What happened during Lori Vallow Daybell's first week on trial

Yahoo

11-04-2025

PHOENIX () — The first week of Lori Vallow Daybell's jury trial is ending today. She is accused of conspiring to murder her late husband, Charles Vallow, in July 2019. Vallow Daybell is representing herself in this case.
Vallow Daybell was previously sentenced for murder and conspiracy to murder her children, Joshua 'JJ' Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, 16. She was sentenced to prison and is currently serving five life sentences.
ABOUT THE CASE: A complete timeline for the Daybell, Vallow murders
'Lori used this religion and this story of Nephi as justification to kill Charles Vallow.'
The trial was off to a rocky start on Monday when the prosecution requested that a potential witness be allowed to stay in the courtroom during the trial. According to the prosecution, he had not yet been subpoenaed.
Judge Justin Beresky asked about the relevance of the witness, and Vallow Daybell provided a somewhat vague response, causing the judge to begin a sidebar with the prosecution and defense.
Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Treena J. Kay delivered following the sidebar. She first read a message from Vallow Daybell to her brother Alex Cox on July 9, 2019.
Treena Kay claimed that Vallow Daybell was seeking a million-dollar life insurance policy payout and social security. In the message was a line that read, 'I will be like Nephi — I am told — and so will you.' Treena Kay explained the connection between this alleged message from Vallow Daybell and the death of Charles Vallow.
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'Lori, Chad and Alex used religion… and a story of Nephi, a prophet who is directed by the Holy Spirit to kill Laban… and secure the long-term prosperity of Nephi's descendants,' Treena Kay stated. 'Lori used this religion and this story of Nephi as justification to kill Charles Vallow.'
In her opening statement, Vallow Daybell described a tense family situation, including arguments between Vallow and herself as well as her children. Vallow Daybell struggled with emotion while describing a physical struggle between her daughter, Tylee, and Vallow. She recalls Alex Cox retrieving a gun while she drove away with the children, and claims they were later told Vallow was dead.
'Spouses having insurance policies is not a crime. Collecting Social Security is not a crime. Self-defense is not a crime. Family tragedy is not a crime, it's a tragedy,' Vallow Daybell said.
After a brief recess, Chandler Police Sgt. Irwin Wierzbicki, retired Chandler Police Officer Robert Krautheim and Chandler Fire Department Paramedic Scott Cowden were called by the prosecution one after another. These were first responders at the scene of Vallow's death.
These witnesses testified that Vallow Daybell and Alex Cox displayed calm demeanors after the death of Vallow. Krautheim stated of Alex Cox, 'He was calm, not emotional at all. Different than what I would have anticipated.'
Judge Beresky called a break for the evening before the cross-examination of the final witness, Scott Cowden.
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'I would have expected more blood.'
The second day of Vallow Daybell's jury trial picked up with her cross-examination of Cowden. Vallow Daybell asked several questions about paramedic training and the emergency medical response to Vallow at the scene.
The state then called Kent Keller to the stand, a retired Chandler Fire Department captain. Keller was asked similar questions to Cowden, mostly revolving around the medical response to Vallow and how he was found at the scene. The prosecution also asked questions about whether he believed CPR had been performed before paramedics arrived.
'Had adequate CPR been given there, I would have expected more blood… and perhaps a pool of blood under. I didn't see any blood under him — I mean, when we first got there,' Keller testified.
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After a lunch break, Daniel Coons, a retired Chandler Police Department (CPD) detective was called to the stand by the state.
Treena Kay questioned Coons on the investigation at the home, and he walked them through the process of gathering evidence. Coons reviewed crime scene photos, pieces of evidence — including the bat and the gun — and answered questions regarding the day of the incident.
The trial wrapped up for the day during Vallow Daybell's cross-examination of Coons.
'Are you trying to tell me and this jury that you went on one date with my husband and he told you all the details of our lives?'
Vallow Daybell continued her cross-examination after the trial resumed on Wednesday. She questioned Coons on evidence regarding the clothing Vallow was wearing and how Coons had determined Vallow was on the floor the second time he was shot.
'In your opinion again, looking at the casings, the injuries to Charles, the location of the projectile as well as the shored wound and the lack of stippling, does that support your opinion that Charles was on the ground when he was shot in the abdomen?' Treena Kay asked Coons.
'Yes it does,' Coons replied.
Coons stepped down from the stand after this, and the state called their next witness. Nancy Jo Hancock was the fifth witness called by the state. She is reportedly the last person to have seen Vallow alive outside of the family.
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Hancock testified that she and Charles Vallow met through a dating site for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She recalls that they had many conversations and Vallow told her about his marriage to Vallow Daybell.
Hancock testified that she met with Vallow on July 10, 2019, the day before Vallow was shot. She stated that the two met for dinner when he arrived in Arizona. According to Hancock, Vallow said he had changed the beneficiary of his life insurance policy to his sister, Kay Woodcock.
During cross-examination by Vallow Daybell, things turned slightly tense.
'Are you trying to tell me and this jury that you went on one date with my husband and he told you all the details of our lives?' Vallow Daybell asked Hancock.
'I'm telling you the truth, and that's what I know,' Hancock replied.
'So you spent your whole date getting to know each other and talking about me?' Vallow Daybell questioned.
'Don't flatter yourself. No, we did not spend the whole time talking about you,' Hancock said.
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Hancock was further questioned regarding what Charles had told her about his relationship with Vallow Daybell. She shared that he was looking into divorcing Vallow Daybell, but she did not know whether he had legally started the process.
Additionally, Hancock shared that she had met Adam Cox — Vallow Daybell's other brother — during a pickleball tournament, but that they had not discussed case details. The court took a brief recess before the prosecution called Christina Atwood to the stand.
Atwood testified that she had met Vallow and Vallow Daybell through church in Arizona, and was friendly with them. She shared that they visited them in Hawaii after they moved there. Atwood would later be invited to a girls' weekend with Vallow Daybell and several other women.
'She was concerned about dark spirits plaguing him,' Atwood said when asked if Vallow Daybell had said anything regarding Vallow. She also recalled Vallow Daybell speaking similarly about Sarena Sharpe, another friend.
The trial ended for the day after the prosecution finished their questioning.
'All these things added up… no doubt in my mind that they killed him.'
Thursday began with Adam Cox, Vallow Daybell's brother, being called to the stand by the prosecution. He testified that Vallow Daybell had shared some beliefs with him that he found concerning.
'In our religion, the men hold the priesthood,' Adam Cox explained. 'And she said that she's in a state where she's above that. I didn't quite understand it, but — very strange.'
He then shared that Vallow had asked him for assistance with an intervention between the family and Vallow Daybell. According to him, Vallow expressed concern about his wife's beliefs in text conversations. They created a plan to record this intervention and share it with her stake president — a religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Adam Cox testified he was going to stay with his brother, Alex Cox, while in Arizona for the intervention. He recalls that when he arrived on July 10, 2019, Alex Cox stopped talking to him, and he instead stayed with their parents. Later, Adam Cox was told that his brother was at Vallow Daybell's home that night, which made him concerned.
'Freaked out for a little bit, cried, didn't know what to do. It felt like my world was coming apart,' Adam Cox shared when asked how he reacted when he discovered Vallow was dead.
'Lori had told people that Charles was no longer living… that there's a zombie living inside of him. And Alex didn't respond to any of my text messages when I was supposed to be with him. And he was at that house that morning,' Adam Cox said. 'All these things added up… no doubt in my mind that they killed him.'
Adam Cox then left the stand, and the next witness was called. Sarena Sharpe was called to the stand. She was a friend of Vallow Daybell and participated in conferences with Vallow Daybell.
Sharpe recalls meeting Vallow Daybell and staying at her home during one of these conferences in Nov. 2018. They would later attend a girls' weekend together in Mar. 2019. Vallow Daybell would ask the women in attendance to help 'cast out' evil from her husband.
'What I remember is she had a couple of verses in the bible that she pulled out and read, and then said something to the effect of 'I believe we don't need to repent anymore,'' Sharpe testified Vallow Daybell said. 'That was shocking.'
She shared that Vallow Daybell's claim went against the beliefs of their religion. Sharpe testified that she questioned Vallow Daybell about her repentance claim and other strange beliefs. According to her, this caused her to be treated differently by Vallow Daybell.
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During cross-examination by Vallow Daybell, she questioned Sharpe on 'translated' religious figures from 'The Book of Mormon' and 'The Bible.' She clarified with Sharpe that they had only met a few times and asked whether Sharpe believed she had anything to offer to the trial.
William McDonald, a retired CPD officer, was called as a witness after Sharpe left the stand. McDonald conducted digital forensics at the police department. He testified regarding the information extracted from Vallow Daybell's cell phone.
Marrisa Francisco, a forensic scientist with the CPD, was then called to the stand. She testified regarding the fingerprinting of evidence in the case. Francisco said that the fingerprints located on the baseball bat were not identifiable.
The final witness for the week was called by the prosecution after a brief recess. Kay Woodcock, Vallow's younger sister, went on the stand. Woodcock shared more about Vallow's personal life and relationship with his family members.
Woodcock testified about a period between Feb. and Mar. 2019 when Vallow Daybell left with Tylee for 58 days and Woodcock stepped in to help Vallow with JJ. She was helping Vallow move to Houston, Texas, when Vallow Daybell suddenly returned and moved to Houston with them.
Vallow Daybell did eventually move back to Arizona, while Vallow stayed in Texas. Woodcock recalls Vallow's oldest son, Cole, calling her on Jul. 12, 2019. He told her Vallow Daybell texted him that Vallow had been killed, and he found an article confirming it online.
'It was horrible,' Woodcock said, voice breaking. 'I had to call all my siblings and let them know. And everyone was freaking out and I didn't know what to do.'
'She was too busy to even call his family to say that he was dead by her brother killing him,' Woodcock said of Vallow Daybell. The family ended up speaking with police detectives to find out what was going on.
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Vallow Daybell had Vallow cremated and sent him to Woodcock's office in Texas through FedEx. She states that Vallow had a watch collection, and Vallow Daybell had thrown in just a couple of watches and his letterman jacket from high school.
'A lady called and said that I was the beneficiary — I was the sole beneficiary,' Woodcock said.
She testified that Vallow Daybell later contacted her with a screenshot of the change of beneficiary form. Woodcock recalls the text she received, 'Something along the lines of 'Five kids and his sister gets all the money, is that why you want JJ?''
Woodcock testified that after she found out about the change of beneficiary, she said she was too busy to take JJ to his father, Vallow's, funeral.
During cross-examination, Vallow Daybell questioned whether Woodcock knew about the contention between Tylee and Vallow. She said that she was aware of it.
'I saw them have good times. It wasn't that they couldn't look at each other… but a teenage girl is hard anyway, but I do know that there was a lot of issues with her dad, and Lori with her ex-husband, and custody and… it was a mess. It was a mess,' Woodcock stated.
Vallow Daybell's jury trial will resume at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 14.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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