An Idaho jury on Thursday found Chad Daybell guilty of killing stepchildren J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan in addition to his wife, Tammy Daybell.
J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan, 7 and 16, were found buried on Chad Daybell’s property nine months after their disappearances; Ryan’s remains were dismembered and charred, while J.J. was in a plastic bag. Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood said Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell, who married weeks after Tammy Daybell’s death, created an alternate reality that permitted them to kill anyone who they thought was in their way.
In addition to the three first-degree murder charges, Chad Daybell was convicted of grand theft and insurance fraud. He is facing the death penalty in this case.
According to East Idaho News, jurors were given the case on Wednesday following eight weeks of testimony. Unlike Vallow Daybell, Chad Daybell did not take the stand.
READ More: ‘Detective Recalls Digging up Murdered Tylee & J.J.’s Bodies on Chad Daybell’s Property
During Chad Daybell’s trial, Rexburg Detective Ray Hermosillo testified that they continued to dig and uncovered “globs of burnt flesh starting to protrude through the dirt.” They reportedly resumed their dig the next day and found more of Ryan’s charred remains.
“At that point, we saw what appeared to be the shape of a green melted bucket that appeared to have the remains of what we assumed was Tylee charred and burned inside that bucket,” he said.
Vallow Daybell was sentenced last July to life without parole for the September 2019 slayings of her two children. She also got a life sentence for conspiring Tammy Daybell’s murder in October 2019. Her death was initially ruled natural but later deemed a homicide.
Vallow Daybell is awaiting trial in Arizona for killing her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in July 2019. Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, fatally shot Charles Vallow and claimed self-defense. Cox died — reportedly of natural causes — in December 2019, months after J.J. Vallow and Ryan’s disappearances. Idaho prosecutors claimed Cox was also involved in the slayings.
Chad Daybell’s lawyer said during opening statements that Vallow Daybell is responsible for her children’s slayings while maintaining that Tammy Daybell’s death was natural. He also claimed Chad Daybell’s DNA was not found on Ryan or J.J. Vallow’s remains, and there is no indication Tammy Daybell’s death was a homicide.
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[Feature Photo: John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File)]
