With Idaho case complete, Arizona prosecutors ready for ‘Doomsday Mom’ Lori Vallow Daybell
Jul 31, 2023, 12:00 PM
PHOENIX – “Doomsday Mom” Lori Vallow Daybell still faces two charges in Arizona after being sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of two of her children and a romantic rival in a high-profile Idaho case.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell told reporters last week she would ask Gov. Katie Hobbs to request Vallow Daybell’s extradition after Monday’s sentencing in Idaho.
Having Hobbs make the request would avoid a time constraint on how long Vallow Daybell could be in Arizona, Mitchell explained.
“There’s nothing unusual about this,” Mitchell said at a press briefing Friday. “This is how we do extraditions all the time.”
Mitchell said she expects Vallow Daybell to be extradited to Arizona by the end of the year.
What are the charges against Lori Vallow Daybell in Arizona?
Mitchell said her office is prepared to prosecute Vallow Daybell, so it would be up to the defense to get ready before a trial could start.
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“We’ve had an attorney assigned to that case for … about two years who’s been working on it and very familiar with all of the evidence,” Mitchell said.
A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Vallow Daybell in 2021 on a charge of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
A second Arizona indictment unsealed in May of this year charged Vallow Daybell with conspiring to murder Brandon Boudreaux, her niece’s ex-husband.
Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, on July 11, 2019, in Chandler. Police say Cox shot at Boudreaux in Gilbert on Oct. 2, 2019, but missed.
Cox was never charged and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Idaho murder case gets national attention for bizarre claims
Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the Idaho case, which included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse. As a result, headline writers started calling her the “Doomsday Mom.”
The sordid saga became the subject of numerous true-crime podcasts and TV shows, including a three-part Netflix documentary called “Sins of Our Mother.”
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.
Does Idaho result affect Arizona prosecution?
If Vallow Daybell is convicted in Arizona, she would serve her time in Idaho, Mitchell said.
However, the county attorney said the outcome of the Idaho case doesn’t impact how her office will handle the case.
“Victims deserve justice, and one victim’s justice is not recognizing that another victim suffered,” Mitchell said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
