Lori Vallow appeared to send a message from behind bars to her only surviving child onstage as he told his family's story at CrimeCon 2025, an exchange attendees described as disturbing.
Colby Ryan, the estranged son of Vallow who has spoken publicly about the murders of his sister and brother, appeared at the true-crime convention weeks after prosecutors secured two additional life sentences for his mother. Ryan described the toll the killings took on him and his family while the brief, silent interaction between him and Vallow drew attention from the audience.
Vallow, 52, was first convicted in 2023 of the murders of her two children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and of conspiring to murder her romantic rival, Tammy Daybell, 49. This April, she was convicted in a separate proceeding of conspiring to murder her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and prosecutors later secured an additional conviction in a failed plot to kill Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Vallow’s niece. Authorities say the cases grew out of a network of deaths and disappearances tied to apocalyptic beliefs shared by Vallow and her late husband, author Chad Daybell.
Colby Ryan has been among the family members who have publicly recounted the impact of the killings and the subsequent trials. At CrimeCon he detailed how the loss of his siblings and the publicity around the case have affected him; organizers said he appeared to receive a short, wordless communication from Vallow via a jail connection while he was onstage, an encounter that several attendees characterized as unsettling.
Vallow and Daybell have been at the center of a case that drew national attention for its unusual mix of missing persons, multiple homicides and contested claims about prophetic visions and end-of-world beliefs. Prosecutors have described how the couple’s shared beliefs and alleged plans to eliminate perceived obstacles evolved into a string of violent acts that investigators traced across several states.
Court records and testimony in the trials laid out a timeline of disappearances, deaths and conspiracies that culminated in the 2023 convictions and later guilty verdicts this year. Sentences handed down in recent months added to Vallow’s prison terms, and she remains incarcerated while appeals and related legal matters continue.
Survivors and relatives have at times criticized the public spectacle surrounding the case and the attention given to Vallow, whose gestures during Ryan’s CrimeCon appearance renewed debate about courtroom and prison communications in high-profile cases. Organizers of the convention, which features victims, investigators and authors in the true-crime field, said they aim to provide a platform for those affected by violent crime to tell their stories and to raise awareness about the human consequences of such cases.
The Vallow-Daybell case has prompted wider discussions about cult-like dynamics, the role of fringe religious beliefs in motivating violence and the responsibilities of media and event organizers when survivors confront perpetrators or their messages. Legal proceedings tied to the investigations remain active, and officials have said they will continue to pursue related leads and outstanding questions raised during the multiple trials.
Ryan’s appearance at CrimeCon follows a series of courtroom developments that prosecutors said reflect the full scope of alleged conspiracies and other criminal acts connected to Vallow and her associates. He did not announce any new legal actions onstage but told attendees he hopes to keep speaking about his siblings to preserve their memories as the justice process continues.