The Horrific Crime Scene Of Sins Of Our Mother's JJ Vallow And Tylee Ryan
In June 2020, the remains of JJ Vallow and his half-sister Tylee Ryan were recovered on the Rexburg, Idaho property of their stepfather, Chad Daybell, based on CBS News reporting. JJ, who was 7 when he died, and Tylee, who was 17, had been missing for some time. After their remains were found, their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, and their new stepfather, Chad Daybell, faced several charges relating to their death, including first-degree murder. Both Vallow Daybell and Daybell pleaded not guilty.
Once in custody, Vallow Daybell was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial. The trials of both Vallow Daybell and her husband are now set to begin in 2023, according to a 2022 CBS News report. If convicted, both Vallow Daybell and her husband could face the death penalty. At their trial, the following horrific details from the scene at which the remains of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan were recovered on Daybell's property will likely be used as evidence. (Daybell's children from a previous marriage say their father was framed.)
Before the remains of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan were discovered, Vallow Daybell and her husband had fled from Idaho to Hawaii. While there, both refused to answer questions about the children's whereabouts. Once the remains of Vallow Daybell's children were found, the investigation revealed several bizarre spiritual beliefs held by Vallow Daybell and her husband involving zombies and doomsday prophecy, as well as a number of other suspicious deaths from their past.
JJ and Tylee's graves were only 50 feet apart
JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan hadn't been seen alive since 2019 when their remains were recovered in June 2020, as CBS News explains. Vallow's father, Charles Vallow — Vallow Daybell's fourth husband — had also just died; shot and killed by Vallow Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense in the shooting. Cox died before he could stand trial and his cause of death was later determined to be from natural causes, via East Idaho News.
Prior to the swift marriage between Vallow Daybell and Daybell, Daybell's wife Tammy Daybell also died under mysterious circumstances, per Inside Edition reporting. Both Daybell and Vallow Daybell were Mormon, and Daybell was the author of Mormon-themed doomsday fiction. Vallow herself had begun to espouse similar philosophies, causing concern for the Vallow family, as NBC News reports. Both Vallow Daybell and Daybell claimed they could see zombies and Vallow Daybell claimed openly that JJ and Tylee had been overtaken.
By June 9, 2020, both Vallow Daybell was under suspicion for the disappearance and possible deaths of their children. As Inside Edition explains, authorities used backhoes to excavate the Daybell property. The top layer of soil was removed, and three large white rocks were revealed, as CBS News notes. Underneath those rocks was a layer of wood paneling and beneath that was black plastic. It was under that plastic that the first signs of human remains were found.
Remains were found on Daybell property
The first human remains to be found on the Daybell property, referred to as the "pet cemetery," was human hair of the same color as JJ Vallow. (The remains of a dog and cat were also uncovered in the area. Chad Daybell had been a gravedigger for a time early on in his life.) Once the hair was found, a small child-sized body was dug up and wrapped in plastic and duct tape. That body was later determined to be JJ Vallow.
The first suspicious objects recovered by a second team of investigators digging a short distance away from the Daybell property were not human remains, but instead, a melted bucket. Under that bucket was a partial human skull as well as burned flesh and bone later determined to belong to Ryan. Ryan's remains were dismembered and burned beyond recognition, and due to their condition, her exact cause of death could not be determined, as CBS News explains.
It was later concluded, though, that JJ Vallow likely died from asphyxiation, according to People. Some evidence even suggests he may have been buried alive (via CBS News). Shortly after the remains of the two children were recovered, Chad Daybell, who had returned to Idaho from Hawaii, was arrested. Vallow Daybell was already in custody, per Inside Edition. The complete story of Vallow and Ryan's death is told in the Netflix documentary, "Sins of Our Mother," with a trailer to watch now on Youtube.