Lori Vallow Daybell Calls Murders a 'Family Tragedy' During Arizona Trial Closing Arguments

Lori Vallow Daybell, notoriously dubbed the 'cult mom,' returned to the Arizona courtroom this week for closing arguments in her second murder trial. Vallow Daybell, already convicted in 2023 for the chilling murders of her two youngest children, now faces accusations of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, allegedly with help from her brother, Alex Cox, to snag a $1 million life insurance payout.

In a move that turned heads, Vallow Daybell chose to represent herself, telling jurors, "The state put forth a bunch of evidence in this trial to make you dislike me – to try to attack my character so that you would just say guilty no matter what evidence they showed you. But only you get to decide." It's not every day you see a defendant try to charm a jury after two murder convictions, but here we are.

Prosecutors, led by Maricopa County's Treena Kay, painted a far bleaker picture: they say Cox helped stage the scene after murdering Charles Vallow in 2019, all to make it look like self-defense. The trial also revisited Vallow Daybell's history of extreme religious beliefs, shared with her current husband Chad Daybell, and the tragic fates of her children JJ and Tylee, as well as Chad's first wife, Tammy Daybell.

During her closing, Vallow Daybell insisted there was no conspiracy, claiming, "The state did not show you evidence of an agreement to commit murder. They showed you evidence of a family tragedy, and then they showed you the sad effects of a family torn apart because of that tragedy." She argued her brother shot Charles in self-defense after a fight that broke out at home, with Tylee, then 16, trying to intervene with a baseball bat.

Prosecutor Kay wasn't buying it. She told the jury, "The execution of Charles Vallow is not a family tragedy. There is nothing that you can say about shooting a man as he lay on the ground that you can try to construe in any way to make that a family tragedy." Kay pointed to evidence that Vallow Daybell told Chad Daybell, "We got rid of him," after learning Charles had changed his life insurance policy, highlighting what she described as a clear motive and calculated planning.

Kay also described Vallow Daybell's demeanor after the killing as "nonchalant" and "calm," noting the lack of concern shown for either her brother or her home after the shooting. "She is able to determine who can live and die, and she has done that," Kay asserted to the jury.

With jury deliberations underway, Vallow Daybell faces another possible life sentence if convicted. And if that's not enough court time, she's set for a separate Arizona trial in May over an alleged plot to kill her niece's ex-husband. The true crime saga continues—because apparently, Vallow Daybell's calendar is as packed as her defense strategy.