Home belonging to Chad Daybell demolished
SALEM, Idaho (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The former home of the so-called "doomsday" cult leader, Chad Daybell, is no more as demolition crews have torn it down.
Daybell is now on death row in Idaho after being convicted of murdering his wife and two step-children, and the community is hoping demolishing his house will bring closure and help them heal.
A new chapter for the home at the center of the Daybell-Vallow murder case as the home where Tammy Daybell was murdered, and the bodies of two children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, were discovered buried in the backyard, was demolished.
"That's probably the hardest thing to think about that we have to deal with and Dusty and I were thinking about it earlier that those kids didn't have a choice and their lives were taken from them and they didn't have a say," said Colton Andersen with Andersen Earthworks.
The murders were orchestrated by Chad Daybell and his new wife, Lori Vallow Daybell.
The property is now owned by a nonprofit SJ Healing Crossroads, started by a local Idaho couple. They want to transform the space into a place of healing.
The contractors all volunteered their time and equipment to come out, in hopes of giving the community closure, and a new perspective on the place.
"A feeling of somberness with this, it comes up because we watched it all happen throughout everything and now we're here trying to, not that it's going to erase the things that happened, but hopefully it will smooth some things out for some people," said Justin Tupper with Tupper Excavating.
There were moments when things got emotional especially when this tree was removed.
JJ Vallow's body was discovered buried near the tree, and Dusty Taylor, with Taylor Excavation, was asked to take it down by some of those closest to the case.
"That's where they found JJ and they just they wanted the tree gone so I took it down," Taylor explained.
The new owners of the property say they have not yet determined how to memorialize the space.
