Missing Persons

The jury in the trial of the so-called 'Doomsday Mom' were presented with more graphic evidence on the 17th day of Lori Vallow's murder trial, as witnesses representing the FBI and Idaho State Police took the stand. In addition, a woman named Samantha Gwilliam. the sister of Chad Daybell's late wife Tammy Daybell, also took the stand, and told jury how she found out about her sister's death. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum has more.

Dr. Garth Warren, Ada County Coroner, and chief forensic pathologist took the stand on April 26 and finally revealed the long-awaited causes of death for JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. The details are graphic in nature. FOX 10's Justin Lum reports.

Disclaimer: These details are extremely graphic. We are learning more about JJ Vallow's death and his big sister Tylee Ryan's. Dr. Garth Warren, who did the autopsies, took the stand on April 26. Warren is the Ada County coroner and chief forensic pathologist. He told the court that JJ died of asphyxiation by a white plastic bag placed over his head and duct tape over his mouth. Warren determined JJ was smothered and found signs of a struggle. As for Tylee, she died by homicide, according to Dr. Warren but there is no specific cause of death. Her remains were burned, basically torn apart to pieces, and buried in the ground. Dr. Warren said these are clearly suspicious circumstances, saying Tylee’s organs were severely decomposed and her bones were charred. Another nugget of information from Dr. Warren – says he found a drug called Gamma-hydroxybutyrate in JJ’s system. According to the DEA, it can be abused for euphoric and calming effects. Dr. Warren said that based on the “inconclusive” amounts found in JJ, he couldn’t say whether the GHB was given to him or if it naturally occurred in his body. Those who testified on April 26 include FBI special agent Steve Daniels, Dr. Garth Warren, Ada Co. Coroner, and chief forensic pathologist, and FBI forensic anthropologist Angi Christensen.

Dr. Garth Warren, who did the autopsies, took the stand on April 26. Warren is the Ada County coroner and chief forensic pathologist. He told the court that JJ died of asphyxiation by a white plastic bag placed over his head and duct tape over his mouth. Warren determined JJ was smothered and found signs of a struggle. As for Tylee, she died by homicide, according to Dr. Warren but there is no specific cause of death.

A forensic pathologist testified on the stand about how Lori Vallow's two kids died, and the details are graphic.

The trial of the so-called 'Doomsday Mom' continued on April 25, and on the 15th Day of the trial, the sister of the woman accused of killing her own two kids after moving them to Idaho from Arizona took the stand. FOX 10's Justin Lum reports.

Just two weeks after the devastating discoveries of JJ and Tylee, Summer Shiflet got a request from Lori in jail for her to call her sister. The confrontation is intense as Summer can’t fathom how Lori and Chad celebrated on a beach in Hawaii when JJ and Tylee were buried in the ground. In this April 25's courtroom audio, you will hear from Nick Ballance, an FBI special agent who is continuing his testimony from April 24, from Summer Shiflet, Lori Vallow's sister, Rick Schmitt, a retired Rexburg Police detective and Steve Daniels, an FBI special agent.

An important witness took the stand on April 25, the 15th day of Lori Vallow's murder trial. The so-called 'Doomsday Mom' is accused of murdering her children, after moving them to Idaho from Arizona. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum has more on testimony from Lori's sister, as well as the intense evidence that came with the testimony.

On day 15 of the Lori Vallow murder trial, an important witness took the stand. The sister of the so-called doomsday mom who is accused of murdering her children after moving them from Arizona to Idaho. You can imagine the emotional moments as Summer Shiflet took the stand and testified against her own sister Lori. Just two weeks after the devastating discoveries of JJ and Tylee, Summer got a request from Lori in jail for her to call her sister. The confrontation is intense as Summer can’t fathom how Lori and Chad celebrated on a beach in Hawaii when JJ and Tylee were buried in the ground.

The trial for Lori Vallow, the so-called "Doomsday mom," continues in Idaho on April 24. Monday marks the fourth week of the murder trial, and a detective for the Idaho Police Department returned to the stand. In this courtroom audio, you will hear from Rexburg Police Det. David Stubbs and FBI tactical analyst Nicole Heideman special agent Nick Ballance.

Rexburg Police Det. David Stubbs returned to the stand, telling the jury that 20 electronic search warrants were served in connection to Lori, resulting in a "mass amount of data" and a warrant led to a bill for Vallow’s account associated to 18 phones.

Monday marks the fourth week of the murder trial, and a detective for the Idaho Police Department is expected to return to the stand.

In this episode of John Hook's Newsmaker Saturday, we're first hearing from Vice Mayor of Flagstaff, Austin Aslan, as the beautiful northern Arizona city is experiencing water cascading in the neighborhoods, parks, and developments ever since fires burned in the mountains over the last several years. On top of that, we're talking about the unbelievable winter snowpack that's accumulated in that part of the state that's greatly improved drought conditions all across Arizona. In the second half, we're catching up with FOX 10's Justin Lum on the "doomsday mom" murder trial. The trial of Lori Vallow, the Arizona mom accused of killing her kids, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan. He spent two weeks in Boise, Idaho getting a feel for the trial's impact on the community, hearing and seeing graphic testimony and evidence, all while getting to see Lori's reaction, or apparent lack thereof, to these testimonies while in the courtroom with her.

Jurors in the trial of the so-called 'Doomsday Mom' took a day off on April 21, after days of testimony from 26 people, including members of law enforcement. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum spoke with a lawyer who once defended Jodi Arias, who weighed in on the trial so far.

After two weeks of witness testimony in the Lori Vallow murder trial, FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum breaks down his takeaways from key witnesses, Kay Woodcock, Melanie Gibb, Det. Nathan Duncan, Zulema Pastenes, and Colby Ryan.