Lori Vallow breaks down in tears at fourth husband’s murder trial as she argues ‘a family tragedy is not a crime’

Lori Vallow Daybell, the “Doomsday mom” who was convicted of sidesplitting her children successful Idaho, returned to tribunal to erstwhile again look a assemblage – this clip successful Arizona connected charges of conspiring to execution her 4th husband, Charles Vallow, backmost successful 2019.

Prosecutors said during opening statements connected Monday that the 51-year-old conspired to transportation retired the sidesplitting truthful that she could determination guardant with marrying Chad Daybell, an Idaho writer who wrote spiritual novels astir prophecies and the extremity of the world.

But Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself astatine the caller trial, broke down successful tears portion giving her opening statements arsenic she painted Charles arsenic the aggressor successful an incidental that led to his decease successful which he, astatine 1 point, chased her with a bat.

“Spouses having security policies is not a crime. Collecting Social Security is not a crime. Self-defense is not a crime,” Vallow Daybell told the jury. “A household calamity is not a transgression – it’s a tragedy.”

Charles’ decease was the archetypal measurement successful a wider crippled by Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell to escaped their lives of “obstacles,” meaning their spouses and her children, according to substance connection grounds presented astatine her 2023 proceedings for the murders of her children Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow, on with the decease of Daybell’s archetypal wife, Tammy Daybell.

Four months earlier helium died, Charles Vallow filed for divorcement from Vallow Daybell, saying she had go infatuated with near-death experiences and had claimed to person lived galore lives connected different planets.

He alleged she threatened to ruin him financially and termination him. He sought a voluntary intelligence wellness valuation of his wife.

Police accidental Charles was fatally changeable by Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, erstwhile Charles went to prime up his lad astatine Vallow Daybell’s location successful Chandler, a Phoenix suburb. Vallow Daybell’s daughter, Tylee, told constabulary that she confronted Charles with a shot bat aft she was awakened by yelling successful the house.

Tylee said she was trying to support her mother, but Charles took distant the bat, according to police. Cox told constabulary that helium fired aft Charles refused to driblet the bat and came aft him.

Cox told investigators that Vallow Daybell and the children near the location soon earlier the shooting. Investigators accidental she went to get accelerated nutrient for her lad and bought flip-flops astatine a pharmacy earlier returning home.

Cox, who claimed helium acted successful self-defense and wasn’t arrested successful Charles’ death, died 5 months aboriginal from what aesculapian examiners said was a humor clot successful his lungs. Cox’s relationship was aboriginal called into question.

During Vallow Daybell’s opening statements connected Monday, she took the assemblage backmost to the nighttime of Charles’ death.

She claimed Charles wrestled the shot bat distant from Tylee portion she was trying to support her parent and that a conflict betwixt Charles and Cox led to Charles moving aft her with the bat.

While she ran extracurricular with her daughter, her member changeable Charles successful an enactment of self-defense, Vallow Daybell claimed.

Prior to Vallow Daybell’s opening, authoritative Treena Kay argued that telephone records, witnesser grounds and forensic grounds volition amusement that Cox’s shooting of Charles was “not aforesaid defense.”

“Lori Vallow wanted to beryllium Lori Daybell, woman of Chad Daybell, and successful July 2019 Lori Vallow wanted to support the aforesaid manner that she had with Charles. And she could get each of this if Charles was dead,” Kay said. “She could wed Chad Daybell and go Lori Daybell. She would get a million-dollar beingness security policy.”

“Lori Vallow is wherefore Alex was capable to sprout Charles,” she said. “Lori Vallow is wherefore Charles is dead.”

Vallow Daybell, who has pleaded not guilty, is already serving 3 beingness sentences successful Idaho, for her children’s deaths and for conspiring to termination Tammy Daybell.

After Charles’ decease successful 2019, she moved to Idaho with her children, who went missing successful September of that aforesaid year.

Meanwhile, Chad Daybell called 911 successful October 2019 to study that his woman Tammy Daybell was battling an unwellness and died successful her sleep. Her assemblage was aboriginal exhumed, and an autopsy determined she died of asphyxiation.

Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell near municipality a abbreviated clip later, yet turning up successful Hawaii wherever they joined without the kids. She was arrested successful Hawaii successful February 2020 connected a warrant retired of Idaho.

In June 2020, the children’s bodies were recovered buried connected Chad Daybell’s property.

A witnesser astatine the Idaho proceedings said Vallow Daybell believes evil spirits person taken implicit radical successful her beingness and turned them into “zombies.”

In 2024, Chad Daybell was sentenced to decease successful the 3 killings.

The proceedings implicit Charles Vallow’s decease volition people the archetypal of 2 transgression trials successful Arizona for Vallow Daybell.

She’s scheduled to spell connected proceedings again successful precocious May connected a complaint of conspiring to execution Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Vallow Daybell’s niece, Melani Pawlowski.

Someone successful a Jeep fired a gunshot astatine Boudreaux successful 2019 extracurricular his location successful a Phoenix suburb, missing him but striking his car. The Jeep matched the statement of 1 registered to Charles Vallow, who was killed astir 3 months anterior to the shooting extracurricular Boudreaux’s home.

Vallow Daybell has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she would look a beingness sentence.