'Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow Daybell's attempted murder trial to begin jury selection
Lori Vallow Daybell, the woman who has been convicted in at least four murders, including the gruesome killings of her two youngest children, will be back in court for the start of another trial in Arizona.
Vallow Daybell, known online as the "Doomsday mom" for her apocalyptic beliefs, is accused of attempted murder in connection to a shooting that narrowly missed her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, in Gilbert, Arizona, in October 2019.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 29 while opening statements are expected to start next week, according to the Judicial Branch of Arizona in Maricopa County.
Last month, an Arizona jury found Vallow Daybell guilty of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in 2019. She has since requested a new trial, arguing that the jury was aware of her prior convictions, but a judge denied her request. Prosecutors said Vallow Daybell had her brother, Alex Cox, fatally shoot her former husband to collect insurance and begin a new life.
Prior to her conspiracy murder conviction last month, Vallow Daybell had already been sentenced to life without parole. In 2023, Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, her fifth and current husband, were convicted in Idaho of the murders of two of her children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, as well as Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
Prosecutors have successfully argued that end-time religious beliefs fueled Vallow Daybell, Chad Daybell and Cox, to carry out a string of murders in Idaho and Arizona.
Vallow Daybell manipulated brother into shooting Boudreaux: prosecutors
On Oct. 2, 2019, Boudreaux was shot at while driving home from the gym in Gilbert, Arizona. The bullet missed Boudreaux's head by inches, according to court documents.
Authorities eventually tied the vehicle to Vallow Daybell's brother, Cox, who had fatally shot Vallow and died in December 2019 of an apparent blood clot.
Authorities have argued Vallow Daybell manipulated her brother into carrying out the crimes.
Doomsday beliefs
In 2018, Vallow Daybell met Chad Daybell at a religious conference in Utah. Court records show the pair, who were both married at the time, bonded over their shared beliefs about an impending doomsday.
After more than a decade of marriage, Charles Vallow, Vallow Daybell's fourth husband, filed for divorce in 2019, citing increasingly concerning beliefs and claiming his wife had threatened to kill him, according to court documents.
Vallow Daybell eventually influenced relatives and friends, including her brother, Cox, and niece, Melani Pawlowski, into sharing her apocalyptic beliefs, Pawlowski testified during Chad Daybell's trial last year.
Vallow was fatally shot in July 2019 at Vallow Daybell's rental home in Chandler, Arizona. Months later, Pawlowski's ex-husband, Boudreaux, was shot at by someone in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The killings of Tammy Daybell, Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan
In September 2019, Vallow Daybell moved with her children to a small Idaho town where Chad Daybell lived with his then-wife, Tammy Daybell. About a month later, Tammy Daybell was found dead of what was later determined to be asphyxiation.
In November 2019, Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell took a trip to Hawaii and got married. Around the same time, Vallow Daybell's family began contacting authorities because they had not seen her children.
The couple moved in together upon their return from Hawaii, and they were questioned about the missing children. While law enforcement investigated the disappearances, the two returned to Hawaii.
Vallow Daybell was arrested in February 2020 in Hawaii on child abandonment counts. She was extradited to Idaho, and in early June, authorities found the bodies of Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan buried on Chad Daybell’s property.
Chad Daybell was arrested shortly after and eventually found guilty and sentenced to death. He remains on death row. Vallow Daybell was found guilty of her children's murders and of conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell in 2023. She was sentenced to life without parole.
Vallow Daybell spars with judge ahead of attempted murder trial
In the weeks leading up to Vallow Daybell's upcoming trial, she has repeatedly clashed with prosecutors and the judge overseeing her case, claiming evidence suppression, misconduct and bias.
She filed a motion for a new trial in the Vallow murder conspiracy case, citing juror misconduct and a lack of impartiality by Judge Justin Beresky. She also requested that Beresky, who is overseeing this latest trial, recuse himself.
Beresky denied her various motions and requests, saying they lacked "legal merit."
Vallow Daybell, who unsuccessfully represented herself in the conspiracy murder trial, is expected to represent herself in the attempted murder case.
Contributing: Terry Collins and Karissa Waddick