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THE NIECE of ‘cult mom’ Lori Vallow says her aunt is protecting her missing children “from the people that are trying to harm them”.

Melani Boudreaux defended her jailed aunt, insisting she “absolutely” expects to see the kids again.

 Melani Boudreaux said her aunt 'wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her kids'
Melani Boudreaux said her aunt 'wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her kids'Credit: AP:Associated Press
 Lori Vallow has been the centre of a case surrounding the disappearance of her kids
Lori Vallow has been the centre of a case surrounding the disappearance of her kidsCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Melani Boudreaux said Lori Vallow is protecting her missing children 'from the people that are trying to harm them'
Melani Boudreaux said Lori Vallow is protecting her missing children 'from the people that are trying to harm them'Credit: AP:Associated Press

46-year-old Vallow is facing charges in the disappearance of her children following revelations of her doomsday beliefs and connection to three mysterious deaths including her brother.

17-year-old Tylee Ryan, and seven-year-old, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow have not been seen or heard from since September 2019.

Their family insists that the children are still alive but won't say where they are.

Speaking with Phoenix TV station KPHO, Melani Boudreaux didn’t say who or why someone might be a threat to the missing children, but was adamant her aunt would never hurt her children.

Ms Boudreaux said: "I know Lori wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her kids.”

“I don't have the answers as to why she does the things she does, and why she hasn't spoken as to where they are, but I can't judge her because I don't know what she's going through. I can only love and support her, and hope for everyone to be safe."

 Vallow Daybell smiled during her March 6 hearing in Rexburg, Idaho
Vallow Daybell smiled during her March 6 hearing in Rexburg, IdahoCredit: AP:Associated Press

'WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE'

Ms Boudreaux's comments echoed those of Vallow's mother Janice Cox and sister Summer Shiflet, who last week broke their silence to publicly defend her.

Speaking to CBS News, the pair claimed they were “certain” the two missing children are alive but say they haven’t been told where they are.

Ms Cox said: ”I’m positive beyond any doubt that she hasn't harmed those kids,.”

”She's invested her whole life in those children. So we know there's another whole side to this. We don't know what it is. But we know her."

 Vallow's mother Janice and sister Summer said the kids are fine during an interview for 48 Hours
2
Vallow's mother Janice and sister Summer said the kids are fine during an interview for 48 HoursCredit: CBS

Vallow remains jailed in Madison County, Idaho, on a $1 million bond following her February arrest.

In addition to felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, she was also charged with resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, contempt of court and willful disobedience of court process or order for failing to produce the two kids.

Vallow has pleaded not guilty.

Ms Boudreaux had recently relocated to live closer to her aunt, however denied she “moved down there to be in a cult.”

She said: “I didn't move down there to be solely by Lori, Lori's very independent and does her own thing, and I had my own reasons for, you know, kind of having a fresh start and trying to work through my custody battle with my ex.”

 7-year-old JJ Vallow with and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan have been missing since September
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7-year-old JJ Vallow with and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan have been missing since SeptemberCredit: Refer to Caption
 Lori Vallow and her missing 7-year-old son JJ Vallow
Lori Vallow and her missing 7-year-old son JJ VallowCredit: AP:Associated Press

However Ms Boudreaux did note she was surprised when upon her move, J.J. and Tylee weren't there.

She explained: “As soon as I moved up there in November, I see some of their stuff but I don't see them there, and Lori says that they're safe and they're doing everything that they can to keep them from the people that are trying to harm them - I believed that."

Ms Boudreaux became involved in the investigation following statements made in court documents by her ex-husband, Brandon.

He alleged his ex-wife was part of an “attempted murder” plot to have him killed and collect on an insurance policy "to help support the cult that she is believed to be a part of.”

Ms Boudreaux and her attorneys have denied any allegations of wrongdoing and she has not been charged with a crime.

She also denied her ex-husband’s claim that she knows the whereabouts of the missing kids.

THE DISAPPEARANCE

Tylee and JJ disappeared in September 2019, shortly after they moved to Rexburg, Idaho from Arizona.

Investigators say Tylee was last seen hiking in Yellowstone National Park with her family on September 8.

All traces of JJ vanished on September 23.

The case has captivated the US, with Vallow and her new husband, Chad Daybell, fleeing their home following the disappearance of the children.

Vallow moved last summer from suburban Phoenix to Rexburg, Idaho.

She married Daybell just two weeks after his wife died in October.

 Vallow and Daybell married only two weeks after the sudden death of his wife Tammy
Vallow and Daybell married only two weeks after the sudden death of his wife TammyCredit: East Idaho News

While Daybells ex-wife, Tammy's obituary said the death was from natural causes, law enforcement became suspicious when Daybell quickly remarried.

Vallow and Daybell fled Idaho for Hawaii in late November, one day after police began asking questions about the missing childrens’ whereabouts.

Authorities later tracked Lori and Chad down in the Kauai town of Princeville on January 25 and served the mother with a court order requiring her to physically produce the children to authorities in Idaho within five days.

After she failed to do so, Lori was arrested on charges of child abandonment and desertion on February 20, and then brought back to Idaho where she is being held on a $1 million bond.

She appears to find the situation amusing, smiling her way through court appearances.

Despite the couple fleeing to Hawaii seemingly without JJ and Tylee, her family have insisted Vallow "never" expressed any resentment towards her children or blamed them for the failure of her previous four marriages.

THE CULT

Lori reportedly believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020,” according to divorce documents Charles Vallow filed before his death.

The demand to produce the children came a month after it was revealed that Vallow thought the two youngsters might be "zombies," according to court filing from Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of the cult mom's niece Melani.

The filing also claims that Vallow believed her kids "needed to die."

She and Chad Daybell were involved in a group that promotes preparing for the biblical end times.


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Family of Lori Vallow reveals cult mom's missing kids Tylee and JJ are ALIVE