The biological mom of JJ Vallow, 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 ‘anguish’ of losing her son – just months before the long-awaited murder trial.
Mandy Leger died from natural causes in June 2022 at the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Louisiana aged 46, and after losing custody of her son, spent the years prior 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 by Lori and Charles Vallow – JJ’s uncle – in 2013, shortly before his first birthday and his name was changed to Joshua Jaxton Vallow.
The seven-year-old’s adoptive mom and her doomsday author fifth husband, Chad Daybell, are accused of killing the young boy, his sister, and others as part of a twisted plot fueled by their religious beliefs.
Sources close to the family told the U.S. Sun that Leger’s dad and stepmom had requested to foster JJ in the hope of keeping him in Louisiana but were rebuffed by the local Child Protective Services (CPS) officials.
Trahan’s parents, Kay and Larry Woodcock were the first to temporarily foster JJ as a baby before the Vallows took him in and assumed full custody to raise him as their own in Arizona.
Trahan’s father also unsuccessfully attempted to foster the boy, while Leger had visitation rights for the first six months of JJ’s life. DailyMail reports.
After relapsing she was ordered to go to rehab before she would again have access to her son, a source told the U.S. Sun but before she could complete the program JJ’s adoption had been finalized.
‘She was doing everything she could to have a relationship with that baby,’ the source said.
‘She was fully convicted that if she worked on herself, then one day she would be able to have a relationship with him, but she never got that chance.’
Friends told the outlet that the loss of custody took 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 seeking ways she could get her son back.
According to the U.S. Sun, JJ was last seen in the arms of his uncle, Alex Cox, in Idaho September 2022, the following day Vallow contacted JJ’s elementary school and said the boy would not be returning and would be home schooled instead.
