On Tuesday, Idaho prosecutors showed graphic photos of 7-year-old J.J. Vallow — who was reportedly found buried on his stepfather’s property in 2020.
Rexburg police Detective Ray Hermosillo testified that Vallow was wearing red pajamas and had a bag over his head. Hermosillo also described how his face, arms, wrists, and feet were wrapped in duct tape, according to East Idaho News.
“His pajamas were soaked with body decomposition, he still had on his pull-up nighttime diaper; there was some visible bruising on his arms that the medical examiner had pointed out to us,” he said.
According to East Idaho News, a photo of J.J.’s face was shown to the court. It was reportedly black and gray, but Hermosillo said it was “very easy to identify” him as Lori Vallow Daybell’s missing son, who vanished along with her daughter, Tylee Ryan, 16, in 2019.
Nine months after their disappearances, their bodies were reportedly discovered on Chad Daybell’s property. Tylee was reportedly dismembered and burned and her remains were located near a burn pit.
Daybell, who is married to Vallow Daybell, is also charged with killing the two children. Additionally, the couple is charged with killing Daybell’s first wife in 2019. 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 is currently on trial and her husband will stand trial separately at a later date.
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 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. Vallow/Handout]
