Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing that’s constant throughout the baffling case of Lori Vallow Daybell, it’s the presence of her elder brother Alex Cox at every crucial turn, whether it be positive or negative. After all, as chronicled on Netflix’s ‘Sins of Our Mother,’ not only were they close from the very beginning, but he also shared every aspect of her radical, extremist, and apocalyptic religious beliefs. So now, if you just wish to learn more about the details of his past personal standing, his reported hand in several offenses/deaths, as well as his ultimate passing, we’ve got you covered.
Who Was Alex Cox?
Alexander “Alex” Lamar Cox was born as the second of five children (Lori is the fourth) to devout Mormons Janis Lee Cox and Barry Lynn Cox on January 18, 1968, in San Bernardino, California. “[He] was just super funny,” his mother Janis admitted in the three-part documentary series. “He wanted to be a stand-up comedian,” and he did try, yet life had different plans. No matter what, though, his protectiveness over his sisters never waivered, for whom he was even ready to turn violent in the blink of an eye if he believed he was defending her as well as her honor.
This much is evident through the fact he tasered Lori’s third husband, Joseph “Joe” Ryan, and threatened to kill him in 2007 upon discovering he was abusive to both her and her young kids. Alex then spent 90 days in an Austin, Texas, prison after pleading guilty to the assault, according to official records, but it’s not something he has seemingly ever apologized for or truly regretted. He actually even included this in a stand-up piece, per the Netflix original, opening with, “have you ever [done] something that you knew was the right thing to do, but it turns out… [to be] a felony?”
It thus isn’t surprising Alex attacked Lori’s fourth husband Charles Vallow as well once he learned there was trouble between the pair, yet this time, it resulted in the latter being shot to death. Since he was not initially charged owing to his claims of self-defense and Lori is now facing a conspiracy to commit murder indictment, with her brother named, precisely what’d transpired remains unclear. We should also mention court records explicitly identify Alex as the masked man who attempted to shoot Lori’s new partner’s first wife, Tammy Daybelll, with a paintball gun on October 9, 2019.
How Did Alex Cox Die?
From what we can tell, Alex was rushed to the Banner Gateway Hospital in Gilbert, Arizona, on December 12, 2019, upon being found lying on his bathroom floor desperately gasping for air. There was vomit coming out of the 51-year-old’s mouth, but unfortunately, even trained professionals couldn’t do anything by the time they arrived at the center — he was soon pronounced dead. His wife of 2½ weeks, Zulema Pastenes (whose last name he’d taken), told officials he’d been having serious trouble with his health since around December 6, yet he refused to seek any medical treatment.
Instead, Zulema said, as per East Idaho News, Alex drove to Mexico to buy prescription drugs because they were cheaper, only to continue having shortness of breath. It all sadly came to an end on that fateful Thursday, but the positive thing for them was he’d received a priesthood blessing (reportedly from his Chad Daybell) over the phone on the day he passed. According to his autopsy, Alex died of entirely natural causes — blood clots in his lungs as well as high blood pressure.
It’s imperative to note that although Alex could not be extensively questioned in connection to his niece Tylee Ryan and nephew JJ Vallow”s disappearance, his electronics did help a lot. His cell phone data actually placed him in the Daybell’s backyard for over two hours on September 9, 2019 — the day after 16-year-old Tylee was last seen alive — leading the officials to search the spot. It’s precisely where she and her 7-year-old brother’s near skeletal remains were found, but alas, Alex can obviously not be officially indicted for his supposed hand in the matter.
Read More: Where is Chad Daybell Now? Is He in Jail?
