On Tuesday, an Idaho police detective testified about finding J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan’s remains in 2020, nine months after they disappeared.
Lori Daybell Vallow’s two children were reportedly discovered on Chad Daybell’s property. While on the stand, Rexburg police Detective Ray Hermosillo recounted how J.J.’s body was buried near a tree, while Tylee’s burned remains were located near a fire pit, according to East Idaho News.
“We started finding burnt flesh, decomposing bones. The smell was so bad we had to take turns digging,” he said. “Eventually we uncovered bits and pieces of Tylee, whom we assumed was Tylee, that had been burned. There were pieces of bone, charred flesh, just globs of flesh that were falling apart.”
According to East Idaho News, Hermosillo said detectives could only work for a few minutes at a time due to the overwhelming smell of decomposition. He also stated that a human skull was found during their search.
Prosecutors said J.J.’s remains were discovered in a plastic bag wrapped in plastic. His hands were reportedly bound with duct tape. Tylee is believed to have been dismembered and burned.
East Idaho News reported that prosecutor Lindsey Blake showed jurors a picture of Tammy Daybell’s hands post-mortem. Tammy Daybell is Chad Daybell’s first wife whom Chad and Daybell Vallow are accused of killing in 2019. Blake also showed them graphic photos of J.J.’s bound arms and the bag he was found in.
Lori Daybell Vallow is currently on trial for killing J.J., 7, and Tylee, 16, and Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy. Chad Daybell is being tried separately on the same charges.
Vallow Daybell said she was with Melanie Gibb, David Warwick, or Chad Daybell when her son and daughter died in her brother’s apartment in Rexburg, Idaho. Vallow Daybell allegedly said she was at her residence, also in Rexburg.
Vallow Daybell claimed she was in Hawaii when Tammy Daybell was killed at her husband’s home in Salem, Indiana. Vallow Daybell stated she was with two other people at the time.
Vallow Daybell — who is believed to have been involved in a so-called doomsday cult — allegedly told a friend that her children had become zombies and the only way to exorcise their bodies of evil spirits was to kill them.
Vallow Daybell is also charged in Arizona with conspiracy to commit murder for the death of her first husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by Vallow Daybell’s brother in 2019.
Vallow Daybell underwent psychiatric treatment before she was deemed fit to stand trial. She is not facing the death penalty. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom per a court order.
The trial continues.
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[Featured image: J.J. Daybell and Tylee Ryan/Facebook]
