REXBURG, Idaho — A judge set bail at $1 million Wednesday for Chad Daybell in the case of his wife’s missing children, in a development that comes a day after police found two sets of children’s remains at his rural Idaho home.
Daybell, 51, is charged with concealing evidence after the Tuesday discovery in the search for Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and his big sister, Tylee Ryan, 17. Both were last seen in September.
Although authorities have not yet publicly identified the remains, JJ’s grandmother Kay Woodcock confirmed that one set belongs to the boy, the East Idaho News reported.
The children’s mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, is awaiting trial on charges including child abandonment.
Fremont County Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins sided with prosecutor Rob Wood’s request of $1 million bail for Chad Daybell, noting the evidence that he is accused of concealing is human remains.
“It’s not simply a document, drugs, a gun,” Wood argued. “These are human remains and although those human remains have not been positively identified, we are aware that those remains are the remains of children.”
He called the manner of concealment for one body “particularly egregious” and argued that Chad Daybell is a flight risk.
Eddins ordered Daybell to wear an ankle monitor if he raises bail and said he would be ordered to remain within a three-county area, avoid any contact with victims’ families and keep in touch with his attorney.
Daybell, 51, appeared in court over a video feed from jail, wearing a gray striped jail uniform and sitting next to his defense attorney. He answered brief questions from the judge, responding “yes” when asked if he understood his rights.
Attorney John Prior argued for bail of no more than $100,000, noting that his client is not charged with a crime more serious than evidence tampering. Daybell has family and property in the area and has “every intention of addressing these issues,” Prior said.
His client did not try to run when police showed up at his home Tuesday, and while the case has drawn widespread attention, “publicity is not a reason to raise the bail to an extraordinary amount,” Prior argued.
Rexburg police said Wednesday they have notified those whom they believe are family members of the deceased.
“Autopsy results are pending,” Assistant Rexburg Police Chief Gary Hagen said.
Kay and Larry Woodcock, JJ’s grandparents, asked for privacy Tuesday night and said police had notified them of the discovery at Daybell’s home.
Daybell was booked into the Fremont County Jail a short time after several police agencies served a search warrant and made the discovery at his Salem property just north of Rexburg Tuesday.
He faces two charges of destroying or concealing evidence, a felony offense. A conviction carries up to five years in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A criminal complaint alleges that Daybell either helped or hid the remains sometime between Sept. 8, 2019 and June 9, when the FBI and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office helped Rexburg police in serving a sealed search warrant at Daybell’s home. Aerial photos showed large mounds, tarps and tents in an expansive yard there Tuesday.
Authorities in Rexburg say the Daybells have lied several times about the children’s whereabouts and noted Lori Daybell flew to Hawaii the day after police first questioned her and her new husband.
The case also includes investigations into three mysterious deaths of people the couple is tied to and their rumored apocalyptic religious beliefs. They have both been involved in an Idaho-based group that promotes preparing for the biblical end of times.
The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is investigating them in the death of Chad Daybell’s former wife, Tammy Daybell. Two weeks after she died in her sleep, Lori and Chad Daybell wed in Hawaii.
Her remains were exhumed, but an autopsy report has not yet been released.
Lori Daybell’s estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by her brother Alex Cox before Cox’s own death, which was determined to be from natural causes. In divorce documents filed before his death, Vallow alleged that his wife believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.”
Chad Daybell returns to court for a preliminary hearing July 1; Lori Daybell is due back in court the following week.
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