♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, the unspeakable crimes. laurie and chad daybell. what they're accused of doing to her children. >> i thought, if she's not saying where the kids, are the kids are dead. >> lori's brother speaking out for the first time on network television. >> i looked at her, she looked at me. i was like, laurie what you're saying is not true. >> the shocking new details released by authority i didn't see the shot, i heard it. i came back around, i saw that he was on the ground. remembering meat loaf. ♪ you took the words right out of my mouth. >> the large er thr than-rockthk with songs like "you took the words right out of my mouth."

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♪ thanks for joining us. we're learning explosive new details about the woman known as the idaho mom who vacationed in

hawaii while her kids went missing. laurie and her husband chad daybell are both expected to stand trial next year in the death of her two children. now her brother is speaking out in his first network television interview. >> ready to go? >> yeah, i think so. >> one thing that strikes me about this story is there's such a fascination with it. around the country, around the world. but this is your family. this is your sister, this is your life. >> our family is nothing the way it used to be. >> authorities intensifying their search for two missing children in idaho. >> now their mother and her husband are both believed to be on the run. >> their mother but not the children found by authorities in hawaii. >> laurie? tell us where your kids are. everybody wants to know. >> reporter: it was the story that dominated headlines when it broke. but there's so much more that has surfaced since authorities released details of their investigation.

my colleague ryan smith recently sat down with adam cox, the brother of laurie vallow and alex cox, to help shed light on the brother-sister duo at the center of it all. >> describe what their relationship is like. alex is more a loner kind of guy? >> he didn't have a lot of friends. i think when laurie would invite him to come to the house to eat, to go do something that he was always willin to go and be there for her. >> one thing alex's ex-wife debbie describes in her conversations with police that is alex and laurie seem to have an unusually close relationship. alex even went so far as to describe laurie as hot, which is not typically a word that brothers use when describing their sisters. >> alex and laurie maintained a close relationship over the years. as they got older, laurie would marry several times. she had two kids.

a son, colby, from her second marriage, and a daughter, tylee, from her third. laurie alleged tylee's father, joe ryan, was abuse. the claims were investigated but never prove. still, that didn't stop brother alex from getting involved. >> this would become a recurring theme in the lives of laurie and alex. sister needs help, brother comes to the rescue. >> reporter: alex would eventually wind up serving time for aggravated assault against joe ryan. as for laurie, she would move on to husband number four. >> charles vallow to me was the best of laurie's husbands. they had been dating, and we all liked him. charles and alex were very good friends. they laughed over everything together. charles loved alex, and alex loved charles. >> this is a family that lends

lori's daughter tylee and adopted son j.j. -- >> people describe lori vallow as an extremely loving mother, fun mother. she was somebody who made the kids the center of her universe. >> reporter: everything seemed perfect. until lori started to express extreme new beliefs. >> one thing she told me was that when she was in the temple, she said she saw jesus christ face-to-face. and she talked to him. and i thought, that's an odd thing to say. then we were standing in her kitchen, and shouldn't that she was turning into a translated being. and i was like, what do you mean you're turning into a translated being? and she said, i don't have to eat anymore. and if somebody shot me with a gun, the bullet wouldn't even go through me. i looked at her, she looked at me. and i was like, lori, what you're saying is not true, this is nonsense. she goes, you think i'm crazy, don't you? i was like, i don't know if you're crazy, but what you're telling me is not normal. and this is not happening to

you. and from that point, she tried to cut everything off with me. >> reporter: she was influenced by the writings of author chad daybell. >> he's a believer that the end the world as we know it is coming soon. daybell has written dozens of these post apocalyptic, very dark books. >> chad has had two near-death experiences, and he believes that those experiences have lifted the veil between earthly and spiritual worlds. and so that he can see things that other people can't see, including the impending second coming. >> she was telling alex about these books, read these books. somehow lori got him to do that. >> reporter: chad and lori would eventually meet in the fall of 2018 while attending a spiritual conference in utah, seen here in this video. >> if you've had this holy ghost experience testify to you, you're on the right path.

>> reporter: in a series of text messages recently released by police, chad talks about that fateful first encounter. >> he writes it almost in the form of a romance novel, using the names james and elena. their spirits could not be restrained any longer, and a long-awaited makeout session took place. this was manifest in the mortal world to james and elena through the scientific phenomenon known as loin fire. >> reporter: lori's husband, charles, was not amused by her new interests and was increasingly concerned by her behavior. their marriage starts to deteriorate. she even accused him of having an affair. >> charles vallow alleges his business bank account has been drained as well. and that's when cops get called in. police body cam video shows charles basically telling police his wife has lost her mind. >> she thinks she's a resurrected being and a -- and a god. she took all the money out of our bank account, just made the

threat to kill me. >> what did she say yesterday? >> she said, you're not charles, i don't know who you are what yo did with charles, but i could murder you now with my powers. >> she's speaking as a spiritual being? >> she's psychologically -- she's going, something's happened to her. >> reporter: charles takes his concerns to an attorney. >> i've been a divorce attorney for 30 years. i've never had anybody that came in that was this specific, that said, i'm afraid i'm going to be murdered, and this is who's going to do it and here's why it's going to happen. >> charles makes that same claim in his divorce filing. and also reports it to police. >> as of right now, there's no crime. >> he told me lori told him she was going to have him killed. that he was in the way. and that she had an angel that would dispose of his body after that took place. charles was very adamant with me that he wanted to make sure that i let everybody know that if he was killed, that it was lori who did it. >> what is the emergency?

>> um -- i -- i shot my brother-in-law. >> reporter: on the morning of july 11th, 2019, charles is shot and killed by alex in lori's home. >> okay, awake and responsive or unconscious? >> unconscious. >> reporter: lori and tylee leave the scene to take j.j. to school but return to the house. >> there wasn't any huge outwardly signs of, like, emotional distress. there wasn't tears. there wasn't anything like that. they seemed pretty put together. >> hi, neighbor! sorry. >> loweri and tylee are taken to the police station to give their statements. alex is driven separately to provide his. when detectives are finally able to sit all down at the police station this trio outlines this story of self-defense. >> reporter: lori tells police she and charles got into an argument over a cell phone. she says he advanced towards her

and tylee. that's when her brother stepped in to help. >> i didn't believe that at all. not one bit. >> charles had never been violent with anybody, so you kind of start getting a bigger picture of this just doesn't feel right. >> reporter: but there are inconsistencies in alex's story. one of the things police questioned him about is the two gunshots. >> where were you aiming on his body? >> just center. >> okay, so you're pretty sure, two shots, center mass? >> yeah. >> based on the physical evidence at the scene, investigators will later conclude that one of the two shots into charles vallow is when he was already on the ground. >> stood over him and shot him. so we know that alex did murder him. >> police communicate with adam cox over the phone, and he gives them plenty to think about. >> why would alex be at lori's anyways, and why would he have a

gun in the house? and alex is an expert shooter, he's got tons of guns, he goes shooting all the time. he knows how to kill somebody. and this is my brother and sister, and i love them with all my heart. but i'm telling you, there's something wrong about lori and alex and this belief that they have. my theory is that lori and alex got together and that they shot him. i don't even think there was a fight or anything. >> detectives will not have much time to process this information. lori is packing up and heading to idaho to land husband number five. stay with us. s. they're back.

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i was in shock after charles died. one of those things where you just like -- nothing is making any sense. >> reporter: adam cox continues to question what happened the day his brother alex shot and killed their brother-in-law, charles vallow. lori packs up her kids and starts a new life in rexburg, idaho, where chad daybell lives. lori's brother alex would move >> within seven days of lori moving to rexburg, she takes a trip to yellowstone park with tylee, j.j., and her brother alex. authorities say no one ever saw

tylee again after that very last photo with alex and j.j. >> j.j. would later be seen by house guests of lori, but two weeks later, he too went missing. >> reporter: meanwhile, chad is still married to his wife tammy, a school librarian. facebook photos show chad and tammy as a happy couple. >> chad sends lori this ominous text message. every few weeks, i get to escape and have amazing adventures with my goddess lover, but then i have to return to my place under the stairs, feeling trapped. but i sense permanent freedom is coming. >> reporter: in october 2019, tammy dies in her sleep. originally her death was not seen as suspicious, but authorities later open an investigation. >> everything was happening so fast. in july, charles vallow died. by september, j.j. and tylee were missing. mid-october, tammy daybell died. early november, lori and chad

are off to hawaii to get married. >> the photos are great. but the one thing you notice about them is it's only the bride and groom. >> lori's 7-year-old son, j.j., is not there. neither is 16-year-old tylee. >> reporter: alex also got married in november, but weeks later is found dead in his new wife's bathroom. the medical examiner ruled that he died of natural causes. by late december, rexburg police, along with the fbi, issue a press release announcing that j.j. and tylee are missing, endangered children. their disappearance making national headlines. >> first, two missing children. now their mother and her husband are both believed to be on the run. >> reporter: lori is served with a court order to produce j.j. and tylee within five days, but she fails to do so. on february 20th, almost a month

after she ignored the court order to produce the children, lori is arrested by local authorities. >> lori is charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependant children. and she is held on $5 million bond. >> reporter: both of these charges were later dropped. >> lori leaves hawaii in handcuffs. she's extradited back to idaho where she and chad reunite in a packed courtroom. >> all rise. >> chad has not yet been charged with any crime, but it is only a matter of time before he will join his beloved behind bars. police will tell you that when alex cox died, a lot of secrets died with him. except one. >> it's been hiding all along, on his phone. >> the fbi's cellular analysis survey team has the ability to pinpoint a cell phone roughly within 20 feet of a location.

>> reporter: with the help of the fbi, local authorities are able to link alex's phone to chad's backyard. >> after figuring all this out, placing alex behind chad's home on key dates and times, the authorities execute a search warrant on chad's property. >> as soon as they remove the panelling, i could smell the odor of a decomposing body. >> police positively identifying the human remains as the missing siblings, j.j. vallow and tylee ryan. >> i know i went into shock again. and thought, why in the world would they kill the kids and then bury them on chad's property? it's heart-wrenching. >> reporter: after j.j. and tylee's bodies were found, the cox family released a statement reading in part, the cox family is deeply saddened by the recent findings and the investigation into the whereabouts of j.j. and tylee. the family has maintained a strong hope and belief that they

were alive and well. with that hope and belief apparently shattered, they struggled to find comfort and hope in this potential new reality. the family expresses their deep and abiding love for j.j. and tylee. nearly a year after the children's bodies were found, lori vallow and chad daybell were charged with their murders. alex cox is named in the indictment as a coconspirator. lori's and chad's trial dates are both set for 2023. >> chad pled not guilty. but lori is deemed not competent to stand trial. so she hasn't yet entered a plea to these murder charges. >> do you believe that lori killed her kids? >> actually killing them? no. i believe chad and alex killed them. >> why? >> alex and lori are in this mindset that they're doing this for god. >> reporter: lori vallow daybell was also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in

the death of her then-husband charles vallow. according to the indictment, she planned the murder with her brother, alex cox. she has not yet entered a plea. in the death of tammy daybell, lori was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and has not yet entered a plea. chad daybell was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. he has pled not guilty. you can watch the full "20/20" special, "adam and evil" streaming on hulu. up next, remembering the legendary rock performer meat loaf. well, well, well. look at you. you mastered the master bath. you created your own style. and you - yes, you! turned a sourdough starter into a sourdough finisher. so when you learn your chronic dry eye is actually caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation you take it on, by talking to your eyecare professional about restasis®... which may help you make more of your own tears with continued use twice a day, every day.

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♪ finally tonight, remembering one of the most distinctive voices of the late 20th century. ♪ like a bat outta hell i'll be gone when the morning comes ♪ >> rock superstar meat loaf. his 1977 debut "bat out of hell" became one of the best-selling albums of all-time. he was known for his energy, his

larger-than-life presence on stage. meat loaf died today surrounded by family. he was 74. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes s s on hulu. see you back here same time next week. good night, america.