PHOENIX (Court TV) — Testimony has begun in the case against Lori Daybell, who’s accused of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
Charles was just 62 years old when he died. His brother-in-law, Alex Cox, shot him on July 11, 2019. Cox told authorities Charles hit him with a baseball bat in a fit of rage, so he used his gun to stop him.
In this image taken from video released from the Gilbert Police Department police body camera footage, Charles Vallow, speaks with officers from the Gilbert Police Department in Gilbert, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2019. (Gilbert Police Department via AP)
Just a few months earlier, Charles told police that his wife, Lori Vallow (now Daybell), had threatened to kill him. When he returned to his Arizona home after a Texas business trip on Jan. 31, 2019, Charles called police to report that he’d been unable to contact his children, 7-year-old JJ and 16-year-old Tylee, for two days.
Charles’ conversation with police was recorded on body cam, and the anguished father and husband detailed his concerns about Lori.
“She’s lost her mind,” Charles told the responding officer. “I don’t know how else to say it. We’re LDS. She thinks she’s a resurrected being and a god and a member of the 144,000.”
When he got home from Texas, Charles said, Lori had taken his truck from the airport, taken $35,000 out of their bank account, and removed all his clothes from their closet.
According to Charles, Lori was convinced that his body was possessed by a dark spirit named “Nick Schneider.” Charles told police that when he spoke to Lori earlier that day, she said, “I will have you destroyed.” And when he spoke to her the day before, she said, “You’re not Charles. I don’t know who you are or what you did with Charles, but I can murder you now with my powers.”
WATCH | Charles Vallow: Lori Threatened to Murder Me With Her ‘Powers’
Charles went on to explain that Lori had “lost her reality.” It had been going on for four to five years, but had gotten particularly bad in recent days, he said. Lori had come to believe that she was incapable of dying because she was a “translated being.”
At the time of Charles’ death in July 2019, the couple was separated. They’d been married since 2006, during which time they adopted JJ, Charles’ grandnephew. Tylee was Lori’s daughter from a previous marriage. In 2014, the family moved to Hawaii for two years before relocating to Arizona in 2016. By 2019, Charles and Lori’s relationship began to fizzle, just as Lori’s beliefs were rapidly evolving.
According to testimony from Lori’s Idaho trial, the stark change in Lori can be pinpointed back to Oct. 2018, when she met the so-called Doomsday Prophet Chad Daybell at a religious conference in Utah. Chad would become Lori’s fifth husband in Nov. 2019.
A lot happened in the time between Lori and Chad meeting to saying their vows on a beach in Hawaii: Charles was killed in Jan. 2019 and Chad’s wife, Tammy Daybell, died in Oct. 2019. Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in Sept. 2019. The two were killed around that time and buried in a pet cemetery on Chad’s Idaho property. Alex Cox died in Dec. 2019 of what was eventually ruled natural causes, and Lori and Chad were named suspects in the disappearances of Tylee and JJ.
Lori and Chad were tried and convicted in 2023 and 2024, respectively, for the deaths of Tammy, Tylee, and JJ. Lori is serving life without parole and Chad is now on death row in Idaho.
Because Charles’ death was initially ruled as self-defense, the case was seemingly open and shut. But as the Daybell epic unfurled, suspicions arose that Charles’ death was a murder. Fast forward to today, and Lori is being tried on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder for her alleged role in the shooting.
WATCH | A Voice For Victims: The Murder of Charles Vallow
Charles’ obituary describes him as a father, brother, and friend who “positively impacted all of the lives he touched.” According to another obituary, he was drafted to play semi-professional baseball in Houston in 1977. Charles was born in Louisiana and later moved to Austin, where he remained for 15 years. He has two biological adult sons from his first marriage.
Charles and his first wife, Cheryl Wheeler, raised their two boys in Austin. In an interview with EastIdahoNews.com, Wheeler described Charles as a fun dad, an athlete and a charming guy who had lots of friends, loved helping people, and was always well-dressed. Charles also cheered for the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Astros.
Charles was born and raised Catholic but converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Lori. Eight years into their marriage, Charles and Lori adopted JJ in 2014. JJ was the grandson of Charles’ sister, Kay Woodcock and her husband, Larry Woodcock. Cheryl recalled that Charles spent a great deal of money to get a service dog for JJ, who had autism.
Charles Vallow’s e-mail to Tammy Daybell. (Court TV)
WATCH | Doomsday Cult Mom Murder Trial: Larry and Kay Woodcock Exclusive
Charles even attempted to reconcile with Lori, confronting her and Chad about their affair and even trying to get in touch with Tammy. Testimony revealed that Charles emailed Tammy on June 29, 2019, soon after he found out Lori and Chad were having an affair. Twelve days later, Charles was dead. Spencer Cook, the technology director of Sugar Salem School District, where Tammy worked, testified at Chad’s murder trial. He told the jury that he was able to retrieve Charles’ email to Tammy. Charles’ email address had been blocked, and the email he sent was in her “deleted” file. Whether Tammy actually saw Charles’ email is unknown.
Charles had a very successful career as a life insurance salesman and was reportedly making between $400,000 and $500,000 a year at the time of his death, according to testimony. He had a $1 million life insurance policy that he took Lori’s name off of in March 2019, making Kay the sole beneficiary because he trusted his sister to take care of JJ. Testimony revealed Lori made multiple fruitless attempts to access that payout.
Lori also delivered the news of Charles’ death to his biological sons in a shocking manner. According to EastIdahoNews.com, Lori texted them and proceeded to ignore their follow-up questions as well as their pleas that she call them. Charles’ family was left scrambling to plan a memorial service for which, according to Kay, Lori was a no show.
Kay and Larry have advocated for Charles, Tylee and JJ from the very beginning. They were fixtures at Lori’s first trial and have been guests on Court TV, where they described the anguish of losing both a beloved brother as well as a grandson under unimaginably grim circumstances. The couple is now in Phoenix for Lori’s conspiracy trial. Kay posted the following on X (formerly Twitter) on the eve of opening statements:
#justiceforCharlesVallow
Finally begins tmw. Been a long tumultuous journey! My sweet brother watching from Heaven, we pray for earthly justice as it’s the best we can hope for. We love & miss you lotspic.twitter.com/9zz4ZREw9m
— Kay Woodcock (@woodcockkay1) April 6, 2025
Once a verdict is reached in Lori’s trial, she’ll face a second trial in Arizona for the attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.
