Documents detail how JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan were discovered in Chad Daybell’s yard

REXBURG — Court documents released Friday evening detail the horrific manner in which Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan were found in Chad Daybell’s backyard. JJ was wrapped in plastic and bound by duct tape while Tylee was dismembered and burned.

The information is contained in an 11-page affidavit of probable cause that was unsealed by Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins Friday. The documents are in relation to Chad Daybell, who is charged with two felony counts of concealment or destruction of evidence. He was arrested June 9 after investigators excavated a section of his Salem property and discovered the remains of Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

What happened to Tylee

Tylee was last seen Sept. 8, 2019 on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with her mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, uncle, Alex Cox, and brother JJ.

Months earlier, in the spring, Lori told her friend, Melanie Gibb, that Tylee had become a zombie, meaning his spirit had left his body and he had become “dark.”

“Gibb was on the phone with Lori and heard Lori call Tylee a zombie to which Tylee responded ‘not me, mom.’ This arose out of Lori requiring Tylee to babysit JJ and Tylee did not want to. Lori Vallow also told Gibb that Tylee had turned into a zombie when she was 12 or 13, which was approximately the same time Tylee had become ‘difficult’ to deal with,” the affidavit says.

Gibb traveled from Arizona to Rexburg with her boyfriend, David Warwick, from Sept. 19 through Sept. 23. They never saw Tylee and Lori said she was attending school at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, had a townhouse in the same complex as his sister. Investigators obtained Cox’s cell phone records and compared his activities on Sept. 9 with other days the same month.

“On Monday, September 9, from 12 a.m. and 12:44 a.m., Cox’s phone was located at his apartment (107.) However, at 2:42 a.m. to 3:37 a.m., Cox is located again at Lori’s Apartment (175) where Lori lived with Tylee and JJ. This is significant, not only because he is there in the middle of the night, but also because this is the only time in September he appears to go over to Lori’s between midnight and 6 am,” the probable cause says.

Alex returned to his apartment at 4:37 a.m. and then, at 9:21 a.m., he was located at Chad Daybell’s property. The GPS datapoint placed him near the east end of the barn, according to court records, and he was still at the property at 10:30 a.m.

“At 10:47 a.m., his phone shows a hit at the City of St. Anthony. At this time, we are unable to tell if he was actually inside the city limits of St. Anthony…or if this was a cell tower ping on his phone while he was still at the Daybell residence,” Lt. Ball wrote. “At 10:57 to 11:39 Cox is located at the Daybell property. At 11:52 to 12:02 he was at Dell Taco in Rexburg. He appears to spend most of the rest of the day in his apartment.”

That same day, the FBI found the following text message conversation between Chad and his wife Tammy Daybell:

Chad to Tammy at 11:53 a.m.: Well, I’ve had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms. While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!

Chad to Tammy at 11:56 a.m.: Gonna shower now and then go write for a while at BYU. Love you!

Tammy to Chad at 2:47 p.m.: Good for you!

Chad to Tammy at 2:48 pm: I’m back home now

Lt. Ball wrote the following about the exchange:

“I found the text suspicious because raccoons are normally nocturnal animals and are not regularly out during the day,” he said. “It should be noted that from interviewing neighbors of Chad Daybell, we are aware that in mid-July of 2019, Garth Daybell, Chad’s son, told their neighbors that Chad had shot a raccoon out of a tree on their property during the day. Garth told (a neighbor) about the raccoon in response to a question from Matt about hearing a gunshot. (Neighbors) informed me that the fire pit in the back of the Daybell property was hardly ever used until the last few months.”

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