Lori Vallow Daybell wants new trial, says juror knew info they shouldn't have
Lori Vallow Daybell wants new trial, says juror knew info they shouldn't have
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The moment Lori Vallow Daybell was found guilty
The so-called 'Doomsday Mom,' was found guilty of conspiracy to murder Charles Vallow.
Fox - 10 Phoenix
Lori Vallow Daybell requested a new trial nine days after an Arizona jury found her guilty of conspiring to murder her former husband Charles Vallow in July 2019.
Vallow Daybell filed a motion requesting a new trial on May 1, claiming a juror said in a local television interview that they were aware of Vallow Daybell's prior murder convictions in Idaho despite it not being brought up at trial. The 13-page motion also claimed there were discovery violations, prosecutorial misconduct and a lack of impartiality.
In 2023, Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, her fifth husband, to whom she is currently married, were convicted in Idaho of the murders of her two youngest children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua 'J.J.' Vallow, 7, as well as Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell. Following her earlier conviction, Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life without parole.
Vallow Daybell, who represented herself at the recent conspiracy murder trial, declined to testify, call witnesses or present evidence in her defense. In her closing argument on April 21, she said prosecutors had twisted a personal catastrophe into a criminal narrative.
'This event was not a crime; it was a tragedy,' Vallow Daybell told the jury, arguing that it was a family fight gone wrong.
Prosecutors argued that Vallow Daybell had plotted with her brother, Alex Cox, for months to kill Vallow, her fourth husband, and that the motive was financial – to earn life insurance and other death benefits – and romantic.
Vallow Daybell has become known as the "Doomsday mom" as court proceedings have shed light on her end-time religious beliefs.
Her motion requesting a new trial claimed that she was prevented from sharing comments made by various people that included Cox, who told authorities he fatally shot Vallow in self-defense before dying months later of an apparent blood clot.
Vallow Daybell argued she was barred from discussing a 'walkthrough' her brother had conducted with local police before his death and that she wasn't given enough time to rebut the professional opinion of Detective Daniel Coons who spoke as an expert witness during the trial.
The filing further claimed that prosecutors presented 'irrelevant, prejudicial, and improper character evidence' and gave false statements to jurors over various details that included Vallow Daybell's demeanor.
The motion stated that Vallow Daybell limited her defense after a judge prevented her from calling witnesses that included an Idaho-based journalist who covered her previous case.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office had not filed a response to Vallow Daybell's motion as of May 4 nor did it immediately respond to a request for comment.
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