Lori Daybell Trial Day 5: Closing arguments finished, 'Doomsday Mom' not testifying
PHOENIX - Closing arguments are finished in Lori Vallow Daybell's second murder conspiracy trial in Arizona on Wednesday, June 11, and the jury has gone home for the day.
The jury will come back to court on Thursday morning to deliberate at 10 a.m. MST.
What Happened Today:
The fate of the final trial is in the hands of a jury.
Vallow Daybell didn't put on a defense, just like her last trial. It only took five days for the prosecution to present its case, trying to prove to a jury that she conspired in the attempted murder of her former nephew-in-law.
A jury of twelve is finalized – seven women and five men. They now have the case, but it only took about 15 minutes for the group to decide it was time to go home.
They return on Thursday, June 12, at 10 a.m. MST for deliberations.
We’ve seen and heard from 18 witnesses, and evidence has ranged from cell phone data, surveillance footage, and dozens of photos of the Jeep Wrangler involved in this shooting on October 2, 2019.
"We read the text from Brandon to me on June 25, 2019, where he claims that he will never stop until he proves that I am responsible. Well, here we are, almost six years later, and I'm charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. In order to have a conspiracy, two or more people have to make an agreement to commit a crime. There is no such agreement between me and my brother Alex, although I did love my brother Alex," Lori said in her closing statement.
Prosecutor Treena Kay responded, "And I'm going to object again, your honor, to testifying the stand."
Vallow Daybell replied, "There is no agreement that was shown to you between myself and Melanie Boudreaux. Although I love Melani."
Kay said, "And I'm going to object again to testify." The judge replied, "sustained."
Vallow Daybell continued, "I cannot tell you what happened that day, October 2, 2019, because I was not there. I'm going to strike everything the defendant has said."
Kay said, "Defendant wants you to think that Brandon has it out for her. She has tried to insinuate that Brandon was involved with working with Detective Pillar for years just to get her. But what you heard was that Brandon has actually been working with law enforcement on multiple investigations."
The backstory:
This is the second and final Arizona trial for Daybell. In this case, she is accused of conspiring with her brother, Alex Cox, in the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux, who was once married to Daybell's niece.
Boudreaux was driving home when a bullet missed him by inches, striking his Tesla. Investigators say Vallow Daybell and her late brother Alex Cox planned the attempted murder, accused of using burner phones and removing the Jeep’s backseat and spare rear tire so that Cox could easily fire from the back window.
At the time, Lori was living in Rexburg, Idaho after she moved from the Valley to be closer to her now-husband, Chad Daybell. Brandon was in the middle of a divorce with his wife, Melani Boudreaux, who he says was heavily influenced by Vallow Daybell, leading to the marriage’s end.
The incident is linked to a series of deadly events in Idaho, including the murders of Daybell's two children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy.
In April 2025, Daybell was also found guilty of plotting the fatal shooting of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in Chandler.
Just like she did in her first Arizona trial, Daybell is representing herself. The trial kicked off on Thursday, June 5 with both sides presenting their opening statements. During Daybell's opening statement, multiple objections were made by the prosecuting attorney, Treena Kay.
A day later, Daybell was briefly removed from the courtroom after an intense exchange with the presiding judge.
What Happened Yesterday:
On June 10, Daybell continued her cross-examination of Gilbert Police Officer Ryan Pillar, who also testified on June 9.
Pillar is the case agent who investigated the shooting at Brandon Boudreaux's home on Oct. 2, 2019. During Vallow Daybell's cross-examination, she questioned Gilbert's lack of testing to determine the type of gun used, why Boudreaux's Tesla vehicle was not kept in evidence, and the trajectory of the shooting.
Prosecuting attorney Treena Kay later re-directed testimony to argument that evidence showed a clear shooting from a Jeep Wrangler that was allegedly driven by Cox, who died in December 2019.
Later on, Lieutenant Ray Hermosillo from Rexburg, Idaho took the stand. Lt. Hermosillo was one of the detectives on the case against Lori and Chad Daybell, a crucial part of the investigation leading to the discovery of the remains of Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan on Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020. Daybell did not choose to cross-examine Hermosillo.
During Tuesday's proceedings, we also saw photos of rifles discovered in Alex Cox’s garage at his Rexburg apartment.
In Other News...:
On the morning of June 11, we obtained legal documents related to a motion that Daybell filed that seeks the recusal of Judges Jennifer Green and Justin Beresky. Per the legal documents, a judge has dismissed Daybell's motion, stating that the motion can't be filed after a hearing or trial began.
What you can do:
You can watch live coverage of the trial on FOX 10's YouTube channel.