JJ Vallow’s birth mother, who was found buried in a shallow grave in Idaho near the charred remains of his older sister Tylee Ryan, 16, is said to have died from the ‘anxiety’ of losing her son – just a few months before the long-awaited murder trial.
Mandy Leger died of natural causes in June 2022 at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Louisiana at the age of 46, and after losing custody of her son, she spent the years leading up to her death trying to get him back.
Leger gave birth to JJ, born Canaan Trahan, on May 25, 2012. She and JJ’s biological father Todd Trahan both suffered from substance abuse issues and JJ was born addicted to drugs.
JJ was adopted in 2013, shortly before his first birthday, by Lori and Charles Vallow – JJ’s uncle – and his name was changed to Joshua Jaxton Vallow.
The seven-year-old’s adoptive mother and her fifth husband Chad Daybell, author of Doomsday, are accused of murdering the young boy, his sister and others as part of a twisted plot fueled by their religious beliefs.
Mandy Leger, JJ Vallow’s birth mother – who was found buried in a shallow grave in Idaho near the charred remains of his older sister Tylee Ryan, 16, – is believed to have died from the ‘anxiety’ of losing her son – just months before the long-awaited murder trial
Leger (right) gave birth to JJ on May 25, 2012, born Canaan Trahan (pictured). She and JJ’s biological father Todd Trahan (left) both had substance abuse issues and JJ was born addicted to drugs
Photos posted to Leger’s Facebook page give a glimpse into the relationship between herself and the young boy, the 46-year-old appearing in several posts holding her newborn and smiling.
Trahan’s parents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, were the first to nurse JJ temporarily as an infant before the Vallows took him in and assumed full custody to raise him as their own child in Arizona.
Sources close to the family report this American sun that Leger’s father and stepmother had asked to foster JJ in hopes of keeping him in Louisiana, but were turned down by local Child Protective Services (CPS) officials.
Trahan’s father also tried unsuccessfully to care for the boy, while Leger had visitation rights for the first six months of JJ’s life.
After she relapsed, she was ordered to enter rehab before she would have access to her son again, a source told the US Sun, but before she could complete the program, JJ’s adoption was finalized.
“She did everything she could to get into a relationship with that baby,” the source says.
“She was completely convinced that if she worked on herself, she could have a relationship with him one day, but she never got that chance.”
Friends told the outlet that the loss of custody was taking a significant toll on Leger and when the seven-year-old, who had autism, went missing in November 2019, weeks after he was last seen alive, Leger had been looking for ways to get her. her son back.
Investigators believe JJ was already dead at the time.
According to the US Sun, JJ was last seen in the arms of his uncle, Alex Cox, in September 2022 in Idaho, the next day Vallow contacted JJ’s elementary school and said the boy would not be returning and instead would be homeschooled.
Vallow’s children, Tylee and JJ disappeared in September 2019, but their remains were not discovered for 10 months
It is alleged that de Vallow (left) and her husband Chad Daybell (right) became convinced that JJ, Tylee and Tammy – Daybell’s wife of 30 years – were all possessed by dark spirits and that the only way to rid them of their “demons” to redeem’. was to kill them
Flowers and balloons line the fence around the property of Chad Daybell in Salem, Idaho, who was arrested on charges of JJ and Tylee’s disappearance
His sister Tylee also disappeared without a trace a few days before JJ was last seen on a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park on September 8 of that same year.
Law enforcement tried to gain access to the children, but Vallow refused each time. In one instance, she fled to Hawaii with Daybell – whose wife of 30 years died suddenly in her sleep. Police initially ruled the death a natural cause, but are now claiming it may have been caused by asphyxia.
Charles, Vallow’s estranged husband, was shot by Cox in July 2019 – he claimed self-defense and died of natural causes himself in December.
Daybell and Vallow were made persons of interest in JJ and Tylee’s disappearance that same month, investigators believed the children’s lives were in danger.
On January 25, 2020, police told Vallow she had five days to bring JJ and Tylee or she would be arrested. She was arrested in Hawaii on February 20 and held on $5 million bond.
Just four months later, after Vallow insisted the kids had been with a “friend” in Arizona, authorities made the gruesome discovery of JJ and Tylee after authorities obtained a search warrant for Daybell’s Rexburg home.
Bound in plastic and tape, the decomposing body of seven-year-old JJ was discovered near a pet cemetery on the grounds of the property. His sister was found chopped up and burned.
After learning of her son’s death, a source told the outlet that Leger was “completely devastated.”
Another source suggested the 46-year-old’s death was directly related to the “anxiety” and “stress” of losing JJ.
“She had so much guilt…but her belief system was that she could be with her son again someday, and I think she took comfort in that,” the source said.
Vallow is currently on trial for first degree murder, conspiracy and grand larceny in connection with the gruesome deaths of JJ and Tylee.
Tylee disappeared without a trace a few days before JJ – last seen on a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park on September 8 of that same year. The two children are pictured with their uncle Alex Cox
The ‘charred remains’ of Tylee Ryan, 16, and the decomposing remains of JJ Vallow, 7, were found in the backyard of Vallow and Daybell’s Rexburg home
Key people in Lori Vallow’s complicated family tree, including her five husbands, two dead children and murderous brother Alex Cox
She is also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Daybell’s first wife Tammy, as well as related financial crimes.
Prosecutors allege the pair conspired with Cox to kill the trio as part of rampant and fanatical doomsday scenarios.
Daybell and Vallow, believed to be members of a radical cult, reportedly believe in a “classification system of light and dark” to judge the purity of the minds of people around them, prosecutors said.
It is said that the pair became convinced that JJ, Tylee and Tammy were all possessed by dark spirits and that the only way to rid them of their ‘demons’ was to kill them.
Graphic photos of a decomposing JJ were shown to jurors on Tuesday, while investigators said Tylee’s body was so badly burned it was difficult to determine a cause of death.
Daybell is also charged with the murders of Tammy, Tylee and JJ. The pair were set to stand trial together, but their cases were separated by a judge last month.
Vallow’s trial is expected to take eight weeks.