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Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Lori Vallow Trial Day 1: Lori Cries in Court, Then Gets Hammered by the State
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- [00:00]
Lori Vallow Daybell
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Ashley Banfield
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Drop Dead Serious. I'm Ashley Banfield and I've got a treat for you. This podcast is the first of many updates that I'm going to be bringing your way during the second trial of Lori Valo daybell. I know you don't have time to hang out in court for every moment of the doomsday mom acting as her own lawyer defending herself. So I've got your back. I'll be breaking down all the key moments and the highlights and the lowlights over the course of this case, so you are not going to miss anything. And day one was a doozy. Here's a theme for day one. Lawyering is hard. It is not like it looks like on TV. It is not like suits. It is not like LA Law or Ally McBeal or Matlock. And you got to Google those if you're under 30. Litigating a case is hard and the stakes are even higher if it is a criminal case. And Lori Valo Debel has criminal baggage to spare. Her saga has captured the country's attention for years. A mother turned triple murderer awash in doomsday prophecies and a trail of criminal accusations stretching clear across the country. Now she's back in court, this time in Arizona, standing trial for conspiracy to commit first degree murder, for allegedly planning the killing of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, with her brother Alex Cox, who shot Charles dead on July 11th of 2019 in Chandler, Arizona. As this trial unfolds, I'm going to keep you abreast of what's happening in this courtroom. And I'll also provide some context for some of those moments that seem confusing, moments that Laurie herself has been struggling to figure out. Today was day one, and it was a spectacle, just like we figured. I want to walk you through what happened. So even before opening statements got underway, there was drama. One juror's employer sent a letter to the judge, essentially saying that that juror was going to have a problem with staying on the jury. The judge said that he would speak to the juror at lunch to get more information. And when he did, the juror said that he didn't really understand everything about jury duty and that because of his child support and his alimony obligations, he could not serve on this jury and he was excused. So we are already down one juror before day one was even done. And then came the issue about Brandon Boudreau. It was brought up by the prosecution, not by Laurie, but you'll remember that Brandon is the man that Laurie's niece was divorcing when suddenly one day, he found himself at the business end of a gun and shots being fired. Luckily, Brandon wasn't hit. His car was, though. And police opened up an investigation, and they charged Lori Valo debel with the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreau. In two months, Lori is going to again be in an Arizona courtroom fighting that case. The prosecutor, Trina K. Alerted the court that Brandon Boudreau was listed on Lori's witness list, but that Brandon Boudreau had not been served a subpoena. Again, lawyering is hard. Lawyering is really hard, especially in a murder case. That prosecutor said that Brandon was present in the courtroom on this day one, and that Brandon wanted to watch the proceedings. But Laurie said that she still planned to call Brandon Boudreau as a witness in the Charles Valo murder case and didn't give any specifics about what his testimony would be. The judge in the case, Judge Bereski, pressed Lori for some clarity. But Lori said she could not reveal the details without giving away her entire defense, to which the judge responded, quote, we don't just get to call witnesses who are going to testify about, you know, what the weather was today. I love it when judges get like this. So Laurie then responded by vaguely describing that his testimony would have to do with something regarding communications between Brandon and Charles about a possible family intervention. So then there was this long sidebar, and ultimately, the judge struck Brandon Boudreau as a witness without prejudice. And that's important. When you say without prejudice, it means that Laurie can still call him at a later date if. If she can provide actual proof that his testimony would be actually relevant. So, okay, we move on now to opening statements. And it starts with the prosecution. Trina K. The prosecutor, stood up and began her opening for the state of Arizona. And Lori Valo immediately began shaking her head. As the prosecutor started laying out Lori's twisted religious beliefs. She, Trina K. Told the jury that they would hear how Lori Valo wanted to marry Chad Daybell, live in the same lifestyle she'd grown accustomed to, and raise her children without Charles Valo getting in the way. And to make that happen, Charles Valo had to die. She explained to the jury that Laurie believed Charles was possessed by a dark spirit named Ned. I know it's weird, but she had a name for the spirit. Ned. Ned. And that Laurie believed that she, Laurie, was chosen, ordained by God to carry out a mission. She referenced a text that Laurie sent her brother, Alex Cox, just two days before the murder and that text read it is all coming to a head this week. I will be like Nephi. That is a reference to a prophet from the Book of Mormon who was commanded to kill in the name of God. I know. No, it's not a good text to have at your murder trial. As the prosecutor spoke these words, Laurie began to shake her head more visibly and roll her eyes before looking down at her notes. Prosecutor Kay said the jury would hear that Charles discovered the affair between Laurie and Chad on June 28, 2019, and that Charles reached out to both Lori's brother, Adam Cox, and also to Chad's then wife, Tammy Daybell, and that Charles planned to tell them what he had learned. Prosecutors said that Charles was planning to confront Laurie about it, too, and that an intervention was being considered. The prosecutor said at that moment, Laurie used the story of Nephi and her twisted religious beliefs to justify murder. And that's when Laurie rolled her eyes. Then the state moved on to motive money. Prosecutor Kay told the jury they would hear that Charles changed the beneficiary on his $1 million life insurance policy back in February of 2019 from Lori to his sister, Kay Kay Woodcock, but that Laurie didn't find out about that change until days after his death, when she contacted the insurance company expecting a payout. Prosecution told the jury that they would see a text that Lori sent Chad after learning that she would not be receiving the insurance money. And it read, so I talked to the insurance company. He changed it in March, so it was probably Ned before we got rid of him. Remember, Ned is Laurie's name for Charles, specifically the dark spirit, she said, possessed Charles. Laurie shook her head again and rolled her eyes again as she looked down and scribbled furiously on her legal pad. The prosecutor, Trina K. Also told the jury they would hear testimony from Christina Atwood, a friend of Lori's at the time, who said that she heard Lori admit to crushing up JJ's medication and drugging Charles, and that Alex Cox said he, quote, just wanted to kill Charles. That, quote landed hard in the courtroom, and Laurie flipped her yellow legal pad at this point very loudly, and she looked pissed off. The prosecution then walked the jury through the morning of July 11, how Charles was shot twice, how Laurie left the house with his phone and with his rental car, how she dropped JJ off at school, went to Burger King, and bought shoes at Walgreens, all before anybody ever called 911. And that call, that was made by Alex Cox 47 minutes after Lori left the scene. And we know exactly when Laurie left the scene. Because again, she took Charles's phone with her and police could Track that phone's GPS and the data. And a call didn't come into 911 until 47 minutes after Charles phone was on the move with Laurie. And by the way, during those 47 minutes, the prosecutor said Alex and Laurie chatted on the phone twice. This was a point where Laurie looked up, shook her head a little bit more, looked back down, and again returned to the notes. Prosecutor K told the jury they would hear from the medical examiner that Charles was still alive after he was shot that first time, that the second bullet hit him while he was already lying on the ground and that it traveled upward through his abdomen and out of his shoulder. A bullet that would not have been possible had Charles been standing. Quote, this wasn't self defense, the prosecutor said. This was a planned killing. End quote. Then she delivered her final line. Lori Vallow is why Charles Vallow is dead. Pretty powerful stuff. But now it was time for Laurie's opening statement, delivered by Laurie as her own lawyer. I couldn't wait for this, I have to be honest. Like I thought the Lori Valo that was so cantankerous with Keith Morrison in the Dateline interview, I thought that Laurie would stand up and that that lorry would be sort of really forceful with the facts as she saw them towards the jury. But it really wasn't. She stood up and she walked to the podium and she opened up with, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I've been charged with conspiracy, but the question is, did I commit this crime? And then she gave the jury a definition of the word conspiracy before going on to emphasize her long and happy marriage to Charles. She said they were married for 13 years, that they had a blended family. JJ was adopted after he was born in 2012. Lori told the jury that there were two life insurance policies. Hers was for 2 million and Charles was for 1 million, the max that both of them could have. She brought up their move to Hawaii and claimed there was tension between Charles and Tylee as Tylee became a teenager. She also mentioned the couple's eventual separation without giving the jury a reason why they separated. And she claimed that Charles and Tylee had many altercations, some that became physical. She even claimed that once they moved back from Hawaii, Tylee and Charles had to go to therapy together. She also said that In March of 2019, Charles pulled JJ out of school and moved to Texas and that she and Tylee followed Charles and JJ because Lori and Charles were going to Reconcile. But then, in June of 2019, big change. Laurie decided to move back to Arizona for a special school that would help with JJ's autism. Laurie told the jury that Charles sent her threatening messages and that her sister Summer Shifflet, even saw those messages. She then claimed that Charles flew her brother Adam Cox to Phoenix to stage an intervention about Laurie's bizarre religious beliefs. Then, on the day that Charles was allegedly murdered, July 11, Charles arrived to pick JJ up and take him to school. Lori claims that she and Charles began fighting and that Tylee came to her rescue with a baseball bat. That's when Laurie began to cry in court, right there in the middle of her opening. It's kind of weird. As a lawyer, you don't normally. No, let me scratch that. You really don't ever see a lawyer break into tears and ask for a tissue. But that's what Laurie did in front of the jury. By the time she got herself together, she continued by saying that Charles grabbed the bat from Tylee and that Tylee fell during the struggle.
- [13:04]
Lori Vallow Daybell
The evidence will show that on the morning of July 11, that Tylee was asleep in her room and my brother Alex was asleep in the guest room. The evidence will show that when Charles entered the house, only JJ and I were awake and present. The evidence will show that after we put JJ in the rental car that Charles came back into the residence to receive his phone, leaving JJ in the front seat of the rental car with the engine running. He was seven years old. The evidence will show that Charles began to scream at me when I refused to hand him his phone. The evidence will show that Charles screaming woke up Tyler and Alex. The evidence will show that Tyler came out of her room with a bat to protect me, her mother, from her stepfather, Charles Valley. The evidence will show that Tylee and Charles fought over the bat and that after a struggle over the bat, Tyler fell onto the ground and Charles lifted up the bat to hit Tylee with the bat. The evidence will show that Alex then intervened to protect Tylee from being hit with the bat. The evidence will show that after this struggle on the ground between Charles and Alex, that Charles prevailed with the bat and began to come towards me with the bat as I ran away from him into the kitchen. The evidence will show that at some point while I was running away from Charles, who is chasing me with a bat, that Alex apparently retrieved his gun. The evidence will show that Tyler and I got into the rental car with JJ and drove away. The evidence will show you that I drove the children away from the residence towards JJ's school. Grab a tissue.
- [15:00]
Judge
Yes.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
The evidence will show that the last thing I heard from Chandler Police Department Until June of 2021, two years later, when I received a grand jury indictment from this. From them for this alleged crime. The evidence will show that Chandler police treated this incident as self defense and object to that.
- [15:33]
Judge
Objection sustained. The jury should disregard that last statement.
- [15:37]
Ashley Banfield
She told the jury that she was fully cooperative with the police and that even the police treated the shooting like it was self defense. I believe that because it was. For a very, very long time, the police considered this self defense. Until, of course, they didn't. Because of course, she was charged with a triple murder up in Idaho. All right. That's when the prosecution laid into her with an objection. Right. She told the jury that her brother Alex Cox died five months later, which also prompted another objection as to relevance. Again, we're just in opening statements. You don't typically hear objections during opening statements, but they started to fly fast and furious. Lori said that she was the only one being charged with conspiracy to commit murder, also prompting an objection. She told the jurors that she was interviewed at the police station, was given a victim's advocate, and that she was brought back home. She ended her opening statement by refuting the state's claims about money as a motive. She reminded the jury that having a life insurance policy is not a crime, that receiving Social Security was not a crime, and said, quote, a family tragedy is not a crime. It's a tragedy. And that was the end of her statement. I gotta say, if there's one thing I will always remember from Lori Vallow Daybell's opening statement, it was how many times she repeated the actual phrase, the evidence will show. The evidence will show. The evidence will show. Almost every single sentence that she uttered in her opening for like 17 and a half minutes started with the evidence will show. And it became like a drinking game. And I think the jury will feel it was awkward, weird. Maybe they will understand something is off in this trial. The defendant is representing herself, and it doesn't sound like the other lawyers. So without even taking a break, after Lori finished her openings, the judge asked the state to call its first witness. Like, away we go, off and running. And that witness was a man named Sergeant Irwin Woodsbicky. Wizbicky. It's a little hard to pronounce, and that's important. Here is what that officer told the court. He said he was dispatched to the scene of a reported shooting, and when he arrived, he saw a man lying on the living Room floor with no pulse. He observed two gunshot wounds and some blood around the collar area. He noted how empty the room was, almost no furniture. He described Alex Cox as calm, extremely calm. Laurie objected just once during his testimony, but it didn't go anywhere. But he said that he found the gun in the back bedroom and tried to find the identity of the dead man, but couldn't locate his wallet. And then it was time for Laurie's cross examination. And she began by checking the pronunciation of this officer's name as though she'd been to this rodeo so many times before. She likes to get it right right from the get go. Again, she's never actually behaved as a lawyer in court before, so it just seemed like it was all an act. And then she got right to her cross examination. Laurie asked why CPR wasn't performed, and the cop said he was waiting for fire personnel because improper CPR could cause more damage. Laurie nodded and seemingly agreed with him, saying, yeah, I wouldn't think to do that either. And then she asked whether he could see the two gunshot wounds through Charles's shirt. He said he saw two gunshot areas, but couldn't say for sure about the shirt holes. She asked how many times he spoke to another officer about the call. He said he couldn't recall. And then it was time for the next witness, the second witness of the day, and that was Officer Robert Krautheim. He was a former Chandler police officer and he responded to the shooting scene as well. He said Alex Cox walked out of the house calmly, not emotional, not sweating, not acting erratically. He had a visible inch long laceration on the back of his head, but declined any medical treatment. He said Laurie arrived on the scene shortly afterwards with Tylee in Tower. But he said that she never once asked any questions about what the heck was going on in front of her house. Never asked about Charles, never asked why the cops were all over the yard, didn't even flinch at the presence of emergency vehicles. Almost like it was just another day. Then Laurie got her chance to cross examine him. She asked a string of nearly pointless questions. And in a show of just how unprepared she really is to be a lawyer in her own murder trial, she faced objection after objection for messing up the rules of hearsay.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
When you talked to the two detectives in the front yard and gave them your synopsis of what had happened, you said they got into a domestic fight. Consistent Objection.
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Judge
I'm sorry, I'm going to sustain the objection.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
What was the legal objection?
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Prosecutor
Hearsay.
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Judge
Hearsay.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
Oh, I Was just reading his report. Okay, then.
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Prosecutor
Objection. No question.
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Judge
Please ask your next question.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
You said in your report that at one point, Alex's niece grabbed the bat.
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Prosecutor
Objection.
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Judge
Hold on.
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Prosecutor
Hearsay. That's improper question.
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Judge
Okay, you can't ask. Hearsay.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
Did Alex tell you that he got hit in the head with the bat?
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Prosecutor
Objection, you, Honor. Hearsay. Prior ruling.
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Judge
Yeah, it's sustained. You can't ask questions of what Alex said.
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Lori Vallow Daybell
But they were trying to come up to me to find out what was happening.
- [21:27]
Prosecutor
Objections? Speculation. Hearsay.
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Judge
I'll sustain the objection. Let's take our afternoon break. For the staff and the jurors, we're gonna take a 15 minute stretch. Restroom break. Please remember the admonition.
- [21:43]
Ashley Banfield
Then it was time for witness number three, Scott Cowden, an EMT from the Chandler Fire Department. He described arriving at Laurie's house and being told CPR had already been done. But when he began chest compressions, he felt the cracking and the crunching that usually happens during the first set of compressions, meaning CPR had likely never been attempted. That's when court ended for the day with a plan for Laurie to cross examine this witness on day two. Laurie's demeanor during these witnesses was pretty consistent. Mostly head down, scribbling on her legal pad, struggling to make a mark with the state's witnesses. She occasionally shook her head over the smallest details, but overall, she made this day all about Laurie. And this was just day one. I'll continue to drop episodes recapping this trial as the case continues. And I personally cannot wait for the moment, if it ever arrives, where this jury learns that the defendant and her lawyer are thrice convicted of murder, including two of the children that Charles helped raise. It's still anybody's guess that that's going to happen. But stay tuned, because with Lori on the floor every day, you got to stay nimble. Thank you so much for listening, everybody. And remember, the truth is not just serious, it's drop dead serious.