PHOENIX, Arizona, Nov. 15, 2020 (East Idaho News/Gephardt Daily) — Authorities are now reviewing their investigation into the death of Lori Vallow Daybell’s third husband, Joseph Ryan.
East Idaho News recently shared a recording from October 2018, in which Vallow Daybell said she was “going to murder” her husband Joseph Ryan.
Ryan reportedly died of a heart attack. His sister, Annie Cushing, shared the recording, hoping police would open an investigation.
Cushing reportedly told East Idaho News, “I think for them to continue to say he died of natural causes is reckless.”
Ryan was the father of Tylee Ryan, the daughter he shared with Lori Vallow Daybell.
Tylee Ryan’s remains, along with those of Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, were discovered June 9 buried on the property of Chad Daybell, who is Lori Vallow Daybell’s fifth and current husband.
In September, Vallow Daybell pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of conspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence in the children’s disappearance, and her case is now scheduled for a jury trial to begin in April.
According to East Idaho News, Vallow Daybell explained in the recording how she would justify killing Ryan using scriptures. She went on to say that her feelings changed when she began attending a Latter-day Saint temple regularly.
“I did not have a murderous heart,” Vallow Daybell reportedly said in the recording. “I just wanted to stop the bleeding and stop the pain. … I was like, ‘I’m either going to turn my life to the temple, or I’m going to commit murder.’”
After East Idaho News and other media outlets posted the recording, the Phoenix Police Department issued a statement.
“The Phoenix Police Department has been made aware of the information and is reviewing the 2018 death investigation of Joseph Ryan,” a police spokeswoman said in a statement to East Idaho News on Nov. 9.
Ryan’s remains were cremated after his death.
