Jury begins deliberating in Lori Vallow Daybell's trial on charge she conspired to kill her husband
Share and Follow


PHOENIX (AP) Jurors have begun deliberating in the Arizona trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the Idaho woman with doomsday religious beliefs charged with conspiring to murder her estranged husband in suburban Phoenix.

The jury convened for a short time Monday afternoon and will resume deliberations Tuesday.

Throughout the trial that began two weeks ago, jurors heard vastly different versions of Charles Vallow’s death at Vallow Daybell’s home in 2019.

Prosecutors argued that Vallow Daybell and her brother, Alex Cox, had planned to kill Vallow so she could collect money from his life insurance policy and marry her then-boyfriend, Chad Daybell, an Idaho author who wrote several religious novels about prophecies and the end of the world.

“What we see is a very planned out, premeditated murder,” prosecutor Treena Kay told the jury Monday in her closing argument.

Vallow Daybell isn’t a lawyer but chose to defend herself. She didn’t call any witnesses or put on any evidence in her defense, but said in her opening statement and again Monday in her closing argument that her estranged husband’s death wasn’t a crime.

“This was a tragedy,” she said Monday. “Don’t let them turn my family tragedy into a crime.”

Vallow Daybell is already serving three consecutive life sentences without parole for killing her two youngest children and conspiring to murder a romantic rival in Idaho.

In the Arizona case, she has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she could face another life sentence.

Cox had said he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Vallow. Cox died five months later from what medical examiners said was a blood clot in his lungs, and his account was later called into question.

Vallow Daybell said at the start of the trial that Vallow had chased her with a bat during the encounter and her brother shot him in self-defense after she left the house.

Cox waited 47 minutes before calling 911 “to stage the scene” and leave a bat near Vallow’s head, Kay said.

Before the jury began deliberating, prosecutors played a recorded conversation between Vallow Daybell and the life insurance company. Vallow Daybell believed she was the beneficiary of her husband’s $1 million policy, Kay said.

In the recording, she is heard saying that Vallow had been shot and that “it was an accident.”

Vallow Daybell kept glancing at the jury during the prosecution’s closing argument.

Last week, Adam Cox, another brother of Vallow Daybell, testified on behalf of the prosecution, telling jurors that he had no doubt his siblings were behind Vallow’s death.

Adam Cox said Vallow’s killing occurred just before he and Vallow were planning an intervention to bring Vallow Daybell back into the mainstream of their shared faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He testified that before Vallow’s death, his sister had told people her husband was no longer living and that a zombie was living inside his body.

Four months before he died, Charles Vallow filed for divorce from Vallow Daybell, saying she had become infatuated with near-death experiences and had claimed to have lived numerous lives on other planets. He alleged she threatened to ruin him financially and kill him. He sought a voluntary mental health evaluation of his wife.

The trial over Vallow’s death marks the first of two criminal trials in Arizona for Vallow Daybell. She’s scheduled to go on trial again in early June on a charge of conspiring to murder Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Vallow Daybell’s niece, Melani Pawlowski.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Heartbroken family of late soccer player Diogo Jota arrives at funeral in Portugal

Diogo Jota’s grieving family attends his funeral in Portugal

Liverpool players had come together in the quaint Portuguese town of Gondomar…
Scientists boost Miami reefs with crossbred corals

Researchers strengthen Miami’s coral reefs with hybrid corals

Divers on Tuesday planted Elkhorn coral fragments, a species critical for protecting…
Barack Obama makes brazen dig at Donald Trump in 4th of July message

Barack Obama Criticizes Donald Trump in 4th of July Message

Barack Obama appeared to get a dig in at Donald Trump for…
Missouri judge again blocks many of the state's anti-abortion laws

Missouri judge once more halts several of the state’s laws restricting abortion

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge blocked many of the…
NYC temporarily shuts down Queens beaches after sharks swim dangerously close to Fourth of July crowd

NYC temporarily shuts down Queens beaches after sharks swim dangerously close to Fourth of July crowd

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Several sharks were spotted…
Chicago NASCAR race today: NASCAR Xfinity Series race The Loop 110 to take off in Grant Park Saturday; Cup Series happening Sunday

Exciting NASCAR Races in Chicago this Weekend: Xfinity Series Event at The Loop 110 on Saturday and Cup Series Race on Sunday in Grant Park

CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago’s third NASCAR Street Race will get underway on…
Glenn Howerton nearly quit 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'

“Glenn Howerton Contemplated Leaving ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia'”

It was the implication.  Glenn Howerton, known for his role as Dennis…
Dalai Lama says he hopes to live beyond 130 years

Dalai Lama wants to live longer than 130 years, according to the spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama, who is elderly, expressed his desire on Saturday to…