Who are Larry and Kay Woodcock?
Apr 3, 2023, 2:07 PM | Updated: Jun 27, 2024, 9:55 am
Larry and Kay Woodcock are the grandparents of Joshua “JJ” Vallow, one of the two children Lori Vallow Daybell is accused of killing.
The couple cared for JJ for the first 10 months after he was born until he was adopted by Kay’s brother, Charles Vallow, and his then-wife Vallow Daybell in 2013.
According to marriage records, Vallow Daybell and Charles Vallow married in February 2006. She was Charles Vallow’s second wife and he was her fourth husband.
Click here for complete coverage of the Lori Vallow Daybell trial
Vallow Daybell’s 17-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, also lived with them in Arizona and Hawaii for several years.
According to the Woodcocks, Vallow Daybell grew distant and abandoned her family in February 2019.
“Lori just simply vanished,” he said. “(For) 58 days she was completely gone,” Kay Woodcock said.
She said Vallow Daybell told Charles Vallow she no longer cared about him or JJ shortly before leaving. During that time, the Woodcocks believe Vallow Daybell had Tylee stay with other relatives.
It was around this same time period that records show Vallow Daybell had begun to communicate with Chad Daybell and adopt more radical ideologies and religious beliefs.
The Woodcocks had contact with the couple and JJ until after Charles Vallow’s death in July, when Lori moved to Rexburg, Idaho, with JJ and Tylee.
Larry and Kay Woodcock believed Vallow Daybell moved with the children to be closer to Chad Daybell, who was still married and living with his wife, Tammy Daybell.
Growing concerned, Larry and Kay Woodcock contacted Rexburg police about JJ’s well-being. Police conducted a welfare check and discovered both JJ and Tylee hadn’t been seen since September and opened a missing persons investigation.
Joshua ‘J.J.’ Vallow with his grandparents Larry Woodcock and Kay Vallow Woodcock. (Photo courtesy of Kay Vallow Woodcock)
The Woodcocks later offered a $20,000 reward for any helpful tips in the missing persons case. JJ and Tylee’s remains were eventually found buried on Chad Daybell’s property.
At the beginning of Vallow Daybell’s trial, the Woodcocks are fighting the claim they should not be allowed in the courtroom.
Judge Steven Boyce issued an order that witnesses cannot watch others give testimony in the case, with an exception made for victims.
Now, the Woodcocks hired a lawyer to argue why the couple deserves to be defined as victims and why Kay Woodcock is the best person to represent her late grandson.
