Chad Daybell pleads not guilty after bodies of missing Idaho kids found on his property
Chad Daybell's lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Monday after his stepchildren's remains were found on his Idaho property last week. (Photo: Rexburg police department)
(KUTV) – Chad Daybell's lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf Monday after his stepchildren's remains were found on his Idaho property last week.
Tylee Ryan, 17, and her adoptive brother 7-year-old JJ Vallow were last seen alive in September 2019. Their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, has been behind bars since February for charges related to their disappearance.
Chad Daybell was taken into custody for questioning on Tuesday, June 9, more than three hours afterlaw enforcement officers arrived at his home to serve a search warrant in regards to the then missing children.
The next day,Daybell was charged with two counts of felony destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, court documents state.
The documents allege Daybell hid or destroyed human remains on two occasions between Sept. 22, 2019 and June 9, 2020 knowing that the remains would be discovered as evidence in a criminal proceeding.
If he is found guilty, Daybell would face a maximum of five years in the state penitentiary or up to $10,000 fine for each charge. The sentences could run consecutively or concurrently.
Chad Daybell's preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 1 and 2. His bail was set at $1 million. Daybell's attorney John Prior also requested a pretrial hearing, as well as a jury trial, court documents filed on Monday reveal.
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Authorities began investigating the children's disappearance in November after Vallow's biological grandmother, Kay Woodcock, asked police to conduct a welfare check.
In January, law enforcement officials located the Daybells on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Lori Daybell was ordered by the courts to produce her children, but failed to do so. She was arrested on a warrant issued by authorities in Madison County, Idaho.
Lori and Chad Daybell are also under investigation for the death of Chad's late wife Tammy.
The couple wed two weeks after Tammy's death in October 2019. The quick marriage drew the suspicion of officers, who had Tammy Daybell's body exhumed from a cemetery in Springville, Utah for an investigation. The results of that autopsy have not yet been released.