bullets, one body, and forty-seven silent minutes before anyone called for help. Tony Brueski and Defense Attorney Bob Motta (Defense Diaries) dissect the prosecution’s opening narrat...

As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we revisit the opening days of one of the most chilling courtroom dramas in modern true crime — the Arizona trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the self-declared prophet now serving life sentences in Idaho for the murders of her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and the conspiracy to kill Tammy Daybell. This time, Lori stands accused of murdering her fourth husband, Charles Vallow — and she’s decided to be her own lawyer.

In this two-part special, Tony Brueski and Stacy Cole dissect the emotional and strategic fireworks from both s...

As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we turn our focus to one of the most bizarre and psychologically chilling trials unfolding in America: Lori Vallow Daybell, the self-proclaimed prophet who’s decided she’s the best person to defend herself in court.

Already convicted in Idaho for the murders of her two youngest children, Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, and the conspiracy to murder her husband’s former wife, Tammy Daybell, Lori is now facing justice in Arizona for the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. But this time, there’s no defense team to...

In this full episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels take you inside the minds of two of America’s most notorious convicted murderers — Donna Adelson and Chad Daybell — through the words they wrote themselves.

Segment 1: Donna Adelson’s Prison Letter
From a Florida jail cell, Donna Adelson wrote a 2024 letter to her husband Harvey describing how her heart “breaks” over missing her grandsons’ first day of school. What could have been a rare glimpse of remorse quickly spirals into denial and bitterness:

“If I don’t get out, then hopefully I die so...

In this chilling segment of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski reads and dissects Chad Daybell’s Letter #7 — a rambling, supernatural account written years before the doomsday murders that would make him infamous.

In the letter, Daybell claims that while working as the sexton of a Utah cemetery, he was haunted by the ghost of a petty thief named Eddie — a spirit that supposedly opened gates, picked locks, and moved padlocks onto pegs. He writes that he eventually told Eddie to “go toward the light,” and that the disturbances stopped.

Then the letter descends into something far darker. Da...

In this full episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels take you inside the minds of two of America’s most notorious convicted murderers — Donna Adelson and Chad Daybell — through the words they wrote themselves.

Segment 1: Donna Adelson’s Prison Letter
 From a Florida jail cell, Donna Adelson wrote a 2024 letter to her husband Harvey describing how her heart “breaks” over missing her grandsons’ first day of school. What could have been a rare glimpse of remorse quickly spirals into denial and bitterness:

“If I don’t get out, then hopefully I die soo...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Big Breakdown - Lori Vallow & Chad Daybell's LOVE LETTERS EXPOSED!

Chad Daybell’s Ghost Stories & Rick Astley Obsession from Prison

Chad Daybell’s sixth prison letter takes his delusions to a whole new level. From his time as a cemetery caretaker to supposed ghostly companions who “helped” him do his job, Daybell paints a picture of himself as a spiritual figure living in two worlds. He even ties in pop music, dedicating Rick Astley songs to his spectral “friends.”

The hosts rip into the absurdity while also highlighting the darker undertones: Daybell genuinely believed he was chosen, guided by spirits, and immune to accountability. His narrative is peppered...

The Near-Death Fantasies of Chad Daybell: A Cult Leader’s Mind
Chad Daybell’s prison letter #5 dives headfirst into his so-called near-death experiences, and the results are as disturbing as they are absurd. From claiming he “died” four times to describing heaven with the soundtrack of Van Halen’s Jump, Daybell’s words show the twisted belief system he used to justify his crimes.

The hosts break down each claim, exposing how Daybell recasts traumatic events as supernatural confirmation of his “prophetic” status. They also unpack the psychology of why he frames himself as chosen, and how he warps basic L...

NEW Chad Daybell Prison Letters EXPOSED: Rick Astley, Rapture & Delusion!

What do Rick Astley, the rapture, and Chad Daybell have in common? Apparently, far too much. This segment kicks off with the surreal opening to Chad Daybell’s prison letters — where dark humor collides with chilling reality. Before we even get into the depths of his bizarre claims, we’re already met with a strange mix of pop culture references and warped religious spin.

Daybell insists that his beliefs were twisted at trial, painting himself as a misunderstood prophet instead of the manipulator he truly was. The ho...

Chad Daybell’s Prison Letters + Sandra Birchmore’s Murder: The Complete Breakdown

This episode combines two disturbing true crime arcs into one sweeping discussion. First, the bizarre and delusional prison letters of Chad Daybell — filled with near-death fantasies, ghostly companions, and a warped theology he used to justify unspeakable acts. With humor and sharp analysis, the hosts dismantle his narrative and expose how Daybell’s self-image as a prophet masks deep dysfunction and danger.

The second half pivots into the Sandra Birchmore case, one of the most disturbing examples of police abuse and systemic cover-up in recent m...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...

Welcome to the "Week in Review," where we delve into the true stories behind this week's headlines. Your host, Tony Brueski, joins hands with a rotating roster of guests, sharing their insights and analysis on a collection of intriguing, perplexing, and often chilling stories that made the news.
    
 This is not your average news recap. With the sharp investigative lens of Tony and his guests, the show uncovers layers beneath the headlines, offering a comprehensive perspective that traditional news can often miss. From high-profile criminal trials to in-depth examinations of ongoing investigations, this podcast takes listeners on a fasc...