This article was written by Nate Eaton of EastIdahoNews.com
Days after Charles Vallow was killed, his wife, Lori Vallow, called his insurance company and asked about his $1 million life insurance policy.
The agent told her Charles had changed his beneficiary information and Lori would not be receiving any money.
Charles’ sister, Kay Woodcock, revealed these new details Wednesday and tells EastIdahoNews.com that in February 2019, five months before her brother died, he came to her to discuss life insurance.
“Charles and I had a conversation. He had a $1 million dollar policy with Lori as the beneficiary and he told me he wanted me to be the sole recipient,” Woodcock says. “I told him to leave it to his boys but he was worried about what Lori was going to do.”
Woodcock insisted the money go to Charles’ two sons from a previous marriage and his adopted son, Joshua “JJ” Vallow. Woodcock and Charles are siblings. JJ was born to the Woodcock’s son and then adopted by Charles and Lori, thus Woodcock is JJ’s paternal grandmother.
JJ and his sister, 17-year-old Tylee, have been missing since September. Lori Vallow and her new husband, Chad Daybell, are considered persons of interest in the case.
UPDATED: The major players and timeline of events in the disappearance of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan
“(Charles) said, ‘Lori doesn’t want me anymore. She doesn’t want JJ and you’ll end up raising JJ so I want you to have the money,'” Woodcock recalls.
They never discussed the policy again, but Woodcock confirmed they did receive the money. She said receiving the money was not contingent on having custody of JJ.
Charles was shot and killed July 11 and on July 15, Woodcock says Lori called the insurance company. She was denied access to information on the account but two weeks later, Woodcock received a text message from Lori.
“It was a photo of the ‘change of beneficiary’ form that she must have gone digging for,” Woodcock says. “It named me as the sole beneficiary and she wrote, ‘Five kids and no money and his sister gets everything.'”
The five children referred to JJ, Tylee, her son, Colby Ryan and two stepsons.
The text message was the last time Woodcock heard from Lori. Over the next few weeks, communication with JJ decreased to the point that Woodcock and her husband, Larry Woodcock, never heard from their grandson.
Woodcock says she has not publicly discussed the life insurance policy because she has wanted the focus to be on finding JJ and Tylee. But she believes their disappearance could be tied to the money.
“I believe if Charles had left her the million dollars, she would have given JJ back to us and we would be extremely happy,” Woodcock says. “I wish he would have because JJ is worth more than anything in the world. She puts a price on people and if they are no longer of value to her, she eliminates them.”
Lori refused to answer questions when approached by EastIdahoNews.com in Hawaii last month. She has not issued any statements regarding her former husband or the missing children. In December, her attorney, Sean Bartholick said, “Lori Daybell is a devoted mother and resents assertions to the contrary. We look forward to addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor.” He has not issued any further statements.
Woodcock believes Lori had her brother, Alex Cox, purposely kill Charles. Police originally said the shooting was done in self-defense, but they are continuing to investigate the death.
“To her, it’s all about the dollars. It’s about the fact we got the money and she did not. She was bound and determined to hurt us and she used JJ. That’s been her revenge,” Woodcock says.
Kay and Larry Woodcock, along with EastIdahoNews.com News Director Nate Eaton, will appear Thursday on Crime Stories with Nancy Grace to discuss more on the life insurance policy and the latest developments in the search for JJ and Tylee. You can listen to the podcast here.
