“Doomsday mom” Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted Tuesday in Arizona of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
A Maricopa County Superior Court jury found Vallow Daybell guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the July 2019 fatal shooting.
Charles Vallow’s brother, Gerry Vallow, said afterward that the verdict brought him some solace.
“It was a relief, a long journey, and I’m just glad it’s over with,” he said. “Today’s a good day. We won.”
Sister Kay Woodcock, also speaking outside the Phoenix courthouse, said: “We gotcha. She’ll be rotting in prison where she deserves to be.”
Vallow Daybell, who represented herself at trial, told jurors that her brother, Alex Cox, shot Charles Vallow in self-defense following a family argument. Cox died later that year from a pulmonary embolism and was never charged.
According to Vallow Daybell, her husband got into an argument with her daughter, Tylee Ryan, and threatened the teen with a bat. Charles Vallow was at his estranged wife’s home in Chandler, Arizona, to take their son, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, to school.
Vallow Daybell, 51, was convicted in Idaho in 2023 of killing her two children and her husband’s first wife, Tammy Daybell. She’s already serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors in the Arizona case dismissed Vallow Daybell’s self-defense claim, arguing that she had several reasons for wanting her husband dead, including her desire to start a life with another man.
“Lori Vallow wanted to be Lori Daybell, wife of Chad Daybell. And in July of 2019, Lori Vallow wanted to keep the same lifestyle that she had with Charles. And she could get all of this if Charles was dead,” prosecutor Treena Kay said in her opening statements.
Kay continued: “She could marry Chad Daybell and become Lori Daybell. She would get a million-dollar life insurance policy from Charles Vallow. She would get Social Security for herself and their son, JJ, as the child of a dead spouse. And all of this would be true if Charles Vallow was dead.”
The prosecutor added that Vallow Daybell labeled people who disagreed with her as “dark” or “possessed by evil spirits” and used religion to justify Charles Vallow’s death.
Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, a doomsday author, married in November 2019.
In her closing argument on Monday, Vallow Daybell said prosecutors tried to “retrofit a crime that doesn’t exist.”
Lori Vallow Daybell at her sentencing hearing in St. Anthony, Idaho on July 31, 2023.Tony Blakeslee / East Idaho News / AP file
“Under Arizona law, I had the right to self-defense. Tylee had the right to self-defense. Alex had the right to self-defense. This event was not planned or expected. It was shocking,” she said. “This event was not a crime. It was a tragedy. Don’t let them turn my family tragedy into a crime.”
During Vallow Daybell’s trial, the jury heard from a medical examiner who testified that Charles Vallow could have been lying on a firm surface like a floor when he was shot. The fatal shot went through his heart, medical examiner Derek Bumgarner said.
Adam Cox told the court that he had “no doubt” his sister conspired with their brother to kill Charles Vallow. He testified that before the shooting, Vallow Daybell had been making odd religious comments and that he and Charles Vallow wanted to hold an intervention to address it.
Other testimony included that of Chandler Police Officer Cassandra Ynclan, who told the court that Vallow Daybell “seemed very kind of ordinary and kind of nonchalant” on the day of her husband’s death.
The state rested its case last week. Vallow Daybell rested without presenting any evidence or calling any witnesses.
Juror Victoria Lewis told NBC affiliate KPNX of Phoenix that lies from the defense were revealed as the trial went on, and that Vallow Daybell appeared unserious in her role has her own counsel — factors that weighed on Lewis’ decision.
“Many days she just was like smiling and laughing and didn’t seem to take anything very seriously,” Lewis said outside the courthouse.
Sentencing in criminal cases usually takes place about 30 days from the date of a verdict. KPNX reported that sentencing will be delayed until after a separate case against Vallow Daybell is completed.
In that case, Vallow Daybell is charged with conspiring to kill Brandon Boudreaux, her niece’s estranged husband, and the judge noted that could complicate the calendar. He ordered a status update for mid-May.
Vallow Daybell faces the possibility of life behind bars following Tuesday’s verdict.
Dennis Romero contributed.
