Lori Vallow Daybell Found Guilty in Murder of Husband

Lori Vallow Daybell, the notorious “Doomsday Mom,” has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow, adding another conviction to her growing list of heinous crimes.

Key Insights

Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in her fourth husband Charles Vallow’s 2019 death, adding to her life sentences for the murders of her two children and conspiracy in the death of another woman.
Charles Vallow was shot by Daybell’s brother Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense and later died of natural causes before facing charges.
Prosecutors successfully argued that Daybell and her brother planned the murder for life insurance money and to clear the path for her relationship with Chad Daybell.
Daybell represented herself at trial, called no witnesses, and insisted the killing was a “family tragedy” rather than a crime.
She faces yet another trial in June for allegedly conspiring to murder her niece’s ex-husband.

A Mother’s Web of Death Expands

After just three hours of deliberation over two days, an Arizona jury found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in the 2019 killing of her estranged husband, Charles Vallow. The verdict came at the end of a trial that began March 31 in Phoenix, marking the latest chapter in a horrific saga that has seen Daybell accumulate multiple murder convictions. The Arizona conviction adds to her existing life sentences from Idaho, where she was previously found guilty in the murders of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, as well as conspiring to murder Chad Daybell’s wife, Tammy.

Charles Vallow was shot and killed in July 2019 by Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense and was never charged before his own death in December 2019 from what officials determined were natural causes. Prosecutors provided evidence that the siblings had conspired to commit the murder, with Vallow Daybell motivated by a $1 million life insurance policy and her desire to marry Chad Daybell, with whom she was having an affair. Two months after Charles’ death, Daybell’s children disappeared, only to be discovered buried on Chad Daybell’s property in Idaho the following year.

Arizona jury finds Lori Vallow Daybell guilty in trial for conspiring to kill husband https://t.co/9DSHuZTfKp

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The Defense Falls Flat

In a stunning move that legal experts questioned, Vallow Daybell chose to represent herself at trial. She called no witnesses and offered minimal defense, focusing her closing argument on the claim that her husband’s death was simply a family tragedy rather than a premeditated murder. “This was a tragedy. Don’t let them turn my family tragedy into a crime,” she told jurors, attempting to portray the shooting as an unfortunate incident rather than a calculated killing. The strategy failed to persuade the jury, who sided with prosecutors.

Prosecutor Treena Kay countered Daybell’s claims during closing arguments, telling jurors: “There is nothing that you can say about shooting a man as he lay on the ground, that you can try to construe in any way, to make that a family tragedy.” During proceedings, testimony was provided from Daybell’s other brother, Adam Cox, who said that his sister believed Charles Vallow had been possessed by a “zombie.” According to court documents, Daybell believed in the coming of a doomsday apocalypse.

A Trail of Death and Destruction

Charles Vallow had filed for divorce and expressed serious concerns about his wife’s increasingly extreme religious beliefs and threats she had made against him before his death. According to court records, Charles had told authorities he feared for his life. The pattern of suspicious deaths surrounding Vallow Daybell didn’t end with her husband. In October 2019, Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell’s first wife, was found dead in what was later determined to be a case of asphyxiation. That same month, someone fired shots at Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Vallow Daybell’s niece.

Just weeks after Tammy’s death, Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell married in Hawaii, even as authorities were beginning to question the whereabouts of her children who had not been seen for months. Chad Daybell was also convicted in the murders of Tylee, JJ, and his wife Tammy, receiving a death sentence for his crimes. Vallow Daybell is scheduled to stand trial again in June for the alleged conspiracy to murder Boudreaux, extending the legal proceedings in what has become one of the most disturbing family murder cases in recent memory.