Idaho man Chad Daybell is scheduled for a court appearance to start at 1 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. MST. This occurs the day after police executed a search warrant at his Rexburg, Idaho home, and said they discovered human remains. It’s a disturbing development amid the disappearance of his wife Lori Daybell‘s two younger children: Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 8, and Tylee Ryan, 17.
The remains have yet to to be publicly identified.
“We were notified that law enforcement had discovered human remains on the property,” said Joshua’s paternal grandparents Kay and Larry Woodcock in a statement obtained by Fox 10 Phoenix reporter Justin Lum. “This is obviously a very difficult time for our family, and we ask that you respect our privacy as we wait further news with heavy hearts.”
The defendant is charged with destruction or concealment of evidence.
Just a few hours away from Chad Daybell’s court appearance. Will more charges be filed?
Yesterday, we mentioned his job as a grave digger in the 90s. Daybell even wrote a book about it. Not sure how long it will take officials to ID 2 sets of human remains found. #fox10phoenix pic.twitter.com/aPlZ1lJ2mn
— Justin Lum Fox 10 (@jlumfox10) June 10, 2020
CONFIRMED: Multiple sources close to the case tell me the human remains discovered on Chad Daybell’s property are remains of two different people. #fox10phoenix
— Justin Lum Fox 10 (@jlumfox10) June 10, 2020
The defendant’s wife Lori Daybell was previously charged in a desertion case, after she allegedly fled Rexburg, Idaho instead of helping cops find her missing kids. Through an attorney, she has asserted her innocence.
But that’s just a small portion of this saga. How do we possibly begin summarizing the story of Lori Daybell, her new spouse, her missing kids, her alleged belief that the children had become “zombies,” and her two dead husbands? Her brother in law Alex Cox shot and killed her previous husband Charles Vallow on July 11, back when the family lived in Arizona; the shooter maintained it was done inself-defense, though Vallow told cops months before that his wife had threatened to kill him. The woman then known as Lori Vallow moved with her kids to Idaho less than two months later.
Authorities have said that the last time they can account for Ryan’s whereabouts was on Sept. 8 during a family day trip to Yellowstone National Park. Joshua Vallow was last seen Sept. 23. Their mother married Chad Daybell in Hawaii weeks later on November 5, police said.
Tylee’s father Joseph Ryan, who was one of Lori Daybell’s former husbands, died in 2018 of what was described as a heart attack, but the FBI had been taking a second look at that, at least back in March. Chad Daybell’s previous wife Tammy Daybell died about two weeks before the wedding with Lori, police said. At the time, authorities didn’t consider that suspicious, but they have also been taking another look at that. Cox died in December, and a medical examiner’s office in Arizona recently declared this a “natural” death, though the Gilbert Police Department said at the time in May that they were still investigating.
An attorney for the Daybells did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for comment.
Joshua “JJ” Vallow, and Tylee Ryan
Chad Daybell cryptically said in an ABC report from March that the children were safe. Lori Daybell’s mother has claimed to have spoken to Joshua on October 1 in a brief phone conversation, days after his purported disappearance.
As of Wednesday morning, authorities have not issued a positive identification, though the Rexburg mayor recently spoke about the children as if they were dead.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children describe Joshua Vallow, age 8, as white, with brown hair, and brown eyes. He stands 4’0″, and weighs 50 pounds. He is on the autism spectrum. The NCMEC say he may be in need of medical attention.
His sister Tylee is described as white, with blond hair, and blue eyes. She stands 5’0″, and weighs 160 pounds.
[Mugshot via Rexburg Police Department; image of the children via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]
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