Lori Vallow’s sister admits she was ‘wrong’ to say niece, nephew would be OK
The sister of doomsday-obsessed cult mom Lori Vallow took to Facebook to admit she was “wrong” to say harm would never come to her niece and nephew, after they were found tortured and buried in Vallow’s husband’s back yard, reports said.
Summer Cox Shiflet posted a statement on Facebook Sunday night, writing that “trying to type through this pain is difficult,” East Idaho News reported.
“The last few months have been hard. The last week has been excruciating. Losing our precious Tylee and JJ in this horrific way is more than we can bear. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to all of the law enforcement that have worked so hard to find Tylee and JJ. When I first heard that remains had been found, I immediately felt the need to pray for those who found them. And I continue to pray for those who were on the scene, removed the remains, and have to analyze them to try to piece together what those poor babies endured,” Shiflet wrote.
“We have prayed for the truth to come to light, but we never thought it would look like this. Believe me when I say, this has looked very different from my perspective than what the public has seen. It’s easy to jump on a bandwagon when you don’t personally know all the people involved. When you have been up close and personal, you can’t discount your own interactions, and just go by what everyone else says and thinks.”
Shiftlet goes on to write that she knows there are people who have been “waiting for me to admit I was wrong.”
“If that’s all you want to know … here it is … I was wrong. I am an extremely imperfect person that loves my family with all my heart, and I wanted to believe the best in them, and I held out hope for the best possible outcome. I have always said things truthfully as I understood them, and will continue to do that as I learn new information,” the sister wrote.
Shiftlet said she is “praying” for all those involved while condemning people on social media who’ve lashed out at the family for not stopping the kids’ death.
During a May 16 interview with Vallow’s mom, Janis Cox, on CBS’ “48 Hours,” the family insisted Lori didn’t pose a threat to her kids and would never do anything to hurt them, while providing few clues on what they believed might have happened to them.
It turns out the children were “tortured” before their deaths and were buried in the back yard of Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell.
Tylee Ryan, 17, was found dismembered and burned while Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, was found wrapped in black plastic, bound with gray duct tape with a white bag over his head.