Gilbert Town Attorney: Family members of Melani Pawlowski connected to criminal investigations

GILBERT, Ariz. - FOX 10 has uncovered new details connected to the case of two missing kids with ties to Arizona, as court documents from the child custody battle involving Lori Vallow’s niece reveal insight from Gilbert Police.

Lori is the mother of Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan. Both were last seen in September 2019, and their disappearances have uncovered a complicated sequence of events, including details surrounding the death of Lori's former husband, Charles Vallow, details of unorthodox religious beliefs, including allegations of cult membership, and details surrounding the death of Tammy Daybell, the former wife of Chad Daybell. Chad Dayell is Lori's current husband.

In late January, Idaho authorities say a child protection action was filed on behalf of JJ and Tylee, and that a court has ordered Lori to physically produce the two children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Rexburg within five days of being served with the order. Lori, ultimately, failed to obey the court order. Lori was subsequently arrested and extradited back to Idaho.

Gilbert town attorney files motion

According to the court documents, the lawyers for Brandon Boudreaux’s ex-wife, Melani Pawlowski, wanted to hear from the lead detective investigating the attempt on Boudreaux’s life.

In January, FOX 10 reported on Brandon Boudreaux, who claims a bullet missed his head by inches as he pulled into his home's driveway in Gilbert.

"All I could think was someone shooting at me. What do I do? I need to hit the gas and get out of here," Brandon said at the time. He also believes the attempt on his life, the disappearance of Joshua and Tylee, as well as Charles Vallow's death, are all connected.

Now, the Gilbert town attorney, Bill Amato, is responding.

Amato recently filed a motion to quash the subpoena, thus denying the request by Pawlowski’s lawyers to speak to Gilbert Police detective Ryan Pillar.

"It has been learned that the family members of Defendant (M. Pawlowski) and ex-family members of Plaintiff (B. Boudreaux) are connected to multiple ongoing criminal investigations; to include the shooting at B. Boudreaux," the motion reads, in part.

The motion also reads: "there is sufficient evidence to confirm the individuals related to the defendant and ex-family members of the plaintiff are involved to the ongoing criminal investigations."

Private investigator speaks

FOX 10's Justin Lum caught up with Boudreaux’s private investigator, Rich Robertson, who says the suspect in October 2 shooting is believed to be Alex Cox. Cox, who died in December 2019, was Pawlowski’s uncle. A medical examiner has ruled Cox's death natural.

“She has this family relationship to Alex [Cox], so it seems reasonable to at least investigate whether or not Melani had some role in getting Alex Cox some conspiracy to get him to commit that crime," said Robertson.

Robertson followed Cox and Pawlowski in early November.

"I sat at a restaurant a table right next to them and to observe them for a while, and in the video, it doesn’t look like the same stature personally for me," said Robertson.

Robertson also referred to surveillance video of a storage unit in Rexburg, Idaho, formerly rented by Lori. On October 2, 2019, a man seen in the video is believed to be Cox, if one was to ask the lawyers for Pawlowski.

On that same day, Boudreaux was shot at in Gilbert. Robertson believes the shooter is Cox.

Lori is currently in jail, not telling anyone where JJ and Tylee are, while the death of Chad Daybell's first wife is under investigation.

FOX 10 did speak with Pawlowski’s attorney, Garrett Smith, over the phone, who said they filed the Notice of Deposition only after Boudreaux’s attorneys listed Detective Pillar as a witness. Smith believes the response by the town attorney confirms his client is not a suspect in any criminal cases.

Pawlowski has denied any involvement in the shooting.