A piece of Lori Vallow’s hair was found stuck on duct tape used to wrap the body of her 7-year-old son before he was buried in her soon-to-be husband’s Idaho backyard, a DNA expert revealed in court Monday.
Keeley Coleman, a senior DNA analyst at Bode Technology in Virginia, told Ada County jurors on Monday that she tested three DNA profiles in connection with Vallow’s murder case, including Lori, her 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, and her friend Melanie Gibb. She also received several items to test, including a piece of hair that was attached to an adhesive.
“The partial DNA profile matched the DNA profile provided from Lori Vallow Daybell,” Coleman said of the hair, according to East Idaho News. “The probability of randomly selecting a random individual in relation to that profile is 1 in 71 billion.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Last week, prosecutors revealed that a piece of hair was found on duct tape used to wrap Vallow’s young son, JJ, after he was fatally strangled with a white plastic bag in September 2019. Vallow is on trial for the murders of JJ and Tylee, as well as conspiring to kill husband Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy; she faces life in prison. Chad Daybell, a Doomsday author, will be tried separately and faces the death penalty if convicted.
Dr. Erik Christensen, a Utah medical examiner, also revealed on Monday that Tammy Daybell may have been restrained for hours when she died from asphyxiation. He added that the 49-year-old had bruises on her arms and chest that were most likely sustained in the few hours before her death.
Authorities say JJ was found buried in a pet cemetery with duct tape over his mouth, ankles, and hands. He was also found with a black plastic bag wrapped around his body—which another expert revealed contained a fingerprint that matched Vallow’s late brother, Alex Cox.
JJ’s older sister, Tylee, was found dismembered and buried in a fire pit nearby. A forensic pathologist said she died by unspecified means.
Vallow has pleaded not guilty to several charges in connection to the murders, as well as conspiring to slay Tammy Daybell in October 2019. The DNA match marks the first piece of physical evidence that directly ties Vallow to the children’s murders.
