Daijiworld Media Network - Phoenix
Phoenix, Apr 22: Jurors have begun deliberations in the Arizona trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the Idaho woman infamous for her doomsday religious beliefs, who is charged with conspiring to murder her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in suburban Phoenix in 2019.
The jury met briefly on Monday afternoon and will resume deliberations Tuesday after hearing sharply contrasting versions of Charles Vallow’s death over the course of the two-week trial.
Prosecutors alleged that Vallow Daybell and her brother, Alex Cox, conspired to kill Charles for financial gain and to pave the way for her relationship with Chad Daybell, an Idaho author of apocalyptic fiction. “What we see is a very planned out, premeditated murder,” said prosecutor Treena Kay during closing arguments.
Vallow Daybell, who is not a lawyer, represented herself in court. She called no witnesses and presented no evidence, instead insisting in her opening and closing statements that her husband’s death was not a crime. “This was a tragedy,” she told jurors. “Don’t let them turn my family tragedy into a crime.”
Vallow Daybell is already serving three consecutive life sentences without parole for the murders of her two youngest children and for conspiring to kill a romantic rival in Idaho. In this Arizona case, she has pleaded not guilty. A conviction could result in another life sentence.
Cox claimed self-defense when he shot Charles Vallow, stating his brother-in-law came at him with a bat. But prosecutors cast doubt on that narrative, noting Cox waited 47 minutes before calling 911 and staged the crime scene. He died five months later from a pulmonary blood clot.
Prosecutors played a recording of Vallow Daybell calling a life insurance company after her husband’s death, believing she was the beneficiary of a $1 million policy. In the call, she claimed the shooting was accidental.
Adam Cox, Lori’s other brother, testified for the prosecution last week, saying he was convinced his siblings orchestrated Charles Vallow’s death. He also recounted how he and Charles were planning an intervention to bring Lori back to their LDS faith, but she had claimed Charles was already dead and possessed by a “zombie.”
Charles had filed for divorce just four months before his death, citing Lori’s fixation on near-death experiences and her claims of living past lives on other planets. He also alleged she had threatened to kill him.
This trial is the first of two criminal proceedings Vallow Daybell faces in Arizona. She is set to stand trial again in June for allegedly conspiring to kill Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of her niece, Melani Pawlowski.