PHOENIX — A chilling new recording is revealing a new twist in the Lori Vallow Daybell case.
Right now, she and her current husband, doomsday author Chad Daybell, are locked up, facing charges in Idaho, connected to the death of her two children, who used to live in Arizona.
This new recording, shared with East Idaho News, raises questions about a different death after someone caught Lori talking about murdering an ex.
"I was going to murder him," she says in the recording. "I'm going to kill him like the scriptures say."
The audio, according to East Idaho News, comes from an October 2018 religious group meet-up.
Although she never says his name, context clues reveal she’s talking about Joseph Ryan, her third husband.
She tells the group that their marriage ended badly.
"After we were divorced, he told everybody I was this lying, crazy Mormon."
And that the custody battle over their daughter Tylee was bitter.
"If he comes against you once, if he comes against you twice, if he comes against you three times, then you can kill him. It says it in the scriptures."
Joseph Ryan died months before this meeting in April 2018 from an apparent heart attack, according to his autopsy report.
On Sunday, Phoenix Police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said they were aware of the new information and would be reviewing the 2018 death investigation of Joseph Ryan.
East Idaho News reports the recording came from Ryan's sister, Annie Cushing. Cushing told them she hoped the recording would prompt Phoenix Police to take another look at Ryan's sudden death.
At the time of the recording, Lori was married to her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. By early 2019, records show their marriage was strained. Charles would go on to tell Gilbert Police he was worried about his wife's darkening religious beliefs and the safety of their children.
"I’m either going to turn my life to the temple or I’m going to commit murder...I've got nothing to lose," Lori says in the recording.
In July 2019, Chandler Police say Lori's brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles Vallow at his home in Chandler. Police say Lori is still under investigation in his death.
A few months later in September 2019, Lori moved with her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho, where Chad Daybell lives. Both children would disappear before the end of the month and would remain missing until investigators found their bodies brutally buried in Chad Daybell's backyard in June 2020.
Court records show Lori and Chad married in November 2019 after the death of Chad's first wife Tammy Daybell in October. Tammy's death was originally ruled as "natural causes" but her body was later exhumed and her death is under investigation. Idaho authorities are looking into Chad and Lori as part of the investigation.
In December 2019, police say Lori's brother Alex Cox died at his home in Gilbert. The medical examiner ruled his death as "natural" but Gilbert Police say they're still investigating. Court records show Alex Cox also rented an apartment in the same complex as Lori's in Idaho. Investigators say it was pings from Alex Cox's cell phone that ultimately led them to discover JJ and Tylee's bodies.
Chad and Lori are both facing conspiracy charges connected to the deaths of JJ and Tylee. Last month, a judge ruled to combine their cases for trial. A new date hasn't been set yet, although they were both originally scheduled for separate trials in 2021.