'Always Been A Person Of Interest': Arizona Police Detail State Of Investigation Into Death Of Lori Vallow's Former Husband

Police in Arizona said they have multiple warrants and subpoenas out as part of an active investigation into the death of Lori Vallow's former husband, Charles Vallow, but clarified that there are no charges expected imminently.

Last week, there were reports that authorities were preparing to ask prosecutors to file charges in Charles Vallow's death, but Chandler Police Sgt. Jason McClimans told Oxygen.com that another detective spoke with local media and "some of the information was taken out of context." McClimans stated the investigation does not have a hard deadline.

"A six-month estimated time period [for the investigation] is an estimate we're giving out. ... That date could come and go and we could still have the case. Currently we still have four search warrants and subpoenas out in this case, and our detectives are continuing to go through digital data," McClimans told Oxygen.com.

Charles was killed in July 2019 by his brother-in-law Alex Cox after the two got into some type of altercation. Cox — who died himself in December — told investigators at the time that he was acting in self-defense. Vallow later married Chad Daybell, and both are now accused of concealing the deaths of Vallow's two children Tylee Ryan and Joshua "JJ" Vallow. 

It has long been suspected that Lori Vallow may have played some role in Charles' death, as just months before he was shot to death, he had voiced fears about his estranged wife.

"Once we do send the case over to our prosecuting agency, which is the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, we won't be releasing any information when we do that," McClimans said, also noting that "if she is charged in this case" she would likely face a conspiracy charge.

"Other charges, if they do exist, are still unknown at this time."

Police have collected a large amount of digital data in the investigation so far, which has been somewhat hampered by a lack of people for authorities to question, as well as the focus on the search for Vallow's children, McClimans said.

"She's always been a person of interest in the case, this case has never been closed. It's just with this type of case: Alex has passed, the kids unfortunately were found deceased, Lori's probably not going to talk to us so we have to basically go the digital route," McClimans said, noting that the Chandler Police's investigation was temporarily paused to better assist in the search for Vallow's missing children.

Lori Vallow waived her rights to a preliminary hearing last week in the case concerning her children, according to documents obtained by Oxygen.com.