[ad_1]
For over four years, the world watched a frantic search for Lori Vallow’s children, the tragic discovery of their bodies buried in her new husband’s backyard, and ultimately, her conviction.
Now, two lesser-known victims in the case have their shot at justice.
The so-called “doomsday cult mom,” 50, appeared in court in Arizona on Thursday where she was arraigned on murder charges relating to the 2019 shooting death of her fourth husband Charles Vallow and an attempt on the life of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.
“We’ve Waited over FOUR HORRIFIC YEARS for her [Lori Vallow] to face trial of murdering my sweet, kind, generous, loving & dearest brother Charles Vallow. Your justice is finally coming,” Charles’ sister Kay Woodcock wrote on social media after Lori was extradited from Idaho to Arizona in late November.
Ms Woodcock, who was also the grandmother of Lori’s slain seven-year-old son JJ Vallow, has been fighting for justice for years. “Another huge step forward! We are grateful those justice wheels do indeed turn,” she wrote.
Charles’ death was the first step in a wider plot by Lori and her current husband, alleged cult leader Chad Daybell, to rid their lives of “obstacles” as they termed their spouses and her children, according to text message evidence presented at her trial for the murder of JJ and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan earlier this year.
In May, Lori was found guilty of the children’s murders and of conspiring to kill her husband’s former wife, Tammy Daybell. She was sentenced to three life terms.
Now, the saga that has gripped the nation since Tylee and JJ went missing in 2019 is taking another major turn.
The spotlight has shifted to Arizona, the site of an earlier chapter in the trail of death allegedly left by Lori and Chad during their plunge into dangerous Doomsday beliefs.
Lori Vallow’s return to Arizona
The last time Lori was in Arizona, her children were still alive.
In 2019, Lori lived in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler with her children Tylee and JJ. She was married to her fourth husband Charles, but he had filed for a divorce in February based on claims that her religious beliefs were devolving into something far more sinister.
In one filing, he wrote that Lori had claimed to be a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse. He had also allegedly expressed concerns that Lori was cheating on him with Chad, who shared her extreme beliefs.
Despite the imminent end to their marriage, Charles and Lori were tied together by their adoptive son, JJ.
On 11 July, Charles went to Lori’s home for a custody exchange that turned deadly when he was shot by her brother, Alex Cox.
Cox told police he acted in self-defence, and he was never charged. He died later that year of what investigators said were natural causes.
Shortly after Charles died, Lori and her kids moved to Idaho. At her murder trial, prosecutors said she made the move to be closer to her then-boyfriend Mr Daybell so they could continue their plot to remove any obstacle to their happiness.
Weeks after JJ and Tylee vanished without being reported missing by their mother, another member of the family faced an attack back in Arizona.
On 2 October, Mr Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Lori’s niece, was targeted in a drive-by shooting outside his home in Gilbert. The bullet missed his head by mere inches.
When police were finally made aware of JJ and Tylee’s disappearance in November – weeks after the death of Chad’s first wife and his new marriage to Lori – Charles’ death and the alleged attempt on Mr Boudreaux’s life became key points in the investigation.
But it wasn’t until June 2021 – shortly after the children’s bodies were found on Mr Daybell’s Idaho property – that Lori was charged with conspiring to kill Charles. Her indictment for conspiring to kill Mr Boudreaux came days after her murder conviction in May.
Now, four years later, Lori is back in Arizona to face those charges.
‘Very chatty’ extradition
The 50-year-old has been incarcerated at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center in Idaho since August, serving multiple life sentences.
Last week, Lori was apparently “very chatty” with deputies on the 18-hour drive from Idaho as she was extradited to a Maricopa County jail in Arizona where she now faces conspiracy charges in the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
“I just understand that she was very sociable… talked the entire trip,” Sheriff Paul Penzone said. He did not give details on what was said, but added he was not aware that she gave any specific statements related to the investigation. “I just know she was very chatty.”
The indictments in the two Arizona cases were unsealed shortly after and revealed that she’s facing two more counts of conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
In one case, court records show that Lori, along with her brother Alex Cox, are accused of conspiring to kill her former husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot and killed in July 2019.
Lori Vallow is extradiated and booked in Maricopa County
In the months leading up to his death, Charles Vallow told local police he was concerned that Lori Vallow might hurt him. He was also concerned for the wellbeing of their children.
In the second case, Lori Vallow and Cox are accused of trying to kill her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, outside his home in Gilbert, Arizona, in October 2019. He wasn’t injured.
A grand jury indicted Lori on the conspiracy charges for Charles’ death in 2021. However, she had to face charges in the deaths of her kids and Tammy Daybell in Idaho before she could face a judge in Arizona.
Lori is not able to bond out of jail because she is in Arizona on extradition warrants. After both cases are done in Maricopa County, she’ll have to go back to Idaho to continue serving those life sentences.
Last week, her records indicated that her trial date for both cases would be 4 April – which is just three days after Mr Daybell’s triple murder trial is expected to begin. However, that date could change.
In the meantime, Lori will be isolated in a high-security part of the Estrella jail.
She was arraigned on the charges in Arizona on Thursday morning. A judge entered not guilty pleas for both charges on her behalf.
Police body cam video shows Charles Vallow calling Lori ‘unhinged’
Prior to Lori’s trial, police had released body-camera footage showing a concerned Charles reporting to detectives that his wife’s fanatical religious views had escalated, that she had become “unhinged” and was worried she might try to hurt him or the children.
He had called Gilbert Police in January 2019 after he was unable to speak to his two kids for a few days. He told the responding officer about alarming beliefs his wife was sharing.
“She’s not here,” Charles said in the video. “She lost her reality.”
Charles then explained to the officers that Lori considered herself a “translated being” and a God who spoke with an ancient prophet and Jesus Christ daily. The religious views had been growing over the years, but had become more extreme and dangerous, he said.
He said Lori told him a man named Nick Schneider had taken over his body and she would have to kill him.
“I can murder you now with my powers,” she had told him, according to Charles, which prompted him to call police for fear of his own safety and the safety of Tylee and JJ.
“I love her to death. This is killing me, officer,” Charles said.
Earlier in the day, Lori had called him and told him to take the kids. He was on a business trip in Houston at the time. When he returned, his truck was not at the airport and Lori had thrown out all of his clothes and drained their bank account.
More bodycam footage shows officers with him at the house, kicking in the door. They had an order to pick Lori up for a mental health exam and to check on the children,
“The only reason why we’re here is some of the statements that you made towards our dispatcher – that you provided to them … he (an officer) made the discussion to conduct the welfare check to make sure your children are safe,” an officer said.
No crime had not been committed, so the police left.
Months later, in July, Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Charles at a home in Chandler, Arizona.
‘Cult mom’ was married five times. Two of her husbands are dead
Lori Vallow, now 50, was once a beautician by trade, a mother of three, and a wife — five times over. Two of them are dead and her current husband, Mr Daybell, could face the death penalty if he’s convicted at his murder trial next spring.
Her first marriage, to a high school sweetheart when she was just 19, ended quickly. She married again in her early 20s, and had a son named Colby before divorcing.
In 2001, Lori married again, this time to a man named Joseph Ryan. The couple had a baby girl named Tylee in 2002, but divorced just a few years later. Ryan later died in his home of a suspected heart attack.
Charles, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entered the picture several months later. Lori joined the LDS church and the pair married in 2006. They later adopted Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow.
But by 2019, that marriage had also soured. Charles filed for divorce, contending in court papers that Lori also believed herself to be a deity tasked with helping to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
The two were estranged but still married when Lori’s brother, Cox, shot and killed Charles at her Phoenix suburban home.
Cox told police the shooting was in self-defence, and was never charged in the case. Shortly after Charles’ death, Lori moved to eastern Idaho with JJ, Tylee, and her brother Cox.
What’s next for ‘cult mom’ Lori Vallow?
Lori Vallow appeared in court on Thursday where she was arraigned on charges in both cases.
The judge entered not guilty pleas on both charges on her behalf.
Prosecutor Treena Kay asked the judge for Lori’s currently-scheduled trial date of 4 April 2024 to be amended, explaining that both are murder cases and complex.
The current trial date is also three days after Lori’s alleged cult leader husband Chad’s trial is set to begin in Idaho. He faces the same murder charges Lori was convicted of earlier this year.
[ad_2]
Source link