NBCUniversal "Dateline NBC," the network's former flagship news magazine, is back with more true crime stories you've got to see to believe.
A new episode of the hit true crime show Dateline airs on Friday, May 1 at 9/8c on NBC. The 2-hour episode examines the disappearance of two missing Idaho children, named Joshua and Tylee. It features new interviews with family members of the missing children’s mom Lori Vallow, including her niece Melani Pawlowski.
Here’s what you need to know about Lori Vallow’s Niece, Melani Pawlowski:
1. Family Members Believe That Pawlowski Knows Where Her Vallow’s Missing Children Are, But Pawlowski’s Lawyer Denies Those Allegations
After a childhood of chaos, the peace that Lori Vallow Daybell’s eldest son Colby finally obtained was about to be shattered…
He’ll talk to @Dateline_Keith tonight on an all-new 2-hour #Dateline at 9/8c.
According to the Washington Times, was accused by her ex-husband of knowing the whereabouts of Joshua and Tylee Vallow. In response to those allegations, Pawlowski’s attorney Garrett Smith said “She doesn’t know where they are. No one has told her where they are.” Nevertheless, the Washington Times reports that last month Pawlowski cooperated with the FBI by undergoing interviews and handing over her computer to the FBI for review.
According to News 12, Keith Morrison pressed Pawlowski in her interview for Deadline. When he asked about Vallow’s sudden marriage to her husband Chad, she said “I can’t answer why they got married quick. I don’t know if – both being able to share that common ground of being a recent widow…I can’t speculate.”
He also inquired about the children, wondering “Did you ever see Tylee and JJ?” In response, Pawlowski said “When I moved up there, I did not see them… I’d ask Lori. You know, I wasn’t close with Tylee during her teenage years. She was very independent. So if Lori, you know, said she was with friends, I just believed her.”
2. Melani Pawlowski Remarried After Her Divorce & Is Currently Married to Ian Pawlowski
MELANI REMARRIED: Fox 10 obtained marriage cert for Melani Boudreaux (Lori Vallow’s niece) & Ian Pawlowski (11/30). 2 weeks after her arrest in Utah, 3 days after Rexburg PD searched her apt when JJ’s grandma reported him missing & 1 day after Alex Cox (uncle) also married in LV.
Idaho Press reports that Pawlowski left her ex-husband Brandon Boudreaux and their children in Arizona shortly after Boudreaux accused her of being part of a “cult.” Per documents found by Fox 10 Phoenix, Pawloski relocated to Rexburg, Idaho and married Ian Pawlowski weeks later. The outlet reported that Melani was pregnant with Ian’s child.
According to the IB Times, Ian Pawlowski allegedly wrote in a statement that Melani “told me she was worried that [Vallow’s brother Alex Cox] may have had to ‘take care’ of the kids. She explained that [Cox] had great faith and never wavered in his trust in the Lord. No task would be too difficult or great for him. When I asked for clarification, she restarted her concern verbatim.”
3. There Was an Attempt to Murder Melani Pawlowski’s Ex-Husband Brandon Boudreaux
According to the IB Times, Brandon Bourdreaux was shot outside of his Gilbert, Arizona home on October 2, 2019 and survived. AZ Central reported that the bullet barely missed Bourdreaux’s head, and that the Jeep from which the shot was fired was registered to Lori’s late husband Charles Vallow.
Following the shooting, Pawlowski’s attorney Garrett Smith asserted that “Melani has no knowledge of who shot at Brandon. She has no information of who did it and does not profess to. She absolutely does not know where JJ and Tylee are. She’s done three interviews with the FBI and she would be in deep waters if she lied to them about that. She is like everybody else. She would love to know where those kids are and she hopes they are safe.”
Per Ian Pawlowski’s alleged statement, Melani “shared concerns that she’s been told Brandon needed to die and that may indicate that Tylee and JJ needed to die as well.” The IB Times reported that, with this information, Pawlowski reportedly went to the police to express concern that Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and Alex Cox might have been planning to kill Boudreaux and that his wife Melani did not want him to be hurt.
In a follow-up, Pawlowski said “I don’t ever want to have anything to do with those two after this. Melani has been put through the ringer because of their paranoia and now is in the hot seat because I went to the police and tried to help.”
4. In Their Child Custody Battle, Boudreaux Alleged That Pawlowski Was a Part of a Cult
A lot has happened since we first covered this case in February, and the whole time, we’ve been digging… #Dateline all-new 2-hour tonight at 9/8c with @Dateline_Keith.
Per Inside Edition, Brandon Boudreaux and Melani Pawlowski are currently involved in a messy and complicated custody battle. In one of the case’s documents, Boudreaux alleged that Pawloski “is involved in a cult where numerous members, adults and children alike, have been being killed off like flies.” Pawlowski has denied that claim.
Melani’s husband Ian Pawlowski’s alleged written statement said that “Melani had been told by Chad and Lori that their children had been possessed and had become zombies.” Idaho Press reports that one document from the custody case discusses “zombies,” described as “human bodies that have had their original spirits forced from them and have been possessed by either a demon (original third of the heavenly host who followed Lucifer), disembodied spirit (once living human spirits who have chosen not to be reborn into another probation) or a worm/slug (creature controlled by Lucifer that enters the body to control the host).”
5. Pawloski’s Mother Stacey, Lori Vallow’s Sister, Died When Melani Was 9 Years Old
According to Inside Edition, Pawlowski’s late mother Stacey Lynne Cox Cope (the older sister of Lori Vallow), died on May 21, 1998 at the age of 31. Her brother Adam Cox wrote in his book that Stacey “suffered from a rare form of diabetes type one that she contracted during her pregnancy at age 22. Her style of diabetes was called ‘gastroparesis’ which prevented her from absorbing nutrients from her stomach into her bloodstream.”
Melani wrote in a Facebook posted that she was “unjustly taken away from my mother at age 6 and told all manner of lies about her. I stand here today grateful knowing that no one and no lie can take me away from the bond of my mother who was laid to rest since I was 9.” Stacey had gone through a divorce and custody battle shortly before her passing.
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