Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell facing murder charges in deaths of children
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell have been charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of her two children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan. The children were 7 and 17, respectively, when Vallow's grandparents reported them missing in 2019.
The couple is also facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Chad Daybell's ex-wife, Tammy, who was found dead in her home around the same time the children went missing.
"We have cause to believe that the Daybells willfully and knowingly conspired to commit murder of three innocent people," Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake said Tuesday.
A judge ordered the couple to produce the children, but they never cooperated, and investigators accused them of lying about their whereabouts.
Lori Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii while the couple were on their honeymoon. The children's remains were found buried in their stepfather's Idaho backyard in June of 2020.
Tammy Daybell's obituary said she had died from natural causes, but authorities became suspicious when Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow Daybell two weeks after Tammy's death. Tammy Daybell's body was exhumed in December 2019 for further investigation.
The new murder charges were announced on what would have been Joshua Vallow's 9th birthday. The couple was served with warrants in jail, according to CBS 2 in Idaho.
Last year, Rexburg Police Detective Ray Hermosillo described gruesome details about the remains of the children. He said Vallow's head was covered in a plastic bag and tightly wound duct tape. Ryan's body appeared to have been burned, he said.
