Arizona
Idaho juror attends Lori Vallow Daybell’s Arizona trial, reflects on lingering trauma
Lori Vallow Daybell gives opening court statement representing herself
Lori Vallow Daybell delivered her opening statement representing herself in trial for the murders of her two children and 4th husband.
CourtTV
Lori Vallow Daybell’s Arizona trial on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in the fatal shooting of her ex-husband Charles Vallow has attracted observers from across the country, including a man who was a juror in her earlier trial in Idaho.
When Tom Evans, 67, stepped into a Phoenix courtroom this week, it was not as a juror but as an observer — an outsider looking in on a case that has consumed his thoughts for two years.
In May 2023, Lori Daybell was found guilty in Idaho of the deaths of two of her children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and adopted son Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, as well as conspiracy to murder Tammy Daybell, the ex-wife of her husband, Chad Daybell, who was also convicted, in May 2024, in the three deaths. All three were killed in the months after Charles Vallow’s death.
Evans, a retired Idaho contractor, ended up writing two books after serving his civic duty, one about Lori Daybell’s trial, the other about Chad Daybell and his murder trial. Lori Daybell was sentenced in Idaho to life without parole; Chad Daybell to death.
“I couldn’t just walk away from it,” he said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. “There were too many questions left unanswered.”
Now, he’s in Arizona for Daybell’s second trial, which stems from the July 2019 shooting death of Charles Vallow in Chandler. Charles Vallow was killed by Lori Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense and died not long after.
On April 8, the fourth day of Lori Daybell’s Maricopa County trial, prosecutors began presenting evidence from the shooting scene, calling first responders and police officers who photographed Charles Vallow’s body.
Images of Charles Vallow after he was shot were shown to the court during testimony.
Evans said it was images like these that took an emotional toll on him during the Idaho trial. As a juror, he viewed graphic crime scene photos of the children’s remains.
“The hardest thing was just being exposed to those images,” he said. “You don’t forget that.”
He said he suffered from night terrors and emotionally withdrew from his daily life.
His wife noticed first, telling him he wasn’t present, not really.
“I think I was in denial,” Evans said. “About two days before we left to drive to Phoenix, I realized that this is the first time I’ve actually taken the time to just reflect on everything.”
It would take two years — and the completion of his second book — before he could begin to deal with the psychological strain of the case.
For the jurors now seated in Phoenix, Evans has a simple message: Take care of yourselves.
“Don’t do what I did and try to move on like nothing happened,” he said. “Get counseling — even if you don’t think you need it.”
Even after writing two books about the case, Evans said he’s still searching for answers, and his biggest question has yet to be answered.
“How do you get to a place where you believe killing your children is the right thing to do?” he wondered.
He said he’s also looking to the Arizona case for more insight into how the events unfolded.
“I don’t know why Lori wasn’t dealt with before Charles was murdered, or certainly before she went to Idaho and murdered the kids,” he said. “So I think we need answers to those questions, and this is how we get that.”
Chandler police investigated Charles Vallow’s death after he was shot. Cox was never charged. The Charles Vallow case remained under review until July 2021, when the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office indicted Daybell, two months after her Idaho indictment.
Evans said he was struck by the speed of jury selection in Lori Daybell’s second trial: 12 jurors and four alternates were chosen within two days of the trial starting. He also expressed concern about the remaining alternates: three.
One juror was replaced on the second day of testimony after he said he couldn’t afford to miss work. A second juror was almost removed after he said he had witnessed body camera footage of the shooting scene, but ultimately was allowed to stay.
“In a trial that might go this long, people could get sick — anything could happen,” Evans said. The trial was scheduled to last several weeks.
After meeting Lori Daybell’s family and writing about her, Evans said he came to view her as a narcissist and lifelong attention-seeker, traits that may have gone unnoticed or unchallenged by those around her.
“She’s very good at drawing people in and taking advantage of them,” he said.
Arizona
NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review
As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.
Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.
The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.
Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce
Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.
“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”
Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.
Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.
Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.
PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.
“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.
Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.
Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.
Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.
Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.
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