Chad Daybell’s House of Horrors Demolished: ‘No Human Bones Anywhere’
|Chad Daybell’s Idaho home where he brutally murdered three family members was purchased and demolished by a non-profit in hopes of transforming the grounds into a space of healing.
Daybell, 55, was sentenced to death in June for his role in killing his first wife, Tammy, as well as his second wife Lori Vallow Daybell’s two kids, Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow.
Lori Vallow Daybell is serving a life sentence in Idaho for the same crimes as her husband.
“SJ Healing Crossroads is committed to providing community support for individuals affected by trauma and loss. We recently acquired the property formerly owned by Chad Daybell,” the group wrote a Facebook announcement. “With the generous donations we receive, our aim is to transform this site from one marked by sorrow and tragedy into a place of peace, healing and hope for the community.”
Newsweek has contacted SJ Healing Crossroads for comment.
SJ Healing Crossroads’ Facebook page is filled with videos of local news outlets video coverage of the demolition process.
There is also a photo of Dusty Taylor who owns Taylor Excavation, in a safety green shirt, who they thanked for “reaching out to us and for organizing all the companies and individuals who participated and donated their time and equipment.”
In October 2019, Daybell’s first wife, Tammy, died after he asphyxiated in the house. In June 2020, Lori Vallow Daybell’s children were found buried in the backyard of the home.
SJ Healing Crossroads debunked rumors Sunday of human remains being found on the property during excavation.
“Law enforcement did an excellent job and spent the last five years of their lives dedicated to this case. Again, there are no human bones anywhere out there,” a Facebook post reads.
‘Doomsday’ Cult Couple’s Relationship
Chad Daybell was a self-published author of a Doomsday-focused fiction. He and Vallow Daybell had an affair while they were part of a “Doomsday cult” that shared apocalyptic religious beliefs, reportedly justifying their killings with their belief that evil spirits can possess people and turn them into “zombies.”
Lori Daybell, whose maiden name is Cox, was first married at 19-years-old to her high school sweetheart. The pair divorced shortly after and three years later, she married William Lagioia, with whom she shares a son, Colby.
In 2001, she married her third husband, Joseph Ryan, after divorcing Lagioia in 1996. Ryan is her daughter Tylee’s father. He died of an apparent heart attack in 2018.
In 2005, Lori married Charles Vallow, with whom she adopted their son, JJ. Her husband filed for divorce in 2019, citing Lori’s extreme religious beliefs and alleged threats against his life.
Lori and Chad Daybell first met in October 2018 at a “Preparing a People” conference. The two were immediately attracted to one another claiming they had been married in multiple previous lifetimes. Despite being married, the two continued to develop a relationship.
Then in July 2019, Lori’s fourth husband, Charles Vallow, was shot to death in Arizona by her brother Alex Cox who claimed it was self-defense. Cox was not charged but his sister now faces trial in February for the shooting death of her fourth husband.
After her fourth husband’s death, Lori and her children along with Cox moved to eastern Idaho to be closer to Chad Daybell.
Her children disappeared in September 2019.
In October 2019, Daybell’s wife, Tammy, died. He originally told police she was battling an illness and died in her sleep. An autopsy later determined she died of asphyxiation.
Lori and Chad Daybell married two weeks after Tammy was killed.
Nearly a year after their disappearance, the children’s remains were found buried in June 2020 on Daybell’s property in eastern Idaho.
The couple was indicted on murder charges in May 2021.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com