I added a source to my previous post (a quote from a neighbor). The neighbor says that he first saw a bonfire in October soon after Tammy's death and then two more less than a month ago.
In the article below it's only been speculated that the info about the bonfires may have led police to discover the bodies.
Neighbor tipped off cops about 'large bonfires' on Chad Daybell's property where kids where buried | Daily Mail Online
I'm not saying that Chad did not fire a shot or light a bonfire on September 9. My point was that neither has been reported to the media by neighbors. IMO possibly because the neighbors weren't home to witness it.
It was explained a while ago (IIRC in Chad's arrest affidavit) what contributed to obtaining a search warrant for Chad's backyard: Alex's phone pings, Chad's text to Tammy about a raccoon and Tammy's sister's confirmation of the location of the pet cemetery.
IMO it is unlikely that Tylee's remains were burned on multiple occasions.
This article has the wording from the affidavit about the neighbour.
Documents detail horrific manner JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan were found in Chad Daybell's yard | East Idaho News
WARNING GRAPHIC .
From the link
“On Monday, Sept. 9, from 12 a.m. and 12:44 a.m., Cox’s phone was located at his apartment (107). However, at 2:42 a.m. to 3:37 a.m., Cox is located again at Lori’s apartment (175), where Lori lived with Tylee and JJ. This is significant, not only because he is there in the middle of the night, but also because this is the only time in September he appears to go over to Lori’s between midnight and 6 a.m.,” the probable cause states.
RELATED | Who’s who in the Daybell case
Cox returned to his apartment at 4:37 a.m., and at 9:21 a.m., he was located at Chad Daybell’s property. The GPS datapoint placed him near the east end of the barn, according to court records, and he was still at the property at 10:30 a.m.
“At 10:47 a.m., his phone shows a hit at the City of St. Anthony. At this time, we are unable to tell if he was actually inside the city limits of St. Anthony … or if this was a cell tower ping on his phone while he was still at the Daybell residence,” Lt. Ron Ball of the Rexburg Police Department wrote in the statement. “At 10:57 to 11:39, Cox is located at the Daybell property. At 11:52 to 12:02, he was at Dell Taco in Rexburg. He appears to spend most of the rest of the day in his apartment.”
That same day, the FBI found the following text message conversation between Chad and his wife, Tammy Daybell:
Chad to Tammy at 11:53 a.m.: Well, I’ve had an interesting morning! I felt I should burn all of the limb debris by the fire pit before it got too soaked by the coming storms. While I did so, I spotted a big raccoon along the fence. I hurried and got my gun, and he was still walking along. I got close enough that one shot did the trick. He is now in our pet cemetery. Fun times!
Chad to Tammy at 11:56 a.m.: Gonna shower now and then go write for a while at BYU. Love you!
Tammy to Chad at 2:47 p.m.: Good for you!
Chad to Tammy at 2:48 pm: I’m back home now
Ball wrote the following about the exchange:
“I found the text suspicious because raccoons are normally nocturnal animals and are not regularly out during the day. It should be noted that from interviewing neighbors of Chad Daybell, we are aware that in mid-July of 2019, Garth Daybell, Chad’s son, told their neighbors that Chad had shot a raccoon out of a tree on their property during the day. Garth told (a neighbor) about the raccoon in response to a question from (a neighbor) about hearing a gunshot. (Neighbors) informed me that the fire pit in the back of the Daybell property was hardly ever used until the last few months.”
As police learned this new information, they consulted with Tammy Daybell’s sister, Samantha Gwilliam. They asked her if she knew about a pet cemetery on the Daybell’s property. She said she knew about it as both she and Tammy “were pet people,” and they both had pet cemeteries.
“When asked the location of the pet cemetery on the Daybell property, she stated that it was east of the red barn and near the fire pit,” the affidavit reads. “She informed me that she was aware of the location of the pet cemetery on the Daybell property because Tammy had shown it to her. Samantha was then shown an aerial photograph of the Daybell property, and she pointed to the same area near the fire pit where Alex Cox’s phone pinged on Sept. 9, 2019.”
Last week, investigators dug at the location while executing their search warrant and made a grisly discovery.
“Ground in this area was probed with a steel pole, and several areas of disturbed ground were located. During a search of this ground, a buried cat and dog remains were found. A backhoe was used to dig further layers of dirt. While doing this, bricks were located approximately a foot below the ground,” the affidavit reads. “The dirt in this area was searched, and several other items of interest were found, including other bones, charred tissue and charred bones. Cheryl Anderson (a Boise State University anthropologist on-site) indicated these additional bones, both charred and uncharred, and tissue found were human remains.”
