A jury has been seated and opening statements are scheduled to start Monday. Vallow Daybell intends to represent herself.
PHOENIX — “Doomsday mom” Lori Vallow Daybell is already serving multiple life sentences in Idaho for killing her children, but now she’s standing trial in Arizona for conspiring to kill her former husband.
A jury was seated this week and opening statements are scheduled to start Monday. Vallow Daybell intends to represent herself.
The backstory
Things in this case started to unravel in 2019.
The first significant incident in July of that year was the death of Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox. Originally, Cox told Chandler police officers he acted in self-defense. Now, investigators believe he conspired with Valley Daybell to have her husband killed.
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After Charles Vallow‘s death, Vallow Daybell moved with her kids, Tylee and JJ, to Rexburg, Idaho, where Chad Daybell lived. Investigators believe the children were killed in September 2019. Vallow Daybell married doomsday author Chad Daybell in November 2019 after Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy, was killed in mid-October of that year.
Investigators discovered Tylee and JJ’s bodies buried in Chad Daybell’s backyard in June 2020.
In May 2021, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell were charged with murder and conspiracy in the death of her children. Chad Daybell was also charged with murdering his first wife, Tammy Daybell, while Vallow Daybell was charged with conspiracy in Tammy Daybell’s death.
After two delays for mental health checks, Vallow Daybell’s trial started in April 2023 and took about six weeks before a jury came back with a guilty verdict on all six counts she faced. Throughout the proceedings, prosecutors in Idaho accused Vallow Daybell, Chad Daybell and Cox of conspiring to kill people who were “obstacles” to Chad Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s relationship.
She was given multiple life sentences in that case with no chance of parole.
Chad Daybell stood trial in Idaho in 2024, where he was convicted on all charges, including the murders of Tylee, JJ and his first wife Tammy Daybell. He was sentenced to death in Idaho.
The current cases
In late 2023, Vallow Daybell was extradited from Idaho to Arizona to face two conspiracy to commit murder charges.
The first charge is a case out of Chandler, where Vallow Daybell and her brother are accused of plotting to kill her former husband, Charles Vallow.
In the second case, Vallow Daybell and her brother are accused of trying to kill their niece’s ex-husband outside his home in Gilbert in October 2019. He ultimately wasn’t injured.
Her brother, Alex Cox, can’t be charged in any of these cases because he died in December 2019, apparently of natural causes, according to the medical examiner.
She’s pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Representing herself
Last year, the Maricopa County Superior Court judge granted Vallow Daybell her motion to represent herself. Her prior attorneys requested she have her competency be checked, but she was ultimately deemed fit for trial.
Vallow Daybell doesn’t have to wear her county-issued orange jail clothes during her trial. Last month, the judge granted her motion to wear civilian clothes. For her jury selection, she came in with a black blazer and dark pants.
She won’t have to wear any handcuffs or leg restraints, but we do know from MCSO that she’s wearing a RACC belt, also known as a stun belt.
That means if she tries to flee, she could get stopped with a shock.
The judge’s order says an unarmed deputy can also be in the room with her while other deputies can be positioned outside the courtroom exits.
The jury was seated for Vallow Daybell’s first Arizona trial earlier this week. It appeared there were thirteen men and three women selected for the jury. Twelve will ultimately deliberate and four will be selected as alternates after each side finishes presenting their case.
Opening statements are scheduled to start Monday at 10:30 AM local time.
MORE COVERAGE: The Lori Vallow Daybell case
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