Chad Daybell’s family says shallow graves of Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow were not dug by their dad

As Emma Murray appears over her father Chad Daybell’s almost four-acre property simply outdoors of Rexburg, Idaho, her fond reminiscences of cookouts and yard video games together with her family are ceaselessly tarnished by the day in June 2020 when the stays of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow were discovered there. The two youngsters of her father’s present spouse, Lori Vallow Daybell, had disappeared in September of 2019, sparking a flurry of headlines, hypothesis of cults with extremist beliefs, and a nationwide search. It all culminated with authorities descending on her father’s yard to make the grotesque discovery of the 2 youngsters buried simply 50 yards aside in shallow graves.

“I don’t know why they would be there,” Murray instructed “48 Hours” contributor Jonathan Vigliotti whereas touring the property. “But I do know that if he were to commit a crime, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to put the evidence in his own backyard.”

Daybell’s 5 youngsters allowed “48 Hours” first-time entry to their father’s land. They consider the shallow burials of the stays discovered on the property show that Daybell, a former gravedigger, is harmless of murdering JJ and Tylee. Their unique interview will probably be featured in “The Secrets of Chad Daybell’s Backyard,” airing Saturday, July 23 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

“It must be hard for you to come and visit this area,” stated Vigliotti whereas standing close to the place Tylee’s stays were discovered. “I don’t come back here,” Murray answered. “It’s horrific to even think about.”

After JJ and Tylee’s stays were present in his yard, each Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell were charged with homicide in May 2021. Before she entered a plea, Lori Vallow’s case was positioned on maintain after a decide dominated her incompetent to face trial whereas she undergoes psychological well being therapy. That leaves Chad Daybell, who pleaded not responsible, as the one one at present scheduled to face a jury. 

His youngsters — Emma Murray, alongside together with her sister, Leah Murphy, and brothers Seth, Mark, and Garth Daybell — have determined now’s the time to interrupt their monthslong silence. They say that their father is harmless and that he had no concept the stays of the 2 youngsters were even buried on his property and that they were secretly buried there to border him.

“This is his property, said Murray. “If there’s our bodies buried right here, it could be attributed to him.”

Murray says there was ample opportunity while the property was unattended during the day for someone to sneak on and secretly bury the remains. She pointed out to Vigliotti while they toured the property that her father rarely went outside and that you could not see either burial site from the house. She and her siblings believe it is absurd that Chad would hide the children in his own backyard — saying there are plenty of remote places nearby to hide a body that wouldn’t have pointed authorities right to Chad Daybell.

“You can look around for miles and miles,” Murray instructed Vigliotti. “There’s not houses and neighbors. You could go down to the river that way. There’s … land down there that no one would ever touch.”

Most essential, say his youngsters, the vanity of every grave appears a rookie mistake, particularly for somebody like Chad, a person who was a gravedigger.  

“This is … a man who buries pets at, like, as deep as he can,” stated Seth Daybell. “He knew how to dig graves and that just doesn’t sound believable to me.”

“Saying that somebody’s prior experience as a gravedigger means that they wouldn’t just sloppily bury somebody in their own backyard sort of discounts all of the psychological pressure that might be affecting somebody who’s trying to get rid of bodies,” says investigative reporter and CBS News advisor Morgan Loew. 

Loew has been protecting this case since JJ and Tylee first went lacking, and he says that though it’s potential Chad Daybell might have been framed as his youngsters declare, there’s mounting proof to say in any other case. He factors to a cryptic textual content Chad despatched showing to clarify one of the brand new graves, lies he instructed police early on, and the truth that the youngsters were discovered on his property.

“A lot of people are gonna say there’s a lot of convenient excuses here. What do you say to those people who are still very skeptical with all this?” requested Vigliotti.

 “It might seem like a convenient excuse,” Murray replied. “But if it’s the truth, we have to hold to it.”

Chad Daybell’s youngsters say they’re wanting ahead to his trial, which is at present scheduled for November 8, and hope that the proof introduced will clear his identify — and theirs.

“And I hope that my dad can get a fair trial,” stated Murray. “And I hope that one day, our community can treat us like we’re part of it again.”