BOISE, Idaho — It’s a case that’s captivated the country, with missing kids, dead spouses and ties to a doomsday cult.
Lori Vallow Daybell, who used to live in Arizona with her two children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, is facing conspiracy charges connected to her children's death.
Investigators found her children's bodies buried in her husband Chad Daybell's backyard in Idaho in June.
On Wednesday, Daybell’s attorney Mark Means put out a controversial plea for witnesses in his client's case through Twitter:
"As I prepare the defense for Lori (Vallow) Daybell..." the first tweet reads, "I am learning that persons like Melanie Gibbs and her boyfriend David Warwick appear to have been eagerly “involved” in more than they let on... if you know something... Say something!"
The first tweet is attached to a GIF of running rats. He closes with a second tweet saying "We need the persons of knowledge to come forward!"
Melanie Gibb and David Warwick are witnesses for the prosecution in this case who testified in August during Chad Daybell's preliminary hearing. Court records show the pair used to record religious podcasts with Lori Vallow Daybell.
In August, Gibb testified that Lori asked her to lie to police after Lori's children disappeared.
Former Idaho Attorney General Dave Leroy says the tweet from Means is a sign he’s gearing up for trial.
"There’s nothing per se inappropriate about it," Leroy says. "But it’s not a very common practice."
So uncommon, that some online have asked whether a tweet like that is even allowed. Leroy says he thinks it's allowed, albeit unorthodox.
"It’s both historically traditional and specifically permitted in the Idaho rules of professional conduct for a lawyer to seek witnesses to assist his client in a case," he explains.
"They are entitled to be zealous in their advocacy in representing a client."
Lori Vallow Daybell was arrested back in February in connection to her children's disappearance.
Court documents show that investigators believe Tylee and JJ were killed in September 2019, after their mother moved them from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho.
The move came after police say her brother Alex Cox, shot and killed her then husband Charles Vallow in Chandler. Chandler Police are still investigating his death.
In November 2019, Lori Vallow married Chad Daybell.
In October 2019, Idaho investigators say Chad's first wife, Tammy Daybell, died at their family home outside of Rexburg. Her death is still under investigation.
Lori's brother Alex Cox passed away at his home in Gilbert in December 2019. The medical examiner ruled he died of natural causes, but Gilbert police say their case is still open.
Court records unsealed in June show that Alex Cox's phone records led investigators back to the Daybell property to search for the children. Chad was arrested after the children's bodies were found.
Chad and Lori Daybell have trials scheduled in Idaho in 2021. Both have plead not guilty to the charges they're facing.
