Lori Vallow’s brother stun-gunned her third husband & threatened to murder him years before he killed her fourth husband
LORI Vallow's brother served prison time for attacking her ex-husband with a stun gun.
Alex Cox even threatened to murder the cult mom's third husband Joseph Ryan - 12 years before he shot dead her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in what he claimed was an act of self-defense.
The incident occurred when Ryan was leaving a supervised visit with his daughter Tylee.
refuses to reveal the whereabouts of their daughter as she sits in jail awaiting trial.
Ryan was walking to his car in August 2007 when Cox approached him after waiting for him to leave the facility.
asked Ryan if he knew who he was before pulling out a stun gun and shooting him in the shoulder according to the Affidavit for Warrant of Arrest and Detention obtained the The Sun.
Ryan, who initially thought Cox had an actual gun on him, began to run towards his car but was taken down when Cox shot him a second time in the back with the stun gun.
"At one point [Cox] made a threat to kill Ryan," stated the warrant.
Ryan was able to get up and make his way around the building, but Cox followed him still according to the affidavit.
The attack ended however when an eyewitness appeared, who saw Cox chasing an injured Ryan while holding the stun gun.
That sent Cox fleeing from the scene, and after being indicted by a grand jury he decided to enter a guilty plea to a charge of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Ryan said that in addition to fearing for his life he also fractured his wrist when he fell after he stun-gunned that second time.
Cox would serve a few months in prison as a result, and yet a decade later suffered no repercussions after he shot dead Charles Vallow
That shooting, just like the incident with Ryan in 2007, also happened during a custody exchange amid a contentious divorce.
When Cox and his sister claimed the shooting of Charles Vallow was in self defense, there was no real investigation into the matter, despite Cox's criminal history.
Ryan was attacked a year after he first petitioned the court to complain that his was not honoring their custody agreement.
The filing by Ryan began a custody battle that lasted until his death in 2018.
It has now been almost eight months since the children were last seen, though multiple family members have claimed that the children are safe.
Those claims were not made in court or to police, but that provided concerned family members with .
Family members also say that Vallow refuses to turn over the children because she might lose custody, a concept she showed a total disregard for back in 2006 according to her ex-husband.
In his filing, Ryan reiterated the terms of the custody agreement the court had approved just one year prior, which stated that Tylee was to be with her father on:
- The first, third and fifth Friday of each month starting at 6pm and ending at 6pm the following Sunday
- The second and fourth Thursday of each month beginning at 10am and ending at 6pm until Tylee enters Kindergarten
- Fourteen days during the summer of 2016 starting on June 1 assuming Vallow is informed of dates by April 1 and Joseph agrees to keep Tylee for at least seven consecutive days
The agreement also stipulated that Ryan must live 100 miles or less from Vallow, a requirement that he went out of his way to avoid over the years as it forced him to move whenever his ex-wife skipped town.
He decided to take legal action after Vallow failed to deliver Tylee on multiple occasions over the course of a month.
Ryan stated in his filing that Vallow did not bring Tylee for her extended summer stay from August 9 through August 15, her scheduled weekend visit on August 4 and her Thursday visit in August 28 of that year.
The filing asked that the court fine Vallow, hold her in contempt and jail her for failing to comply with the custody order.
[Joseph] believes that based on the conduct of [Vallow], that [Vallow] will continue to fail to comply with the order," stated the remarkably prescient motion.
As for the length of her sentence, Joseph asked that Vallow be held for 18 months of until she complied with the court's ruling in the case.
He also asked that she be responsible for all his legal fees.
The case then dragged on for 12 years, with much of the same antics that are now on display in Vallow's current trial.
Joseph Ryan was not without his faults however according to Vallow's oldest son, who recently claimed he was .
Colby Ryan said that his stepfather was also physically abusive and would often hit him without reason.
In an interview with , Colby opened up about Vallow's refusal to cooperate with authorities and the abuse that he claims occurred while he was in her care.
"He went out of his way to make a point when he would spank me and weird things like little hits on the head, and thought it was funny," Colby said while appearing on .
"So there was just a lot of things like that."
Colby then paused for a second before adding: "He was sexually abusive as well."
Host Keith Morrison then asked if Joseph Ryan sexually abused Colby, to which he nodded and said: "Yeah."
Colby has been identified as Ryan's son in some reports, but court documents obtained by The Sun reveal that he but did take his last name.
He is the son of Vallow and her second husband, William Lagioia.
Colby also said that has provided him with no information about his sister Tylee or what her intent was in hiding his sister and half-brother JJ from authorities.
He is a father himself, and even got a chance to speak with his mother after she was extradited to Idaho from Hawaii.
Colby has not revealed the nature if their discussion and instead continues to call out his mother for not cooperating with authorities.
Joseph Ryan died in 2018 under mysterious circumstances, and Vallow is now a person of interest as police probe his death.
Colby meanwhile is still hoping to reunite with his siblings.
He wrote a message for his sister and JJ on Facebook back in December
MOST POPULAR NEWS
"I pray for you both everyday. I always have to ask how is this possible? You both mean so much to me. My heart is broken over all of this. I’m going to speak with our mom," said Colby.
"I need to know what is happening with you both. Just know I love you with all of my heart.
"I’m here to stand up for you. I won’t leave no matter how hard this gets. I love you Tylee and JJ."