Lori Vallow Trial: Son's Emotional Testimony on Siblings' Deaths

[00:00:00]State calls Colby Ryan all right Mr Ryan before we get started just a few things first have you followed any of the testimony of this trial online on the news or watched it from any of the viewing locations no okay thank you for that also we are making a record with the court reporter so please make verbal responses to any questions and try to avoid speaking at the same time as anyone asking you any questions so let's get with that in mind Mr wood you can inquire thank you Mr Ryan can you state your name and spell your last name for the record so it's Kobe Ryan last name is r-y-a-n thank you uh Mr Ryan how do you know the defendant Lori valo she's my mother I'd ask that the witness be Sean States exhibits six and four those are previously admitted correct yes all right six and four are both being shown to the witness Mr Ryan can you just uh briefly look at those and familiarize yourself with those exhibits and then if your honor if I could publish those to the jury very quickly you can stron I'm going to show you what's been previously marked and admitted States exhibit six do you recognize that person yes who is that um that's my sister Tyler Brian okay what was your specific relation with Tyler Ryan she was my half-sister okay okay Mr Ryan I'm gonna show you what's been marked previously and admitted it states exhibit four do you know that person yes who was that my little brother JJ fellow what's your specific relation with JJ Balo he was my adopted brother no Mr Ryan do you know who Charles valo was yes who was he he's my stepfather okay uh do you know approximately how long he was your stepfather 13 years I think I don't care do you recall the day that Charles valo passed Charles Valor died yes okay all right did you happen to have a conversation with Lori valo about how he died yes where were you when you had that conversation how does that work okay what time of day was it around 2 or 3 P.M okay and uh was it on the telephone yes did you call her or did she call you she called me okay uh what did she tell you about Charles valor's death she told me that he had died from a heart attack from a heart attack from heart attack okay she say anything about him being shot no okay did you go over to Lori ballo's house that day yes when did you go over after my shift around seven so I got there around 7 30. okay what did you see when you got there when I opened the door Tyler had answered the door and gave me a hug and I didn't see anybody else in the house when I opened the door okay uh did you did you go inside yes what did you see when you went inside after I saw Tyler I saw Alex sitting on the couch watching TV okay and did you observe anything out of the ordinary about Alex and let me clarify is this Alex Cox yes okay did you observe anything out of the ordinary about Alex Cox yes what was that he was wearing a white bandage around his head okay did you speak with him yes what was the nature of that conversation I asked him why he was wearing the bandage and he said that he got hit in the head with a bat and then shot Charles okay was that the first time you heard that Charles had been shot yes okay did you see Lori valo that night yes what was her General demeanor um calm did you ever have a chance to speak with Lori valo about Charles valo's life insurance policy yes uh when was that conversation a few weeks after Charles was killed and what did she tell you she just had mentioned that she wasn't receiving any of the life insurance money from Charles okay was it your understanding from your conversation uh that Lori fallow believed she was the beneficiary of Charles's life insurance policy until after he died yes uh when Charles was alive did you ever have occasion to speak with Lori valo about her and Charles's finances yes how often would that happen I would say maybe monthly or twice a month or twice every other month okay uh what what was the General nature of those conversations mostly to tell me that they were um quote unquote out of money I'll object any here say your honor I don't know who he's referring to uh the question was regarding Lori valo I'll overrule it well he's quoting either Charles or Laurie I don't know which all right why don't you ask another question Mr wood and clarify who the character would be thank you Mr Ryan uh in regards to the the question I just asked were those conversations with Lori valo yes okay and you testified that she would frequently tell you that she and Charles were out of money yes thank you do you know who Tyler Ryan's father was yes okay who was he Joe Ryan do you know if he is alive or deceased he's deceased do you know when that happened and okay do you know uh when in 2018 okay were you aware if Tyler Ryan received Social Security benefits when Joe Ryan passed away yes I love Jack Foundation there would need to be additional Foundation there Mr wood to know how this witness would have that information Colby did or Mr Ryan uh did you ever speak with Tyler Ryan about money yes um are you are you aware she had a bank account yes did you ever receive money from Tyler Ryan yes and did uh how did you know where the money she gave you came from I'll object you know that can only be answered by hearsay I tend to agree with that mister what is there some exception of the hearsay rule that would apply um McLaren unavailable because she's deceased well there are different rules for declaring unavailable I don't know that this Falls within any of the exceptions for an unavailable I I'll rephrase the question your honor all right thank you Mr wood did you ever receive money from Tyler Ryan yes okay uh how often would that usually happen um mostly just randomly through venmo maybe okay and so you you would receive money through her from her through venmo yes okay um to your knowledge did Lori valo ever send you money by sending it to Tyler who would then forward it to you through venmo yes how do you know that I would speak with my mom and then she would send it to Tyler and Tyler would use them to send it to me okay I'm going to call your attention to September 8th 2019 did you have a text conversation with Tyler Ryan that day yes uh what was the General nature of that text conversation I had asked her if she could transfer money over from venmo to me and how did she respond I'll object your honor hearsay all right what's the response your honor it's not being offered for the truth of the matter today uh it's offered to being show the effect on the witness if it's not offered for the truth your honor then it's not relevant your honor there's many times evidence comes in not for the truth of the matter where it's relevant I'm going to find given the background here of what's already been laid in a foundation all over really objection finding under rule 804 B6 that this can come in as evidence of a material fact okay so you may want to re-ask the questions so the witness can answer Mr wood can I can I ask the Corey Porter what my last question was how did she respond when you asked her to send money to you she said that she was no longer in control of her money and that my mom was handling it okay did you happen to speak to your mom that day yes on September 8 2019 yes did she tell you where they were yes all right did she uh were you able to hear Tyler on that phone call yes where were they they said that they were in the Yellowstone gift shop okay is that Yellowstone National Park yes did you ever happen to have a conversation with Lori Ballo after Charles fallow's death about your sister's money um what was the nature of that conversation I don't really remember okay uh do you recall your mother speaking specifically about Tyler Ryan's money do you recall if she mentioned her use of that money she mentioned that she was going to be using that money for their lives bills and taking care of them while she found a new job okay Mr Ryan were you contacted by the Gilbert police on the night of November 27 2019. yes wow what was the purpose of that contact they were asking where Tyler was first and then afterwards they asked me where JJ was okay I was tightly with you on November 27th of 2019. no was JJ with you on the night of November 27 2019. no uh at that time had you had cause to be concerned about Tyler Ryan yes what gave what gave rice that concern my conversations over text with her okay and what was it about your conversations and texts with Tyler that gave you concern when I first text her I had followed up with a few different phone calls and facetimes and then the text I was receiving back were just in different language than Tyler would type and talk and just the way she used her punctuation and things like that which is different okay so was it fair to say you felt like it wasn't Tyler you were speaking with yes okay and do you know approximately how long you continued to receive text messages from her after you felt like it changed a little bit after her birthday on the 24th September 24th okay did you continue to receive money from her venmo after September of 2019.

[00:15:28]so okay do you know approximately how many times you received money from her I know the ones I remember were cash up okay I can't remember the been most specific specifically okay so did you receive money from a cash app yes okay and was that under Tyler's name no whose name was that under it was under there was two different accounts one was under Lori Ballo and I think the other one was Lori valo something else okay after Charles Valor died did Lori valo tell you she was going to get married again soon yes uh when was this conversation after did she tell you who she was going to marry no I'm gonna go back to when the Gilbert Police contacted you on the night of November 27 2019.

[00:16:35]did you contact Lori valo after the Gilbert Police visited yes what did you say to her I asked her what was going on why they were looking for the kids and just to try to tell me what was happening okay did you know where Lori valo was on November 27th no were you aware if she had moved from the Phoenix area yes okay uh did she ever tell you where she moved to no did you have a conversation with her about where she had moved to uh did you ever ask her where she was yes how did she respond when she initially moved she just told me she was moving somewhere cold and that it was dangerous for her to tell anybody where she was going okay you said you spoke with her on the night of November 27 2019.

[00:17:48]uh the day before Thanksgiving did you try to contact her on Thanksgiving yes uh what happened her phone was disconnected okay were you able to contact her after that no the state has no further questions at this time your honor all right thank you Mr wood um Mr Archbold do you want to start your cross at this point or would you like to take our mid morning break and start cross after the break I'll leave it up to you foreign okay I think the timing works out well for that so we'll go ahead and take our mid morning break and then Mr Archibald can commence with his cross-examination after that so uh right around 10 30.

[00:18:46]all right thank you madam clerk we're back on the record on kcr 22 21 1624 state of Idaho versus Lori Noreen valo we just concluded our mid-morning break I briefly discussed with Council and Chambers an issue of The Ordering of witnesses at this time understanding the defense intended to call Mr Ryan also as a witness so I'll allow some latitude in the scope of the Cross exam based on that representation and allow the state any further redirect as well so with that in mind we'll have the jurors brought back in and you can commence with your cross-examination then Mr Archibald thank you all right please all right thank you please be seated all right we'll next uh continue with any cross-examination Mr Archibald you can cross-examine at this time I'll remind the witness Mr Ryan you're still under oath for purposes of your testimony today foreign good morning Mr Ryan good morning uh how old are you 27.

[00:22:28]and your mom is Lori and who's your dad my dad is William lajoya and uh as a child did you have a relationship with him no but as a child who raised you my mother and then did you also have a stepdad yes and what was his name Joseph Ryan and is that where you get the surname Ryan yes so did Joseph Ryan actually ever adopt you or did you just take his name I'm not sure okay but uh as far as you know your name is Colby Ryan yes all right and uh are you single or married I'm married and how many children do you have two and how old are they four and one and as Laurie ever met your children objection relevance what's the relevance of that just Foundation your honor just background I'll overrule that objection you can answer she met my oldest daughter when she was when she was a baby and you have siblings Tyler and JJ I did and how much older are you than Tyler six years and how much older are you than JJ I'm not exactly sure the age difference was your Early Childhood with uh your mom and Joe Ryan was that a good childhood or bad bad and why is that objection relevance over with without going into the details Mr Ryan uh did your stepfather abuse you reaction relevance and I think we need to approach let's have a sidebar Council hmm all right after sidebar the court is going to sustain the state's objection I'll instruct the jury to disregard that last question that was asked it won't be answered and Mr Archibald you can continue your inquiry did your mother Lori protect you from Joe Ryan a same objection overruled yes did she protect her your sister Tyler from Joe Ryan yes when your your mother Lori protected you from Joe Ryan was that by moving away from him yes and was that also by divorcing him yes and then your next step dad was Charles valo yes and did you have a good relationship with him yes and did he treat you better than Joe Ryan absolutely and you uh were able to form a relationship with Charles allo yes and did you and your brother and sister Tyler and JJ have uh have fun times growing up with Charles Allen yes did uh did you have a good relationship with Tyler and JJ yes now uh did did Tyler have uh some health issues yes what did she have when she was younger she had pancreatitis and had to go to the hospital for that and pancreatitis can be sometimes a painful debilitate debilitating disease yes okay and so you'd you you saw that entirely that should have to go to the hospital for that yes and JJ have special needs yes and do you know what those were I think he was diagnosed with autism and did your mother Lori care for your needs tylie's needs and JJ's needs when you were growing up yes did you have some struggles as a teenager yes most teenagers do right and was she able to help you through those struggles sure did you uh were you involved in athletics or the the teenager yes and that also helped you through your teenage years yes did you struggle with depression as a teenager yes and did Tyler also yes and were you and Tyler able to talk about how to work through the depression projection relevance sustained did you have Suicidal Thoughts as a teenager and Jackson relevance uh before you answer let me rule in the objection I'll sustain the objection and move to or I'll strike the answer and instruct the jury not to disregard that last answer did your mother Lori help you and Tyler with thoughts of lack of self-worth yes did your mother encourage you to do good things in your life did your mother encourage Tyler to do good things in her life were you out of the home by then probably okay so you're uh six years older than Tyler so how old were you when you left the home 17.

[00:29:00]and where did you go when you were 17.

[00:29:02]Kansas and who did you live with there my uncle Adam okay and then did you come back to live with Laurie and Charles again yes and where where were you living then in Chandler Arizona and uh did you graduate from high school no did you get your GED yes and is that the same with Tyler yes Tyler did not graduate from high school but got her GED his protection leading overall you can answer yes she did okay and so uh when you moved back home did you go to college or would it work or what did you do I went to school and where did you go to school Chandler Gilbert Community College all right did you also uh go on a on an LDS mission yes and how old were you when you did that 18.

[00:30:06]and where did you go Nampa Idaho uh how long did that last six weeks at the most and then you decided to go home and uh and so did you actually make it to Nampa or were you still being trained yeah some relevance I'll sustain the objection uh asked the jurors to disregard that last answer did was your mother supportive of your decision to go on a mission and then to come home from a mission yes when uh when you were taught by my client did she teach you about Jesus yes did you and your mother sing songs about Jesus Church uh did your mother teach you to believe in Jesus she built the foundation and did she teach you about multiple lives did you ever hear that from her no did she teach you about multiple Creations did you ever hear that from her no did she teach you that you uh was someone else that you were someone else in another life in another world did she tell you that you had been someone else in a previous life in another creation objective object asked and answered Overworld you can answer no did she teach you about zombies no did she teach you about casting out evil spirits no did she teach you about light and dark scales no did she teach you about vibrations she said stuff about vibrations but she never taught anything and what what was vibrations about she said me and her have the same vibration but she say that as a good thing or a bad thing I don't know it seem good did you take it as a good thing I didn't take it as anything okay as a child did she teach you that she was a goddess no did she teach you that she was a leader of the 144 000. no did she teach you that the LDS Latter-Day Saint religion was wrong no did she teach you that you should join a new church called The Church of the firstborn no when she taught you about Jesus were they stories of Jesus healing sick people we read scriptures if that's what you're talking about when she taught taught you about Jesus as a child did she teach you that Jesus cast out evil spirits no did she ever tell you that Jesus killed someone no so were you still at home when Charles filed for divorce from Lori no uh were you at home when they reconciled no how was your relationship to Alex Cox minimal uh how would you describe him odd was he always odd he was crude and kind of funny and odd did you what did you think of the relationship between Alex Cox and your mother I didn't really see Alex a lot until around my wedding oh he wasn't someone who came to visit you as a child not really and then what year was it you got married 2018.

[00:34:48]so in 2018 did you start to see Alex more yes and then but you were trying to spend less time because you had a new wife you tried to spend less time around your mother and Alex I wouldn't say less time I moved out okay and uh and you wrote a book since uh since this case started is that is that true yes and the book is called the god over odds does that sound right yes and you what what is the purpose of your book it's my testimony about how Jesus loves you about how he got me through my life and so Jesus is a is a good figure in your life yes not someone who would wreak damage to others no you uh you also appeared on some some media stations is that right yes uh some on YouTube um yes was that your God over odds Media Company no okay it is that still uh an ongoing concern the media company or is that right now no okay and then you did uh a docu-series is that right um were you paid for that no and uh in your in this docu-series uh let me read this quote and you tell me if that's what you said my mom has spent her whole life protecting us kids yes after she met Chad j after she met Chad day Bell she changed I don't remember but yes okay and and so those were the this you don't remember but it in that docu-series could you said it could have said that yes in your in your book and in your docu-series you you talk a lot about your about your childhood um and and yeah you never once thought your mom would hurt someone is that fair to say yes did did you love your mom yes did she love you I think so your your book you have a quote this book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for always being there with me throughout my entire life does that sound right yes and who taught you that God was good Church in my mom another quote from your book I'm here to tell you what God has done in my life and how he has gotten me through trying times he is my strength that sound right yes another quote from your book God knows us better than we know ourselves so he knows how to use us we use our lives to glorify his name does that sound right yes also in your book I I struggled with depression in my teen years I've been suicidal because I saw no hope you know I'm going to object based on our previous objection sustained unless the jurors to disregard that last question you don't have thoughts of suicide now do you no objection all right it's already been asked and answered it'll sustain the objection again Ask the jurors to please strike that last answer God has navigated me through all of life's obstacles is that a true statement yes foreign thank you Mr Ryan I don't have any other questions all right Mr wood if the state would like redirect uh as we've previously discussed that went well outside the scope of your direct examination so I'll allow you to go into any areas also brought up by the defense and that examination yep you are amazing take a brief recess yes just five minutes okay if it's five minutes why don't we all have do we need to have the jurors excused or you just need to get something situated I I don't think we need to have the jury the jurors okay so I'll just stand then if you want to stretch your legs you may all right Mr wood if you'd like to commence with uh redirect you may thank you Mr Ryan you uh if that's asked you about when you move out of the home yes okay um since the time you moved out of your home has your mom ever asked you for money no all right did she give you money yes um did did she ever ask you to do uh if she ever asked you for anything since you moved out of the home nothing but to help them move okay just to help them move okay all right your father's still alive yes you don't receive Social Security benefits for a dead parent no okay it's your mom control your bank account no but you testified she's giving you money right yes in fact some point Didn't she even give you Tyler's debit card to purchase yourself a birthday gift yes okay in the last several years did your mom ever ask you to attend any special religious meetings no okay so she didn't ask you to come to her house and listen to Chad dabel no she didn't ask you to come to her house and participate in something called castings no when did you find out where your mom had moved to after I saw it on the news okay and do you recall when that was that was December 19 2019.

[00:43:40]she didn't share that information with you no when did you find out that your brother and sister were missing the day that they had come to us where they were okay and did you ever ask your mom about that sure I have a conversation with your mom about her life insurance policy yes what was the nature of that conversation I think when I was younger she had told me that she had a life insurance policy that if anything ever happened that there was something there did she ever tell you that she was listing you as the sole beneficiary of a life insurance policy I think when I was a teenager okay and Tyler and JJ were alive then right yes but she only listed you yes yeah I asked you earlier if your mom had asked you for anything uh do you know if your mom asked Tyler for money yes okay your honesty has no further questions all right thank you Mr wood any recross on that Mr Archibald I know your honor okay that'll conclude your testimony then Mr Ryan I believe Mr Ryan may be here under subpoena also any objection to him being excused I no we don't well you know we'd ask that he be kept under this peanut just uh momentarily but we can excuse him at the moment okay so you can go ahead and step down then uh Mr Ryan just I guess remain here in the courthouse while you're still under subpoena until you receive further notice either from the court or the state thank you thank you all right is the state ready to call its next Witness at this time the state would ask to publish uh States exhibit 34b to the jury it's been previously admitted without objection all right any objection to that being published at this time from the defense well your honor um if we have any questions about the the audio then maybe we can recall Mr Ryan uh but but as of right now it has been admitted but I don't know why it wasn't played to the jury while we had a witness on the stand yeah it's a little unusual to just play an audio without any witness on the stand I would say um I think the exhibits are once they're admitted they're part of the record but they need to tie in somehow to the foundation of how they've come in so your honor was already explained that this was a jail phone call between Kobe Ryan and his mother the foundation's already been established we've asked to keep him under subpoena in case he needed to be brought back in for questioning but due to the nature of it we would ask to be able to just publish it to the jury now all right I'll allow the exhibit since it's been admitted to be published however only on the condition that Mr Ryan remained available and subject to recall if the defense has any further questions for him subsequent to publishing the exhibit so at this time we'll allow for the jurors to hear the recording on the exhibit 34b foreign probably because you murdered your siblings it's part of the night it's hugging you maybe you should understand I agree for you in my worst moments I have prayed and you swore to me we're okay I thought if I see you Mr wood I apologize to interrupt could have a brief sidebar with Council all right uh we're going back on the record I had a brief sidebar in relation to the uh I guess requests that have been made to publish this exhibit without the witness on the stand I further have considered whether that would be appropriate I don't know what the uh contents of the exhibit are because I've not yet reviewed them but upon hearing it started I think it would be appropriate that we would require the witness to be in attendance that is connected to this exhibit so uh let me ask from the defense does the defense wish to have the witness remain on the stand while the exhibits published to the jury yes your honor I don't know if we'll have any questions for him after it's played but I think I think both the state and the defense should be entitled to ask questions if necessary after it's played all right um in consideration of that I do find it's appropriate that the witness who was previously sworn and under oath would still be so and he'll be required to observe through the publishing of this audio so Mr Ryan apologies for the inconvenience here if you just return back up to the witness stand and I'll have you remain here through the publishing of this exhibit in case there are any further questions from either side once the exhibit's been played uh Mr wood with that in mind if you could start the recording over at the beginning then we'll have it published to the jury at this time hello thanks only because you murder my siblings it's probably right maybe you should understand [Music] you didn't do anything right breed for you in my worst moments I prayed for my siblings you towards me and we're okay at five I thought that you were completely different person I don't know I don't know what happened yes on my throat for a very long time I'm gonna talk to you okay fine listen to me I've sat there you can't breathe I can't tell you in my opinion that I have felt on your sins in Jesus Christ's name it kills me to watch you sit here and tell me this is a child this should have happened to you when you are telling me in Chad name looking into your life all of a sudden everything changes and I'm talking about my spirit feels great and I trusted I pushed half of everything to try to get to you help my own mind applied to me specifically to me more times than I can do no they're gone you knew and my phones being texted about that little sister who's not even alive my milk brother who's the sweetest little kid ever one purpose tell me this is comfortable with my whole family including my stepfather to be dead you can tell me right now that Jesus Christ the savior of the world is on your side you tell me that all tradition in your heart Jesus Christ is on your side please see see his name is exactness I sat there give you I was deceived and I was working on my own mother what are you being what are you doing all right and I said you tell me father thank you you're right I wasn't there and one day what yeah you will know what actually happened to people who act in his name is pure blasphemy this morning it's funny you're laughing funny how come your camera's on looking at High can you look at me I love you I always will one day right now you weren't there someone wasn't there yeah I got police guys aren't there your company was there they know exactly what happened and they love me and we are still together forever they love me and they are fine the only people that do you can actually hold me all day long the whole world that knows for hundreds of days all these years who did it all at all garbage they're not you don't know what happened you built out what happened buried in your new husband's backyard tell me that matters what happened tell me [Music] if you breathe every witness Christ will scream his name when he comes back so you are that person I am that person and me will come true oops Yeah why would you lie to me if you were so if you're admitted the Lord and you see me and I'm just talking purely to you you've seen Jesus Christ where is the fear why would you tell me something why were you afraid why is everyone you why is there every mom yeah one day we will all stand there with Jesus we will also remember Jesus and you will know the truth of everything not for me you're telling me that this was all done in life say it tell me that this was done in Jesus name you don't know what happened why why my mom oh because I was kept in the dark to protect me you know who either protecting my little dead siblings that's actually into protect people this is a month later you ran away says it now where was my offer Ed for me okay then I don't care if you can actually sleep but you can't talk to you about it Mom you were saying that you've been wanting to tell me for a very long time and you never say it you have no idea how much pain I have felt in my body I feel like I could die my own mom my siblings and my whole family my dad ever should have known except for you and you're in jail because you had asked him survive this do you understand a freaking earthquake that has been caught you know how many people are hurt and broken out and they're telling me that there's a reason why are you following me chat down your back a whole long why would you follow anybody that is not good how can you follow somebody they cannot lead you to salvationally Jesus right you can't lie to me you can't pretend anymore you can't hide anymore if you want to tell me what happened I called you from that very reason you had enough condemnation for the whole entirely eternity but you're telling me that you're gonna stand in front of Jesus Christ that I still trained people I am still trained I don't know where the lies and all these things are written and I don't see it I never have the light of Jesus Christ is the most powerful thing that has ever lived if the most loving embracing thing that has ever happened to this world and I pray that you see him and fall into Israelites free every day great no matter how mad I am in you no matter how bad I want to hit your husband in the face with a shovel wait for you I pray for him you've been my heart out and you ripped out everyone in the Sandy's heart out I'm going to be in Idaho next this week you know look me in my iPhone look me in my eyes all right so that concludes the publication of exhibit 34b does the defense have any further questions for the witness at this time no question genre I'll give you Mr Ryan okay um at this point then can the witness be excused and released from the subpoena yeah sure objection no objection okay that'll conclude your testimony in the trial then Mr Ryan thank you for appearing