Jury begins deliberating in Lori Vallow Daybell's trial on charge she conspired to kill her husband
Share this @internewscast.com


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 this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Trump Set to Hold Crucial Trade Discussions with Canada’s Mark Carney

() The trade clash between the United States and Canada will likely…

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Opts Out of Pursuing Leadership Role on House Oversight Committee

WASHINGTON — On Monday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she will…

Less Than 50% of Americans Rely on FDA and CDC for Reliable Performance

(The Hill) – A recent survey reveals that less than half of…

Sand Hills Community to Decide on Weed School’s Future in Upcoming Monday Meeting

AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Progress is underway towards determining the future of…

Texas Walmart Shooting: Gunman Pleads Guilty as Families Deliver Emotional Court Statements

EL PASO, Texas (AP) Maribel Hernandez and her husband, Leonardo Campos, were…

Statesboro Recognized as a Top 25 Small City for Starting a Business

STATESBORO, Ga. () — Statesboro is good for business. WalletHub.com, a platform…

Effingham County Students Participate in Law Day Event

EFFINGHAM, Ill. (WCIA) — Students from around Effingham County participated in Law…

Video Captures Intentional Hit-and-Run Collision Involving Motorcyclist

BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) – A motorcyclist was seriously hurt early Monday morning…

Black Bear Sighted in Historic Downtown St. Augustine

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A black bear was spotted in the heart…

Women Working in Prisons Endure Frequent Sexual Harassment by Inmates, Authorities Report

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (WGN) It’s an ongoing problem at Cook County Jail.…

Thousands of South Carolinians May Get a Check from the State Treasurer This Month—Here’s the Reason

In the upcoming weeks, over 3,800 checks are set to be dispatched…

Key Insights from Trump’s Meeting with Canada’s Mark Carney

President Trump welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the White House…