On Tuesday, Idaho prosecutors presented photos that reportedly show Tylee Ryan’s remains on her mother’s current husband’s property in 2020.
According to East Idaho News, retired Rexburg police Detective Rick Schmitt testified that he searched the fire pit and pet cemetery areas of Chad Daybell’s property and discovered Ryan’s remains — which included teeth, bone, and burnt flesh. He also testified that it appeared someone put concrete or cement in the ground to make it harder to recover Ryan’s remains.
During later testimony, FBI agent Steve Daniels explained photos presented to the court which apparently show Ryan’s remains buried in the ground. The remains were discovered on June 9, 2020, nine months after Ryan and J.J. Vallow’s disappearances.
“At this point, we didn’t know if this was animal or human. We were trying to excavate it and get it out of the ground,” Daniels explained.
Daniels said an anthropologist was with them as they dug up the gravesite. He claimed it became clearer they were digging up a body when they located a large bone and the smell was consistent with human decomposition.
“With the size of the bone being found…I could also smell an odor I could associate with human remains decomposing so between this bone being found and a second bone being found, the decision was then made not to use the tractor anymore,” he testified, per East Idaho News.
Daniels also described Ryan’s bones as being “melted together.”
“You can see the bigger bones sticking out of the ground,” he told the court, according to East Idaho News.
The court was also shown pictures of the burial site after Ryan’s remains were removed from the property. Her remains were reportedly placed in a body bag and given to a coroner.
J.J.’s remains were also located on Chad’s property, though his body was in a plastic bag that was wrapped in plastic. His face, arms, wrists, and feet were wrapped with duct tape.
The children’s mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, and Chad, her fifth husband, are charged with the murders. Vallow Daybell is currently on trial for their slayings and for killing Tammy Daybell, who was Chad’s wife. She was also killed in Idaho in 2019.
Vallow Daybell said she was with Melanie Gibb, David Warwick, or her husband 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, Idaho. 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 connection with the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by her brother, Alex Cox, in Arizona in July 2019. Cox died, reportedly of natural causes, in December 2019.
In Arizona, Vallow Daybell is charged in connection with her fourth husband’s slaying.
Vallow Daybell — who is not facing the death penalty — underwent psychiatric treatment twice before she was deemed fit to stand trial in Idaho. Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom per a court order.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Tylee Ryan and Lori Vallow/Chandler Police Department]
