Son of Lori Vallow Daybell, woman accused of killing 2 of her children, arrested for sexual assault
Colby Jordan Ryan, the son of Lori Vallow Daybell, the woman who is accused of killing two of her children in Idaho, has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting his estranged wife, police records show. Ryan, 26, was arrested Saturday in Arizona.
According to a probable cause statement, Ryan and his wife had been living in separate homes for about a month. Ryan and his wife were watching TV at the wife's home last week when they began consensually kissing, according to the statement. Ryan's wife then said she wanted to stop, but Ryan continued and began to touch her in a sexual manner, the probable cause statement said.
Ryan's wife told police that he then sexually assaulted her while she "again told him to 'Stop. I don't want to do it,' while trying to push him off of her," police documents said.
Afterward, Ryan apologized and began to cry, the document said. His wife locked herself in her bedroom and Ryan slept on the couch, the document said. The next day, Ryan's wife recorded a conversation the two had in which Ryan admitted to the inappropriate touching and "agreed that he 'raped' the Victim," the document said.
Ryan made similar admissions to police after he was arrested, the document stated. He faces two counts of sexual assault.
Ryan's mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, and her new husband Chad Daybell, face numerous charges in a bizarre case, including conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Lori Daybell's children, 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Ryan's arrest comes a little over a week before a Netflix documentary about the case is set to premiere. Ryan, who is Lori Vallow Daybell's oldest son, features prominently in the trailer for the series.
Ryan has also spoken out about the case numerous times. Before JJ and Tylee Ryan's bodies were found, Colby Ryan had pleaded with his mother to produce the children multiple times through the media and on YouTube. In an interview with Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV, Colby Ryan said that prior to the children's deaths being confirmed, he didn't think his mother would have hurt the children.
"I feel like my mom would die for the kids, so to see this and hear it, and also be questioning why they're not being found, that's where this all comes into a battle into what you think and what you feel," he told the station. But, he said, he began to realize things were not right the day before Thanksgiving 2019, when he said he told his mother two detectives had questioned him.
"And she said 'I got it, I'll take care of it... Love you' and that was it," Ryan told KSAZ. He then said the final straw came when his mother and Chad Daybell were finally located the following year.
"I'm done. I've been done the day that I saw them without the kids walking around Hawaii," Ryan said. "That was it."
Idaho law enforcement began investigating the Daybells in November 2019 after extended family members reported the children were missing. While the children were missing, police said the couple lied about the children's whereabouts. Their bodies were found buried later on Chad Daybell's property in rural Idaho.
Chad and Lori Daybell married just two weeks after his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died unexpectedly. Tammy Daybell's death was initially reported as "natural causes," but investigators had her body exhumed after growing suspicious when Chad Daybell quickly remarried.
Lori Vallow Daybell is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Arizona in connection with the death of her previous husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Lori Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, who claimed it was self-defense. Cox later died of what police said was natural causes.
Vallow in April entered a "not guilty" plea and invoked her right to a speedy trial, which legally needed to take place by October. That complicated plans for a combined trial for her and her husband.
On May 19, prosecutors asked that Vallow's trial be postponed until Jan. 9. Prosecutors expressed concern that if Vallow was separately in October that an "improper severance" would happen with the couple's cases.
Boyce also expressed concern whether Vallow's recently appointed attorneys had enough time to prepare for the trial and said the 90-day delay would give them more. He noted that prosecutors have worked on the case since 2020.
