Where Is Lori Vallow Daybell's Only Living Child Now? A Look at Colby Ryan's Life After His Mom Murdered His 2 Younger Siblings

Colby Ryan’s life has been forever changed since his mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, killed his siblings in what became known as the “doomsday murders.”

After a seven-week trial, Lori was found guilty in May 2023 of murdering her two children — Joshua “J.J.” Vallow and Tylee Ryan — as well as conspiring to murder her husband, Chad Daybell’s, first wife, Tammy Daybell.

Lori married Chad in November 2019, two weeks after Tammy was killed and three weeks before the missing person’s case was opened for J.J. and Tylee.

The two were later tried separately, with Lori being sentenced to life in prison without parole and Chad, who was part of a doomsday cult, sentenced to death, also for the murder of Lori’s two kids and his first wife.

Now, more than five years after the 2019 crimes, Lori’s only surviving son, Colby, is still grappling with the aftermath. In a March 7 Dateline episode, Colby opened up about how his view of the world has changed since his mother’s crimes.

“I always was a very positive, see the best in people kind of person. And then, I watched someone that I knew my entire life do what she did,” he said. “It just changed the way that I view people.”

“The way that my sister was treated was with hate,” he said. “That’s not even human to do what they did to her.”

So where is Colby Ryan now? Here’s everything to know after his mother Lori Vallow Daybell was charged with murdering his siblings.

What was Colby Ryan’s relationship with his mother Lori Vallow like?

Lori welcomed Colby at 22 years old with her second husband, William Lagioia. Although their relationship shifted over the years, Colby recalled his mom always having his best interest at heart during the early years of his childhood.

In the 2022 Netflix docuseries Sins of Our Mother, Colby explained that because his parents had a “bad relationship,” Lori “removed” him from the situation. She soon married her third husband, Joe Ryan, and she and Colby moved into his home.

“He was really sweet and outgoing,” Colby said. “It sounded good to be a family. That’s what I wanted my whole life. I think that’s what my mom wanted. We just wanted a big family that was happy.”

Colby recalled Joe getting “annoyed” by him over time, leading their relationship to turn abusive. Colby said that it got to the point where he would “punch [him] in the back of the head.”

He and his mom eventually took off, but Colby recalled telling her about the sexual abuse he experienced by Joe, and her being “silent.”

“I just remember feeling like I did something wrong,” he said. “I just felt like I ruined her life. That’s where it started. That was like the breaking point for her.”

Ultimately, it was her anger toward her ex-husband that led her to get more involved in the church.

When Colby testified during his mom’s murder trial in April 2023, he outlined the shift in their dynamic, explaining that Lori protected her children and supported him for much of his life. He also said that he didn’t think she could hurt someone during his childhood, but that all changed when she met Chad.

“My mom has spent her whole life protecting us kids,” Colby said on the stand. “After she met Chad Daybell, she changed.”

How did Colby Ryan react to his mother’s crimes? 

In January 2020, while Tylee and J.J. remained missing, Colby posted a YouTube video in which he urged his mother to come clean and assist authorities in finding his siblings.

“I know you know [what] the right thing to do is and I know you have a good heart,” he said in video. “It’s time to do the right thing.”

Colby went on to testify against his mother in 2023 and has since expressed anger toward Lori for killing his siblings.

In a phone call played in Sins of Our Mother, Lori apologized to Colby from jail, to which he responded, “You’re sorry? Are you sorry for me, or are you sorry for my siblings?”

“My brother, who’s 7 years old, is dead. And my little sister, who’s 16, is dead,” he said to his mom. “This did not just happen. They were murdered, and the reason I’m calling you is because I can’t even fathom what happened. I miss my family, Mom.”

What did Colby Ryan say during his testimony?

When Colby took the stand, he detailed what happened after Charles Vallow — J.J.’s adoptive father and Lori’s fourth husband — was killed.

Colby recalled Lori telling him that Charles had died of a heart attack rather than the truth: her brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles on July 11, 2019, claiming it was self-defense. Colby then reflected on his confrontation with Alex shortly after, in which “he was crude and kind of funny and odd.”

During the second week of testimony at Lori’s murder trial, the jury also listened to a jailhouse phone call between Lori and Colby. At the start of the call, Colby asked his mother if she was hiding from him, to which she assured him that it was the other way around. “Probably because you murdered my siblings,” Colby said.

Later in the phone call, Colby told his mom, “You’ve been shoving BS up my throat for a long time. I can’t tell you the amount of pain I’ve felt from your decisions.”

“I have prayed for you in my worst moments,” Colby continued later in the call. “I have prayed for my siblings who you swore to me were OK. I thought I could trust you. I thought that you were a completely different person.”

“I don’t know a murderous mother,” he added. “You’ve lied to me more times than I can count about this. I’ve tried my best to forgive you … My heart was broken by my own mother.”

Where is Colby Ryan now?

Years after his mother’s crimes, Colby has been outspoken about all that he has gone through and overcome.

In April 2022, he released a book titled The God Over Odds, outlining his journey from “‘Son of cult mom Lori Vallow-Daybell,’ to Man of God.”

Per the logline, the book is Colby’s testimony of how religion helped him get through a life of trauma, abuse, murder and loss.

Colby also frequently discusses his mother’s case on his YouTube channel, including sharing his reaction to his testimony and their jailhouse phone call.

In the final episode of Sins of Our Mother, Colby, his wife Kelsee and their eldest child Ryley held a memorial for Charles, JJ and Tylee in Hawaii to “honor” and “remember them.”

Kelsee shared in the episode that they’ve tried to make Ryley’s life as “normal as possible,” though they do plan to tell her what happened to her father’s family.

“We don’t really know how yet, but she knows Tylee and J.J.’s faces,” she said. “We have their pictures everywhere all over our house.”

“I think that’s been the main thing for us right now, is showing her who they are, showing her videos and saying their names and really helping her remember them,” Kelsee continued.

Meanwhile, Colby vowed to focus on moving forward and carrying on his siblings’ legacy.

“My biggest fear is that my mom’s story becomes our family’s story,” Colby continued. “She’s not going to define anything else. I know that in my heart.”

Since the Netflix docuseries was released, Colby and Kelsee have expanded their family. The pair welcomed another daughter in early 2022, and Colby announced on Instagram in June 2024 that they had a son on the way.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.