Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan were found dead on the property of their step-father's home this week, police say, a horrific discovery that brought a tragic end to the search for two Idaho children not seen for months.
Police had found human remains on Chad Daybell's property on Tuesday. Days after family members told media that the remains belonged to the children, Rexburg, Idaho, police confirmed Saturday that after an autopsy had been conducted, the bodies had been identified as the missing children.
"It is with heavy hearts that we now confirm that those remains have now been officially identified as those of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan," Rexburg police said in a Saturday release.
Lori Vallow, the children's mother, and Daybell, her husband, were both in custody in Fremont County, Idaho, on various felony charges tied to the case. Vallow was arrested in February and Daybell was arrested Tuesday after authorities executed a search warrant at his home.
JJ, who would have turned 8 in May, and Tylee, 17, were last seen in September. Police first alerted the public that the children were missing in December after JJ's grandmother hadn't heard from the boy for months.
"We are filled with unfathomable sadness that these two bright stars were stolen from us and only hope that they died without pain or suffering," said a statement attributed to JJ's biological grandparents, Larry and Kay Woodcock, according to East Idaho News.
The twisting case spanned multiple states, suspicious death investigations involving former spouses and allegations of cult-like beliefs as the children's family and friends awaited answers on their whereabouts.
Rexburg police announced in December that the children had not been seen since September, their mother was uncooperative with authorities and the children were in possible danger.
Family mourns deceased children
Kay Woodcock, Joshua's biological grandmother, described the boy as "precious," "beautiful" and "intelligent."
Kay Woodcock is Charles Vallow's sister. Charles Vallow was Lori Vallow's ex-husband before his death in July 2019. Charles Vallow and Lori Vallow adopted JJ in 2014.
JJ had "the biggest heart" and "most beautiful smile," Woodcock wrote in a December Facebook post.
More on the Lori Vallow case: Lori Vallow denied reduced bail
Colby Ryan, the older brother of the two deceased children, described JJ as "such a character," in a YouTube video. He said JJ was growing up fast, getting taller and developing quickly.
"He loves surgery. I don't know why. He was so obsessed with having surgery or giving people surgery. He would sit there and give me fake surgeries," Colby Ryan said.
JJ was was born to Woodcock's son and his wife, but Woodcock and her husband, Larry, cared for him as his biological parents were unable to. JJ was diagnosed with autism, and the Woodcocks said they were busy running a business, so the Vallows offered to adopt the child.
Tylee welcomed the role of big sister when JJ was adopted.
"Tylee kind of turned into like a second mom in a sense to JJ, started taking care of him," Colby Ryan previously told KSAZ-TV.
Anne Cushing, Tylee's aunt, described the girl as someone with a "strong sense of right and wrong."
"Tylee doesn't hold back," she told "Dateline."
"She's feisty," Colby Ryan said. "She has very dry humor. She loves 'Friends' and 'The Office,' and we just started getting to that point where we just started to really joke around more."
He described a happiness seeing his sister grow up and define her own personality.
Videos Woodcock shared on social media show Joshua singing into a microphone on a tour bus and gleefully playing with toys.
"JJ had no fear," Larry Woodcock told NBC's "Dateline."
Mother, stepfather face multiple charges
Daybell and Vallow married late last year in a beachfront ceremony in Hawaii. Lor Vallow's children were nowhere to be seen and Daybell's late wife had died weeks earlier.
Daybell is a self-published author of many apocalyptic, doomsday books, and friends and family say he and Vallow adhere to divergent religious beliefs. In an autobiography, Daybell wrote that he worked as a grave digger.
Vallow is currently in custody after she pleaded not guilty to charges of felony child desertion, resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime and contempt of court.
Vallow failed to meet a court-ordered deadline in January to bring JJ and Tylee to authorities in Rexburg after she and Daybell were located in Hawaii. Vallow was arrested Feb. 20 in Hawaii and later extradited to Idaho.
The Idaho attorney general agreed to investigate her and Daybell in April.
Daybell appeared in court Wednesday after his arrest on charges of concealing, altering or destroying evidence. Court documents allege Daybell concealed or aided in concealing the human remains that were found on his property when authorities executed a search warrant Tuesday.
Former spouses died in suspicious incidents
Authorities are investigating multiple suspicious deaths in connection with the couple.
When Daybell's then wife, Tammy, was found dead in October, police initially believed it was due to natural causes after Daybell said she died in her sleep. But police exhumed her remains in December and said the circumstances "may be suspicious."
Police in Chandler, Arizona, said Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, called 911 in July 2019 and said he shot Charles Vallow after an argument between the couple broke out. Cox claimed self-defense, saying that Charles Vallow had a baseball bat. Kay Woodcock told "Dateline" her brother was not a violent man.
Chandler police had an open homicide investigation into the incident, but no arrests were made.
Mother said she was a god
Vallow and Daybell allegedly hold apocalyptic beliefs that have drawn scrutiny.
In divorce filings, Charles Vallow said Lori Vallow believed she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020."
He said Lori Vallow said she would kill him if he got in her way and that she had "an angel there to help her dispose of the body." Shortly after her alleged threats, he took out an order of protection against her, according to court documents.
In an autobiography, Daybell described near-death experiences, deep connection with a spiritual world and visions of "the decline and downfall of the United States" and an "upcoming foreign invasion of America."
"I don’t know when an earthquake will come, but I have seen in vision the damage it will cause. I hope we still have a few years before it strikes, but it would be best to be prepared if it comes sooner," Daybell wrote.
Contributing: Joel Shannon
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