Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow, a 7-year-old boy with a lot of energy and a silly smile, died of asphyxiation because a plastic bag was over his head and duct tape was over his mouth, Chief Forensic Pathologist Garth Warren said in his evidence on Wednesday.
The indictment says that the police think Lori Vallow Daybell killed, pushed, or told someone else to kill her children, JJ and Tylee Ryan, who is 17 years old.
The children’s bodies were found in shallow graves on Vallow Daybell’s husband Chad Daybell’s farm in Salem, Idaho. The Daybells have been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of plotting to kill because of the deaths of their children.
Warren, who works for the Ada County Coroner’s Office, said that he did an exam on JJ for four hours on June 11, 2020, which was two days after the bodies of the children were found.
A Scratch on the Left Side of JJ’s Neck Was a Red Flag
Warren said that the scratch on the left side of JJ’s neck was a “red flag.” He said that he couldn’t be sure what caused the scratch, but he thought that JJ might have been trying to take the bag off his head.
Warren also noticed that JJ’s body was breaking down and that his wrists were bruised from being tied with duct tape. Rexburg Police Det. Ray Hermosillo was there when the bodies of the children were found. He testified on April 11 that JJ’s body was wrapped in a black trash bag and that his hands and feet were tied with duct tape.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Photos from JJ’s autopsy that were shown in court showed that there were also layers of duct tape on his face. After the duct tape was taken off, a white garbage bag with a red tie was left around JJ’s head. This kind of bag is often used in a kitchen trashcan.
Hermosillo told the judge in court that he was there when the autopsy was done. He said that when the tape was taken off, the police were able to figure out who the little boy in red pajamas was.
Hermosillo said, “It was easy to tell that little boy was the one we were looking for.”
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