Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial where she allegedly conspiracy to kill her estranged husband, who was shot and killed by her late brother.
The mother, convicted of conspiring to kill her two children and kill the wife of her then-boyfriend, allowed her to marry freely in Hawaii on Monday.
Lori Vallow Daybell, 51, is accused of trial in which she allegedly conspiracy to kill her husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot and killed by her brother Alex Cox, who died in Phoenix on July 11, 2019.
She pleaded not guilty.
“At one point, Alex would clearly show that while I was running away from Charles, who was chasing me with a bat, he would show that he had obviously pulled out his gun,” Vallow Daybell shed tears while defending herself. “The evidence shows me that I went outside and Alex shot Charles in self-defense.”
The first day of the trial was streamed live on YouTube by several media outlets on Monday.
Vallow Daybell told the ju judge that the incident was a “family tragedy.”
Related Stories
“They argue that insurance money was my motivation. Social security was my motivation,” Vallow Daybell told public court. “Spouses with insurance contracts are not a crime. Collecting social security is not a crime. Self-defense is not a crime. Family tragedy is not a crime. It is a tragedy.”
16 ju apprentices, consisting of 13 men, three women, and four alternative ju apprentices, are arguing the status of the case against Vallow Daybell in Arizona.
Maricopa County Prosecutor Trainakay claimed on behalf of the state.
“Lori Vallow is why Alex was able to shoot Charles,” Kay said. “Lori Vallow is why Charles died.”
Prosecutors argue that she had been helping her brother and that the end was broken when his boyfriend and soon husband Chad Daybell played a role in Vallow’s death.
Vallow Daybell is currently serving three life sentences in Idaho for the deaths of children in Idaho. They are about to kill Joshua JJ” Vallow (7), 16, Tylee Ryan, and Tammy Daybell, wife of Daybell, who passed away on October 19, 2019.
Chad Daybell is currently awaiting death penalty after an Idaho ju judge declared murder of his wife and Barrow Daybell’s children.
Vallow Daybell faces life in prison with the possibility of parole 25 years later if the ju judge commits her crime.
“She was able to marry Chad Daybell and become Lori Daybell,” Kay told the ju judge. “She will receive a million dollar life insurance from Charles. She will get Social Security as the child of her own and her son, JJ, who died. If Charles dies, this may all be true.”
Kay also argued that Vallow Daybell used the stories of religion, the Church of Jesus Christ for Latter-day Saints, and Nephi from the Book of Mormon as justifications to kill Charles Vallow.
“Lori Vallowe sent a message to Alex and evoked Nephi to provide them with religious authority to kill Charles a few months after he tried to drive him away,” Kay said.
Vallow Daybell, Cox, and Chad Daybell were members of the Church of Jesus Christ for Latter-day Saints. Chad Daybell branched out and founded a denomination based on his book on the end of the world. Testimony will resume on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
