Chad Daybell in custody after human remains found at his Idaho home


Chad Daybell was taken into custody on Tuesday after human remains were found on his property in Salem, Idaho, Rexburg Police Assistant Chief Gary Hagen said.
The remains have not been identified, and Daybell has not been charged with anything. Rexburg police, FBI investigators, and members of the Fremont County Sheriff's Office searched the property as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7. Their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, is Chad Daybell's new wife. The children have not been seen since September, and the Daybells previously told investigators they were staying with friends.
The case has received national attention, due to its strange twists and turns. The Daybells, who married in October, slipped out of Idaho and were tracked down to Hawaii earlier this year. Lori Daybell has since been charged with child abandonment and obstructing the investigation; she has pleaded not guilty.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chad Daybell is a podcaster who talks about the biblical end times, and has self-published fiction books about the apocalypse. Last summer, Lori Daybell's brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in Arizona, claiming it was in self-defense. Vallow had filed for divorce from Lori Daybell, saying she believed she was "a resurrected being of God" who could kill him with her "powers." Cox died in December of a pulmonary blood clot.
Chad Daybell is also under investigation in the death of his first wife, Tammy Daybell. She died in October, two weeks before Chad and Lori Daybell were married. Chad said she died in her sleep, but authorities became suspicious in December and exhumed her body; the autopsy results have not been made public.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Bailouts: Why Trump is rescuing Argentina
Feature The White House approved a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina
-
James indictment: Trump’s retribution
Feature Trump pursues charges against Letitia James in revenge for her civil fraud lawsuit
-
Conversion therapy: Free speech or quackery?
Feature A Christian therapist challenges Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, claiming it violates the First Amendment
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from Louvre
Speed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 years
Speed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Fire
speed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan church
Speed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school mass
Speed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders
speed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail
Speed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived