MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ — Lori Daybell’s murder conspiracy trial is now in the hands of the jury. Daybell is accused of trying to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, with the help of her now-late brother in July 2019.
VERDICT WATCH: The jury was set to return at 10:30 am (now) for deliberations in Lori Daybell’s murder conspiracy trial. This was the line outside of court even though we don’t know when a verdict could come. @abc15
— Ashley Holden (@ashleyvholden) April 22, 2025
Catch up on what happened Monday ⬇️⬇️⬇️
DAYBELL DEBRIEF… pic.twitter.com/rwmWWSL3t9
The trial was expected to take four to six weeks, but the prosecution rested their case toward the end of week 2, and Daybell decided to rest her case on Monday. Daybell, who is representing herself, chose not to call any witnesses or present any evidence.
“Lori Vallow [now Daybell] wanted the million-dollar life insurance policy, and she wanted Chad,” said Prosecutor Treena Kay during her closing arguments.
The prosecution told the jury they would split their closing into two parts. The first used a PowerPoint presentation to show a timeline, motives, and evidence introduced during the trial. Kay said she would then move on to jury instructions, insisting Daybell is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
During the first part of her presentation, Kay laid out the messages and calls they detailed while they called over a dozen witnesses in the course of the trial. Kay insists that in 12 minutes, Daybell and her now-late brother Alex Cox were carrying out their “mission”.
Prosecutors have said the motive of the alleged murder was life insurance money, benefits, and Daybell’s desire to be with her now-fifth husband. Throughout the case, prosecutors have brought up dark spirits, telling the jury that Daybell and Cox killed Vallow under the guise of extreme religious beliefs as a “justified killing”.
Kay spent time detailing evidence of an affair between Daybell and her now-fifth husband, laying out flights purchased and messages between the two.
Watch Prosecutor Treena Kay deliver closing arguments in the player below:
Kay also showed photos of physical evidence from the scene and said this supports premeditation. She said that includes two shots being fired by Cox, Vallow’s autopsy, and evidence that supports the second shot was fired while Vallow was on the ground.
Prosecutors allege that Cox spent around 45 minutes staging the scene before calling 911, pointing out physical evidence at the scene and video evidence that supports their argument. For example, Daybell was caught on camera at Burger King about 40 minutes before the 911 call was made by Cox.
Kay ended her closing by arguing why this could not be considered self-defense and re-summarizing the case.
Daybell insisted this was self-defense multiple times in her closing arguments, which lasted less than 20 minutes.
Watch Lori Daybell deliver her closing arguments in the player below:
She tried to cast doubt on the witnesses called by the state, the Chandler Police Department’s investigation, and even what prosecutors had to say about her demeanor.
In her opening, Daybell repeated the phrase “the evidence will show." During closing, she leaned on the phrase “we learned."
Daybell has continued to call what happened to Vallow not a crime but a “family tragedy”. She did this again in her closing arguments, urging the jury to watch more of her interview with police that was entered in as evidence.
Daybell told the jury they didn’t hear from a witness who heard or saw her conspire to kill Vallow, and she challenged the religious stories and prophets mentioned in her own messages.
She faced a lot of objections as she tried to address witnesses who weren’t called and evidence that wasn't shown. Some of the objections included that she was testifying while giving her closing.
Court wrapped up around three, but the jury ultimately went home for the day. A verdict won’t come until at least Tuesday.
ABC15's Ashley Holden was in court Monday. Watch her debrief on day 9 in the player below:
See more recaps and get full coverage of Lori Daybell's trial here.
