A mother convicted of killing her two children and conspiring to kill her then-boyfriend’s wife so they could freely marry in Hawaii represented herself in an Arizona court on Monday.
Lori Vallow Daybell, 51, who is not an attorney, is on trial for allegedly conspiring to murder her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot and killed by her late brother, Alex Cox, in Phoenix on July 11, 2019.
She has pleaded not guilty.
“The evidence will show that at some point, while I was running away from Charles, who was chasing me with the bat, that Alex apparently retrieved his gun,” Vallow Daybell said through tears while lawyering for herself. “The evidence will show that I ran outside to the children and that Alex shot Charles in self-defense.”
Day 1 of the trial was streamed live on YouTube by several media outlets on Monday.
Vallow Daybell told the jury the incident was a “family tragedy.”
“They’re alleging that insurance money was my motive, Social Security was my motive,” Vallow Daybell said in open court. “Spouses having insurance policies is not a crime. Collecting Social Security is not a crime. Self-defense is not a crime. A family tragedy is not a crime. It’s a tragedy.”
A jury of 16, consisting of 13 men and three women, as well as four alternate jurors, is adjudicating the state of Arizona’s case against Vallow Daybell.
Maricopa County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Treena Kay argued on behalf of the state.
“Lori Vallow is why Alex was able to shoot Charles,” Kay said. “Lori Vallow is why Charles is dead.”
Prosecutors contend she had help from her brother and that doomsday prophecies peddled by her boyfriend and soon-to-be husband Chad Daybell at the time played a role in Vallow’s death.
Vallow Daybell is currently serving three life sentences in Idaho for the death of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, and for conspiring to kill Daybell’s wife Tammy Daybell, who died on Oct. 19, 2019. Vallow Daybell married Daybell in Hawaii, not long after the death of his wife.
Chad Daybell is currently awaiting the death penalty after an Idaho jury sentenced him for the murders of his wife and Vallow Daybell’s children, whose remains were found buried on his property.
Vallow Daybell is facing life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years if the jury finds her guilty.
“She could marry Chad Daybell and become Lori Daybell,” Kay told the jury. “She would get a million-dollar life insurance policy from Charles. She would get Social Security for herself and their son J.J. as the child of a dead spouse, and all of this could be true if Charles were dead.”
Kay also alleged that Vallow Daybell used religion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the story of Nephi in the Book of Mormon as justification to kill Charles Vallow.
“Lori Vallow invoked Nephi when she messaged Alex to provide them with the religious authority to kill Charles after months of trying to get rid of him,” Kaye said.
Vallow Daybell, Cox, and Chad Daybell were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Chad Daybell branched out and founded a sect based on his doomsday books. Testimony resumes Tuesday.
