Southwest
'Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow's Arizona murder conspiracy trial: Wildest moments in court so far
So-called “Doomsday Mom” Lori Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself in the murder conspiracy trial of her fourth husband, is shaking up the courtroom with fiery exchanges during testimony.
Prosecutors are accusing Vallow Daybell of conspiring with her late brother, Alex Cox, to murder her late husband, Charles Vallow, to benefit from a $1 million life insurance policy and marry another man, Chad Daybell, in 2019.
The Arizona trial comes nearly two years after Vallow Daybell and her current husband, Chad Daybell, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 2019 murders of Vallow’s two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as the 2019 murder of Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
On Wednesday, the second day of the trial, witness Nancy Jo Hancock — a woman who went on a date with Charles Vallow in July 2019 the night before Vallow was shot and killed — got into a heated exchange with Vallow Daybell during cross-examination.
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Lori Vallow is on trial in Arizona in connection to her late husband’s death. (Maricopa County)
In court, Vallow Daybell asked Hancock about the date, and whether Hancock knew that she and Vallow were still married at the time.
“Would you have gone out on a date with him if he would have said he was married?” Vallow Daybell asked.
“If I would have realized how married he still was, maybe not,” Hancock replied. “But I just met for dinner. I wasn’t sleeping with him or anything.”
WATCH VALLOW’S CROSS-EXAMINATION OF HANCOCK:
“Do you go on dates with married men, naturally?” Vallow Daybell fired back, before the prosecution objected and called her question “argumentative and harassment.”
Daybell Vallow continued to question Hancock, who fired back after she continued to be pressed on the date.
“So you spent your whole date getting to know each other, talking about me?” Vallow Daybell asked.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Hancock replied. “No, we did not spend the whole time talking about you.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
The heated exchange has taken the internet by storm with several reactions being shared online.
At a different moment during her cross-examination of Hancock, Vallow Daybell again asked the witness if she was aware during her date with Charles Vallow that he was “on dating websites and dating women.”
The prosecution objected on the premise of speculation, which the judge sustained. Vallow Daybell then reframed her question, asking if Charles Vallow informed Hancock about the “situation of” Lori and Charles “being separated.”
Lori Vallow Daybell stands and listens as the jury’s verdict is read at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho on May 12, 2023. (Kyle Green)
“He was under the impression that you were having an affair, so him moving on was a natural progression of that,” Hancock responded.
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Vallow Daybell then asked for more information about Hancock’s communications with Kay Woodcock, Charles Vallow’s sister by adoption. JJ Vallow referred to Kay and her husband, Larry Woodcock, as his grandparents. After asking Hancock to describe her communications with Woodcock, Vallow Daybell suddenly cut the witness off when she began discussing JJ Vallow.
“To express my condolences for her brother passing away and wanted to let her know that I had had dinner with him that last night and how much he loved JJ and how excited he was to see him the next morning and just — ” Hancock started before Vallow Daybell interrupted.
“Thank you. That’s enough,” the defendant said.
WATCH VALLOW CUT OFF HANCOCK:
The next bizarre exchange came between Vallow Daybell and her brother, Adam Cox, who told the jury that he had flown to Phoenix right before Charles’ death, claiming he went to help Charles stage an intervention with his sister.
During the cross-examination, Vallow Daybell did not ask many questions, seemingly to prove that they had not interacted with each other in years.
“Last time I remember our communications was you and I were speaking in the kitchen, when the family was over,” Cox said.
“So you think that was that time in 2018?” Vallow Daybell asked.
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Lori Vallow Daybell’s booking photo taken at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center in Pocatello, Idaho. (Idaho Dept. of Corrections/Local News X /TMX)
“I think so,” Cox responded.
“And were we eating my green chile chicken enchiladas?” she asked.
“And were we eating my green chile chicken enchiladas?”
“I do not remember that,” Cox replied.
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Vallow Daybell questioned him again about not remembering that and said “that is what I made every time there was a family get-together, which was like 10 times a year.”
WATCH VALLOW’S CROSS-EXAMINATION OF HER BROTHER:
Vallow Daybell explained to True Crime Arizona that she had been “working on her case for five years” and knows it “better than an attorney can learn it in two years,” after making the decision to represent herself.
“Here’s the thing, when you waive your speedy trial, then they can keep you here as long as you want,” Vallow told True Crime Arizona. “There are intelligent, strong, beautiful women in here that have been here for eight years because of family tragedies. It’s the same, like my case, a family tragedy, not crime. A family tragedy, and they’re waiting, and they’re facing the death penalty for a family tragedy.”
Lori and Chad Daybell were convicted of killing 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
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At the time of Charles Vallow’s murder, his daughter, Tylee, confronted him with a baseball bat after hearing screaming inside the house. Charles reportedly took the bat from Tylee, who told police she was trying to protect her mother, and allegedly tried to attack Cox. Cox told investigators he fired his gun in self-defense and was never charged in Charles’ death before he died of natural causes months later.
Vallow Daybell could face another life sentence if convicted and is also facing another Arizona trial in May for an alleged plot to kill her niece’s ex-husband after a judge denied her motion to dismiss the case.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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