Idaho mom who killed 2 of her kids goes on trial over death of her husband

PHOENIX — Lori Vallow Daybell, who was convicted of killing her two youngest children and conspiring to murder a romantic rival, is on trial again Monday. This time, she's accused in Arizona of conspiring to murder her estranged husband.

In opening statements the prosecution said that Vallow Daybell conspired with brother Alex Cox to kill Charles Vallow and cash in on a life insurance policy, while espousing the belief that he was possessed by an evil spirit.

The case has drawn significant public attention in part because Vallow Daybell, 51, has doomsday-focused religious beliefs. She isn't a lawyer but has chosen to represent herself in the six-week trial.

Vallow Daybell has pleaded not guilty and said in her opening statement that Cox acted in self-defense, describing the death as a tragedy but not a crime.

Here's what to know about the case.

What happened at the start of the trial

''Lori Vallow is why Alex was able to shoot Charles,'' prosecutor Treena Kay said. ''Lori Vallow is why Charles is dead.''

A jury of 16 took their seats in a Phoenix courtroom, including four alternate jurors. Kay provided a detailed timeline and argued that phone records, witness testimony and forensic evidence will show that Cox's shooting of Vallow was ''not self-defense.''

The prosecution also said Monday that Vallow Daybell conspired in the killing so that she could move forward with marrying her then-boyfriend Chad Daybell, an Idaho author who wrote several religious novels about prophecies and the end of the world.

''Lori Vallow wanted to be Lori Daybell, wife of Chad Daybell, and in July 2019 Lori Vallow wanted to keep the same lifestyle that she had with Charles. And she could get all of this if Charles was dead,'' Kay said. ''She could marry Chad Daybell and become Lori Daybell. She would get a million-dollar life insurance policy.''

Vallow Daybell's voice broke in her opening statement as she detailed the physical altercation with a baseball bat between her daughter Tylee Ryan and Vallow.

''Self-defense is not a crime. Family tragedy is not a crime, it's a tragedy,'' Vallow Daybell said.

Jurors heard from witnesses including police officers who testified that, after the shooting, Vallow Daybell and Cox both displayed calm demeanors.

What happened in Arizona

Vallow was fatally shot in July 2019. Vallow Daybell then moved to Idaho with two of her youngest children and married Daybell two weeks after the death of his wife, Tammy Daybell. The bodies of the children — 7-year-old Joshua ''JJ'' Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee — were later found buried in rural Idaho on Chad Daybell's property.

Vallow Daybell is already serving three life sentences in Idaho for the children's deaths and for conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell. Chad Daybell was sentenced to death in the three killings.

Four months before he died, Charles Vallow filed for divorce from Vallow Daybell, saying she had become infatuated with near-death experiences and had claimed to have lived numerous lives on other planets.

He alleged she threatened to ruin him financially and kill him. He sought a voluntary mental health evaluation of his wife.

Who fired the gun

Police say Vallow was fatally shot by Cox at a home in a Phoenix suburb. Tylee, told police that she confronted Vallow with a baseball bat after she was awakened by yelling in the house.

Tylee said she was trying to defend her mother, but Vallow took away the bat, according to police records. Cox told police that he fired after Vallow refused to drop the bat and came after him.

Cox told investigators that Vallow Daybell and the children left the house shortly before the shooting.

Cox, who claimed he acted in self-defense and wasn't arrested in Vallow's death, died five months later from what medical examiners said was a blood clot in his lungs. Cox's account was later called into question.

What is Lori Vallow Daybell's background

Vallow Daybell was a beautician by trade, a mother of three and a wife — five times over.

She married Vallow in 2006, and later adopted JJ, but by 2019 their marriage had soured. The two were estranged but still married when Cox fatally shot Vallow.

Public interest from around the world only grew as the investigation into the missing children took several unexpected turns, each new revelation seemingly stranger than the last.

Daybell, who was once a contestant on ''Wheel of Fortune,'' has been the subject of a Netflix documentary and Lifetime movie.

If convicted in Arizona of conspiring to kill Vallow, she would face a life sentence.

During the opening for the trial, Vallow Daybell wore civilian clothing. She won't be handcuffed or shackled when jurors are in the courtroom. However, she has to wear a belt-like device under her clothes that will let a jail officer deliver an electric shock by remote control if there's a disturbance.

Who was killed in Idaho

The Idaho investigation began at the end of 2019 when Vallow Daybell's adopted son's grandmother, worried about his welfare, reached out to police. Vallow Daybell had been evasive when asked about her two youngest children.

Chad Daybell called 911 in October 2019 to report that his wife Tammy Daybell was battling an illness and died in her sleep. Her body was later exhumed, and an autopsy determined she died of asphyxiation.

Idaho police did a welfare check on the kids in November 2019 and discovered they were missing and hadn't been seen since early September. Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell left town a short time later, eventually turning up in Hawaii without the kids. She was arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 on a warrant out of Idaho.

Defense attorneys told jurors that she was a ''kind and loving mother'' who happened to be interested in religion and biblical prophesies.

A witness at the Idaho trial said Vallow Daybell believes evil spirits have taken over people in her life and turned them into ''zombies.''

What happens next

Testimony resumes Tuesday.

In late May, Vallow Daybell is scheduled to go on trial again in Arizona on a charge of conspiring to murder Brandon Boudreaux. She has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, she would face an additional life sentence. ____ Associated Press writer Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report. ____

This story has been updated to correct the attribution to a quote accusing the defendant of being the reason why Charles Vallow is dead. It was Treena Kay who was quoted, not Kay Woodcock.