“Doomsday Mom” Lori Vallow Daybell’s autistic 7-year-old son had a date-rape drug in his system when he was asphyxiated to death with a plastic bag and duct tape over his mouth, a court heard Thursday.
Dr. Garth Warren, of the Ada County Coroner’s Office, testified Wednesday that little J.J. Vallow had traces of alcohol and the chemical GHB, commonly used as a date-rape drug because it knocks people out, when his body was recovered by police, East Idaho News reports.
The doctor, however, said that based on the low levels of the chemicals found in the body, he is unsure how they got into the young boy’s system.
The child’s autopsy was conducted two days after the remains of J.J. and his 16-year-old sister, Tylee Ryan, were found buried on the property of Chad Daybell, Vallow Daybell’s fifth husband, in June 2020.
Warren said the boy’s autopsy also revealed scratch marks on his neck and bruises on his wrists and ankles where he was bound with duct tape, suggesting J.J. was awake and trying to free himself as he suffocated.
The forensic pathologist noted Tylee’s autopsy proved to be a grisly challenge because the teen’s body was dismembered and had arrived at the coroner’s office in three separate bags.
“We were looking for anything. Bullets, a portion of a knife, any other foreign debris that we could collect as evidence,” Warren told the court. “Essentially what we saw was a collection of bones along with other debris. A lot of mud and dirt.”
Warren also echoed previous testimony that parts of Tylee’s body were “burned away or were never found.”
It was the latest horrific detail in Vallow Daybell’s murder trial, where she stands accused of killing her children and her husband’s previous wife, Tammy.
Prosecutors say she was motivated to kill them by her belief in a “doomsday” religious cult that called on her to kill those possessed by evil spirits who become “zombies.”
Along with the pathologist’s testimony, the Boise courtroom was shown images of the two children’s remains, the discovery of which sparked the murder investigation against their parents.
Vallow Daybell’s defense also suffered an awkward moment during their cross-examination of Warren, asking why he failed to swab J.J.’s nasal cavity.
The pathologist was confused and said the autopsy didn’t warrant such a procedure.
“Well, I’m just basing this off of what I’ve seen in movies,” defense attorney John Thomas told the doctor.
“That’s scary,” Warren replied to the apparent lack of knowledge from the lawyer.
Vallow Daybell is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths along with grand theft for collecting government benefits on behalf of her children after they were killed.
Chad Daybell was also charged in connection with the deaths of Tylee, J.J. and Tammy, and will be tried separately.
