Found Deceased ID - Joshua Vallow, 7, & Tylee Ryan, 17, Rexburg, Sept 2019 *mom arrested* #31

[Diddian]

I don't think Melani was reaching out to her kids at all. I really think she was really pushing the victim image very hard. As she indicated at the end, a family member was screening any posts, and she would only get the positive ones. Sadly, I do feel she must be very very lonely.

but she has also made such grave mistakes. I believe that LE will be able to pin her on collusion, or "consciousness of guilt" regarding attempted murder of BB.

I wonder if she is coming out from under the spell of Lori?

I really wonder what this "learning more about her mother is all about?"

I remain curious as to how she was raised. I, personally do not believe it was Lori.
It appears that she lived with her dad, when he divorced her mother .(As she says " taken away from her mother"). It does appear evident that she has step-siblings.

Soooooo..... what happened??
This part of the story is becoming a mystery unto itself.

It appears to me that she was raised by her father who lives in another state, but she may have established a relationship with her mother's family, including LV, in Texas when she became an adult - either when she entered basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio or when she graduated from it in 2008. In the press report about her graduation from basic training there, only her father and paternal grandmother are listed as family.

I'm not sure whether I can post that press report because I'm not precisely sure what MBP's status is as far as person of interest, suspect, witness, etc.

I'm curious which "family member" is screening responses to her post. That seems odd - to put a post out there and then to have someone else screen responses to it, as though you expect some negative responses that will be too painful to read, but are fishing for some particular responses as well. My guess - she and the family member(s) screening responses for her were hoping for responses from any of the children or from someone who may act as an intermediary to the children, such as a close friend of one of the children. If she was NOT hoping for a response from one of the children or their intermediary and she expected a negative response from others, why post it? The post seems provocative.

Quite frankly, in the context of everything else going on here, putting that provocative post out there and then having someone other than MBP cull the responses sounds like cult behavior - with MBP used as the lure to draw someone else in. If MBP is knowingly participating in that, that doesn't sound like someone who is coming out from under the spell of what has her spellbound.

MOO.

 

[Tortoise]

All he has to do is claim the 5th. No one can be "forced" to talk on the stand. Jmo

Imo it won't matter what action he takes on the stand, Lori will only look like her bad self. And he will look bad, as well.

This is still a gray area for me. I assumed from my reading of the law that he could only plead the 5th to questions which would implicate him in a crime. Questions related to starting an intimate relationship with Lori, meeting her children, patting Lori's backside at the storage unit, receiving an email purported to be from Charles Vallow in June 2019 and staying in his guest room in November 2018, for example, he must answer.

Or am I wrong, and just mere association with Lori in any context and at any time can be construed as implicating him in any as yet undefined criminal activities she was involved in, aside from child abandonment, and so he gets immunity?

Another question for @AZlawyer

That reminds me, I would like to see storage facility owner added to the witness list!

moo

 

[Monroe2]

This is still a gray area for me. I assumed from my reading of the law that he could only plead the 5th to questions which would implicate him in a crime. Questions related to starting an intimate relationship with Lori, meeting her children, patting Lori's backside at the storage unit, receiving an email purported to be from Charles Vallow in June 2019 and staying in his guest room in November 2018, for example, he must answer.

Or am I wrong, and just mere association with Lori in any context and at any time can be construed as implicating him in any as yet undefined criminal activities she was involved in, aside from child abandonment, and so he gets immunity?

Another question for @AZlawyer

That reminds me, I would like to see storage facility owner added to the witness list!

moo

I have read that at a prelim you don't need an over abundance of evidence.Dont know if that is correct maybe AZ lawyer can weigh in, but if that's true, it seems like 48 witnesses standing by is a bit of overkill?

 

[Tortoise]

I have read that at a prelim you don't need an over abundance of evidence.Dont know if that is correct maybe AZ lawyer can weigh in, but if that's true, it seems like 48 witnesses standing by is a bit of overkill?

I don't think this is a list of witnesses only for the prelim, I think it's for trial also.

 

[fred&edna]

It appears to me that she was raised by her father who lives in another state, but she may have established a relationship with her mother's family, including LV, in Texas when she became an adult - either when she entered basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio or when she graduated from it in 2008. In the press report about her graduation from basic training there, only her father and paternal grandmother are listed as family.

I'm not sure whether I can post that press report because I'm not precisely sure what MBP's status is as far as person of interest, suspect, witness, etc.

I'm curious which "family member" is screening responses to her post. That seems odd - to put a post out there and then to have someone else screen responses to it, as though you expect some negative responses that will be too painful to read, but are fishing for some particular responses as well. My guess - she and the family member(s) screening responses for her were hoping for responses from any of the children or from someone who may act as an intermediary to the children, such as a close friend of one of the children. If she was NOT hoping for a response from one of the children or their intermediary and she expected a negative response from others, why post it? The post seems provocative.

Quite frankly, in the context of everything else going on here, putting that provocative post out there and then having someone other than MBP cull the responses sounds like cult behavior - with MBP used as the lure to draw someone else in. If MBP is knowingly participating in that, that doesn't sound like someone who is coming out from under the spell of what has her spellbound.

MOO.

I was also under the assumption she was raised in another state with her father and his family. I can't quite figure out how statements in her post mesh with her upbringing in WA. 'Sure would like to know more details!

ETA Actually I don't believe most of what she says.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This is still a gray area for me. I assumed from my reading of the law that he could only plead the 5th to questions which would implicate him in a crime. Questions related to starting an intimate relationship with Lori, meeting her children, patting Lori's backside at the storage unit, receiving an email purported to be from Charles Vallow in June 2019 and staying in his guest room in November 2018, for example, he must answer.

Or am I wrong, and just mere association with Lori in any context and at any time can be construed as implicating him in any as yet undefined criminal activities she was involved in, aside from child abandonment, and so he gets immunity?

Another question for @AZlawyer

That reminds me, I would like to see storage facility owner added to the witness list!

moo

Well...this is pretty important information isn't it? I do hope we get some hard-core legal interpretation on when the 5th is permissible. Does that mean, that the prosecutor can say to Chad "no you cannot plead the 5th to this question Chad"? This is fodder to chew on....

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I was also under the assumption she was raised in another state with her father and his family. I can't quite figure out how statements in her post mesh with her upbringing in WA. 'Sure would like to know more details!

ETA Actually I don't believe most of what she says.

Imo, jmo.. for having some hard knocks in life, she really comes off as quite ditzy.

 

[Monroe2]

I don't think this is a list of witnesses only for the prelim, I think it's for trial also.

That makes sense, I was wondering about that. Thanks

 

[nyvictoria]

Thanks for the timeline @Gardener1850! It’s very helpful. I admittedly know very little about this case as I’ve been preoccupied with Gannon lately. I’m going to try to read through all of the previous threads. This couple has certainly left a messy path of destruction in their wake.

 

[Diddian]

Well...this is pretty important information isn't it? I do hope we get some hard-core legal interpretation on when the 5th is permissible. Does that mean, that the prosecutor can say to Chad "no you cannot plead the 5th to this question Chad"? This is fodder to chew on....

There was a somewhat similar situation involving various parties who were arrested and charged in the (yet to be tried) criminal cases relating to the May 2019 disappearance and murder of Jennifer Dulos.

Jennifer's estranged husband (Fotis Dulos), his live-in girlfriend and employee (Michelle Troconis), and his former civil lawyer (Kent Mawhinney) were arrested in January 2020 for kidnapping and murder (Fotis) and for conspiracy to commit murder (Troconis and Mawhinney). Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis had also been arrested earlier (September 2019) for criminal charges related to tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution associated with Jennifer's disappearance and murder.

All three of these parties were ALSO involved in civil litigation with Jennifer's mother and the estate of Jennifer's father relating to loans Jennifer's father had made to fund the luxury real estate development business operated by Fotis. Troconis performed some record keeping, house staging, marketing, and promotion services as an employee of that company and Mawhinney had provided business services and civil litigation services to the company. These civil proceedings had been initiated long before Jennifer disappeared and they were still in process at the time she disappeared.

At the time she was asked to testify in the civil litigation in late 2019, Troconis had ALREADY been criminally charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution relating to Jennifer's disappearance and death (she had not yet been charged with Conspiracy to Commit/Murder, but was aware an investigation was continuing). Troconis attempted to take the 5th in relation to all questioning about her knowledge and participation in the business operations and money movement; however, the judge in the civil case ruled that Troconis must answer particular questions which were relevant to the civil case, but not relevant to the criminal case, and she was encouraged to have her criminal attorney present while she was questioned on the stand so he could object if questions were asked which might impact Troconis in the criminal case.

So, she answered some of the questions, but her answers provided no meaningful information as she more or less played stupid - claiming not to recall or not to know the answers to the questions or deferring to her employer, Fotis Dulos, as the person who dealt with such matters.

 

[AZlawyer]

This is still a gray area for me. I assumed from my reading of the law that he could only plead the 5th to questions which would implicate him in a crime. Questions related to starting an intimate relationship with Lori, meeting her children, patting Lori's backside at the storage unit, receiving an email purported to be from Charles Vallow in June 2019 and staying in his guest room in November 2018, for example, he must answer.

Or am I wrong, and just mere association with Lori in any context and at any time can be construed as implicating him in any as yet undefined criminal activities she was involved in, aside from child abandonment, and so he gets immunity?

Another question for @AZlawyer

That reminds me, I would like to see storage facility owner added to the witness list!

moo

IMO Chad could plead the 5th to almost anything interesting anyone would want to know. His relationship to Lori, for example, would help prove motive for any crimes we’ve discussed. It’s a very broad protection and covers basically anything that might give LE/prosecutors a leg up on investigating/convicting you of a crime. (That’s oversimplified, but should be a workable definition for our purposes here .)

I have read that at a prelim you don't need an over abundance of evidence.Dont know if that is correct maybe AZ lawyer can weigh in, but if that's true, it seems like 48 witnesses standing by is a bit of overkill?

I don't think this is a list of witnesses only for the prelim, I think it's for trial also.

I agree. And any witness list at this point is going to be massively over-inclusive, “just in case.” The fact that someone is on the list probably just means a paralegal found their name in the file.

 

[Sorelle19]

SNIPPED -Quite frankly, in the context of everything else going on here, putting that provocative post out there and then having someone other than MBP cull the responses sounds like cult behavior - with MBP used as the lure to draw someone else in. If MBP is knowingly participating in that, that doesn't sound like someone who is coming out from under the spell of what has her spellbound.MOO.

IMO, she's not coming out of it. Recall his ex-wife's comment to one of the reporters on this case (Lum/ Eaton?) that MBP was "controlling" her new husband, IP, restricting who he had access to and monitoring his whereabouts. That's not victim behavior, it's aggressive and motivated by self-preservation. She's no victim and is just trying to sway public opinion with that post, another example of control.

 

[Sorelle19]

I've been wondering about Rob Woods' request to tie her bail reduction hearing request to an exchange of info for the children's whereabouts. How would that play out? I'd LOVE to hear the judge flat-out ask LVD, "So, we'll let you out today if you tell us where the children are. " How can her defense lawyer answer that in any way besides a real answer without making her sound 100% guilty of something awful????

 

[Monroe2]

I've been wondering about Rob Woods' request to tie her bail reduction hearing request to an exchange of info for the children's whereabouts. How would that play out? I'd LOVE to hear the judge flat-out ask LVD, "So, we'll let you out today if you tell us where the children are. " How can her defense lawyer answer that in any way besides a real answer without making her sound 100% guilty of something awful????

I would LOVE to hear the judge say that!!!

 

[DI_Isokawa]

I'm trying to gain information about Lori and Hawaii. We have her there four times: with Charles during the years 2015 and 2016, with Tylee from early February until either the end of March or the end of April 2019, with Chad for the first two weeks in November 2019 during the marriage and finally with Chad from 1 December until her arrest in February 2020. So from the beginning:

2015-2016: Public records show them living at four different addresses in Princeville, HI. The houses are near each other on the same street of a development in a golf course. The houses are currently listed on Zillow for $1.5-$2 million. None of the houses show rental histories but several them show has being on the market for extended periods of time. It is possible that the Vallows rented them when they would be otherwise unoccupied.

The Texas umbrella corporation was still active in this period, and the business name they used after returning to the mainland advertised that it did estate planning (annuity sales) business in Hawaii. I can find no information so far on who Charles was doing business with either these years or later.

The Vallows set up a separate corporation in 2015. Listed address is a location in a nearby retail/office complex and is probably a law office. The corporation evidently went defunct soon after. An enterprise with the same name has a social media presence showing it in business from September 2016 to June 2017, and owners other than the Vallows. I do not know if there is any connection between the two.

Feb 2019 - ????: I still hold to my theory that Lori took Tylee to Hawaii just after she panicked upon learning that the expected murder of Charles during his trip to Texas went awry. I have no idea why she picked Hawaii. I also do not know where she and Tylee stayed, what she did while she was there, and when they returned. It appears that the phone call to Charles's insurance company attempting to lock his policy occurred during this period. His correspondence with the insurance company stated that he suspected the voice was Lori but I can find no information that confirms this.

Nov 1, 2019-Nov 15, 2019 (approx). This is the period of the marriage and honeymoon, and has been well covered here.

1 Dec 2019-20 Feb 2020: This period has also received wide coverage in MSM and here. The one curious thing is that the condo Chad and Lori were staying in was in the same golf course development Charles, Tylee, JJ and Lori had lived in during 2015 and 2016, just one street over.

If anybody has anything to correct or flesh out the above please let me know. If you think it may be TOS-sensitive, feel free to message me.

 

[CSIDreamer]

I'm trying to gain information about Lori and Hawaii. We have her there four times: with Charles during the years 2015 and 2016, with Tylee from early February until either the end of March or the end of April 2019, with Chad for the first two weeks in November 2019 during the marriage and finally with Chad from 1 December until her arrest in February 2020. So from the beginning:

2015-2016: Public records show them living at four different addresses in Princeville, HI. The houses are near each other on the same street of a development in a golf course. The houses are currently listed on Zillow for $1.5-$2 million. None of the houses show rental histories but several them show has being on the market for extended periods of time. It is possible that the Vallows rented them when they would be otherwise unoccupied.

The Texas umbrella corporation was still active in this period, and the business name they used after returning to the mainland advertised that it did estate planning (annuity sales) business in Hawaii. I can find no information so far on who Charles was doing business with either these years or later.

The Vallows set up a separate corporation in 2015. Listed address is a location in a nearby retail/office complex and is probably a law office. The corporation evidently went defunct soon after. An enterprise with the same name has a social media presence showing it in business from September 2016 to June 2017, and owners other than the Vallows. I do not know if there is any connection between the two.

Feb 2019 - ????: I still hold to my theory that Lori took Tylee to Hawaii just after she panicked upon learning that the expected murder of Charles during his trip to Texas went awry. I have no idea why she picked Hawaii. I also do not know where she and Tylee stayed, what she did while she was there, and when they returned. It appears that the phone call to Charles's insurance company attempting to lock his policy occurred during this period. His correspondence with the insurance company stated that he suspected the voice was Lori but I can find no information that confirms this.

Nov 1, 2019-Nov 15, 2019 (approx). This is the period of the marriage and honeymoon, and has been well covered here.

1 Dec 2019-20 Feb 2020: This period has also received wide coverage in MSM and here. The one curious thing is that the condo Chad and Lori were staying in was in the same golf course development Charles, Tylee, JJ and Lori had lived in during 2015 and 2016, just one street over.

If anybody has anything to correct or flesh out the above please let me know. If you think it may be TOS-sensitive, feel free to message me.

If I remember her Feb 2019 trip is in the timeline. I could be wrong. Jmo

 

[DI_Isokawa]

If I remember her Feb 2019 trip is in the timeline. I could be wrong. Jmo

Right. But there are conflicts with other sources. The timeline says she spend all 58 days in Hawaii; other sources say it was only a month and the rest of the time was in San Tan Valley with Alex.

If it was just a month then her arrival on the mainland coincided roughly with Charles pulling JJ out of school and heading to Houston, as well as him cancelling the divorce proceedings. Which is baffling.

 

[Owutatangledweb]

Why? Always an exception to the general rule.
Aha. Exception bc it relates to the children. It also varies state to state from what I just read.
Good to know. So now he’ll have to not recall anything. I wonder how that will work. Maybe he needs to be out of subpoena range? What other method can he use to avoid testifying against Lori?

5th Amendment.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

In family court, where custody disputes are heard and resolved, she's not going to get a jury; she's going to get a judge and they have heard and seen it all, including attempts by one parent to manipulate the children and to poison how they see their other parent. Such attempts are considered psychologically abusive to the children. That is what MBP has done and it doesn't go away by erasing a post.

Always have the right to a jury. She can choose to try it to the court. Let the judge decide. But it’s easier to convince a couple of jurors than a judge. And back away Scott free.

 

[Bazinga]

There is no spousal privilege in this case.

Yes, additionally I recall reading that there is no spousal privilege for matters that occurred before the marriage occurred.