GILBERT, AZ — As Lori Vallow Daybell awaits her next preliminary hearing in connection with her two missing children, authorities in Arizona have determined that the December 2019 death of her brother was due to natural causes.
Officials had been investigating the circumstances around Alex Cox's death in Gilbert for the last several months, and on Friday a medical examiner's report indicated he died due to a pulmonary embolism. Typically these occur when a blood clot becomes wedged into an artery in the lungs, commonly related to deep vein thrombosis.
Cox had shot and killed Daybell's fourth husband, Charles Vallow, during an altercation at Daybell's Chandler home in July 2019. Cox claimed the shooting was in self defense, and charges were never filed against him. Investigators previously told ABC15 they would like to speak with Daybell again about the July incident.
About six months after that shooting, on Dec. 11, 2019, Cox was found unresponsive in his Gilbert home and was later pronounced dead, according to Brenda Carrasco, a public information officer for Gilbert police.
In between Vallow and Cox's death, Chad Daybell's wife also died under circumstances that were also believed to be suspicious.
Lori Vallow Daybell remains jailed on a $1 million bond after a Madison County judge denied a motion to reduce bond last Friday.
She is facing several charges in connection to her children's disappearance, including desertion, obstruction and contempt of court.
JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September.
