PHOENIX (Court TV) — Convicted killer Lori Daybell came out swinging at the first court hearing on Friday where she represented herself as a pro se defendant.
Lori Daybell appears at a status hearing in Phoenix on Jan. 10, 2025. (Court TV)
Daybell is facing charges she murdered her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and attempted to kill her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. She will stand trial on the murder charges first, with jury selection scheduled to begin on March 31. Daybell, who is already serving multiple life sentences in Idaho for the murders of her two youngest children and her fifth husband’s first wife, has elected to represent herself in both upcoming trials.
While she has alternately been known as Lori Vallow and Lori Vallow Daybell, the defendant made clear to the court that she wished to be addressed as Lori Daybell, reflecting her having taken her fifth husband’s last name. Chad Daybell, who was also convicted of murdering the two children and his first wife, was sentenced to death in Idaho.
READ MORE | Lori Vallow wants to represent herself against Arizona murder charges
Daybell asked a judge to compel prosecutors to provide her with more evidence in the case, focusing in part on documents related to her extradition from Idaho to Arizona. Judge Justin Beresky denied the motion, saying he did not see how those documents would be relevant to her current case.
Daybell confirmed she was on track for the March 31 trial start date, saying the “Defense intends on starting trial without delay.” Prosecutors said they expect their case-in-chief to take “a couple of weeks,” depending on how long Daybell takes cross-examining witnesses. The first trial will focus on Charles Vallow’s murder; no second trial date has been set for Brandon Boudreaux’s attempted murder. “It’s hard to set the second one without knowing how long the first one’s going to take,” Judge Beresky said. “And then the readiness of everyone for the second one after the first one concludes.”
While in court, Daybell hand-filed two motions requesting additional discovery from prosecutors.
