Cult mom Lori Vallow Daybell murdered her two children—JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16—in one of the most notorious cases in recent times. Both JJ and Tylee’s cause of death was different from each other. JJ, who had autism, died of asphyxiation, while Tylee’s cause of death was ruled to be “homicide by unspecified means.” The latter’s body had been dismembered and burned, as per Fox News. Police found their remains in June 2020.
Reportedly, Lori Vallow Daybell, dubbed “Doomsday mom,” faced murder charges in connection with JJ and Tylee’s deaths. She also faced one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Tammy Daybell’s death. Tammy was the first wife of Lori’s fifth husband, Chad Daybell.
In May 2023, a jury convicted Lori for her role in JJ and Tylee’s killings as well as Tammy’s death. She received life in prison without the possibility of parole. Additionally, CBS News stated that Chad Daybell faces similar charges and will stand trial in April 2024.
JJ and Tylee’s cause of death explained
According to People Magazine, in April 2023, forensic pathologist Dr. Garth Warren revealed details about JJ and Tylee’s cause of death. He testified at Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial, which resulted in a conviction. These revelations came three years after police found the children’s bodies, officially initiating the cases against Lori and Chad Daybell.
Dr. Warren revealed in his testimony at Lori’s trial that JJ’s cause of death was asphyxiation with a plastic bag and duct tape over his mouth. The seven-year-old boy was an adopted child and had autism. Moreover, Warren mentioned scratch marks he found on the boy’s neck and bruises on his wrists and ankles, reported KTVB. He said, “Was JJ trying to get the bag off his head? It could be scratch marks of him trying to get it off his head.”
The outlet mentioned that the forensic pathologist also spoke about Tylee’s cause of death, which was undetermined. Warren stated that the 16-year-old autopsy took several days as her remains were not intact. As per East Idaho News, he said, “This autopsy was different, The vast majority of the time when I perform an autopsy, I get an entire body and there’s a process we go through. Tylee’s case was different. Her remains were received in three separate sealed bags.”
According to the outlet, Warren said they also searched for bullets and knife fragments in Tylee’s remains to determine her cause of death. After an unsuccessful attempt, he determined her cause of death to be “homicide by unspecified means.”
Lori Vallow Daybell and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, faced murder charges in JJ and Tylee’s deaths. They were also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of the latter’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Where were JJ and Tylee’s remains found?
People reported that police found JJ and Tylee’s remains on June 9, 2020, nearly nine months after they went missing. The discovery was made in two separate shallow graves in the backyard of Chad Daybell’s property in Rexburg, Idaho.
FBI Special Agent Steve Daniels testified at Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial, describing the children’s burial sites. He claimed that they first found JJ’s grave underneath a tree and with large rocks at the site. Below the rocks, they found wooden planks, and underneath the wood, he saw plastic and felt a skull. After this, he used a razor blade to cut open the two plastic bags around the remains and saw human hair. The agent then cut open the plastic and saw human hair.
Daniels said, “That’s the point we decide these are human remains. This becomes burial site number 1, and it is JJ’s burial site. Once we found JJ’s remains, we knew Tylee was around here somewhere.” Later, they found the 16-year-old’s remains, “melted, charred, mass, “in a separate burial site.
Fox News reported that pathologist Dr. Warren said that he received Tylee’s burned remains in “three separate bags.” He further added that “[Her] organs had severe decomposition, significant burning artifacts. They were charred and shrunken. Presumably the rest of the organs burned away or were never found.”
JJ and Tylee went missing in September 2019. Shortly after their disappearance, Lori Vallow married Chad Daybell. Authorities had arrested Lori on counts related to her children’s vanishing before the discovery of their remains. Moreover, they arrested Chad after finding their bodies on his property.
CBS 48 Hours will revisit Lori Vallow Daybell‘s trial on Saturday, December 30, 2023. The all-new episode, titled “Lori Vallow Daybell: Guilty,” airs on the channel at 10 p.m. ET.
