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Niece of Lori Vallow-Daybell denies allegations she knows the location of missing children

Posted at 7:50 AM, Feb 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-27 09:54:46-05

Melani Pawlowski, the niece of Lori Vallow-Daybell, released a statement Wednesday denying allegations that she knows the whereabouts of Vallow-Daybell's two missing children.

In court documents filed by Melani's ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, he claimed Melani knows where Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow are, but is refusing to cooperate with authorities.

Pawlowski's lawyer released a statement on behalf of Melani, denying any knowledge of the whereabouts of the kids and accusing her ex-husband of lying to help him get custody of their children.

“Mrs. Pawlowski has cooperated with law enforcement, including meeting for hours with the FBI on three separate days... Sadly, and irresponsibly, much of the media has quoted Brandon Boudreaux’s biased, vindictive, and fake accusations as truth and fact when they are his resentful, vengeful, and dishonest efforts to get full custody of Melani’s children.”

The documents also claim Pawlowski conspired with her uncle Alex Cox - Lori's brother - in the October 2019 attempted murder of Boudreaux.

Since the attempted murder, Brandon has been awarded temporary custody of his children and is now in hiding. He interviewed exclusively with FOX 13 last December but has since declined to release further statements.

Pawlowski was arrested in Utah for trespassing and domestic violence in an attempt to find Boudreaux at his parents' house last November. According to court documents, Cox posted her bail.

Pawlowski's statement replied to the allegations:

“A closer look would reveal many possible sources who would take a shot at him. Melani is not one of them. As shown in the storage video, Alex Cox was in Idaho on October 2, the day of the alleged shooting.”

Boudreaux has alleged Pawlowski's new husband confessed to investigators her involvement in the attempted murder case.

The statement sent out by Pawlowski's attorney did not address statements made by the new husband.

The Gilbert Police Department has not responded to requests for comment. Gilbert PD is also investigating the suspicious death of Alex Cox last December.

Melani's statement was released less than an hour before Lori Vallow-Daybell was set to appear before a Kauai judge to request to have her bail lowered from $5 million. The judge denied the request and Vallow-Daybell signed a waiver of extradition and agreed to be taken back to Idaho.

(This story first appeared on Fox 13 Now.)