Sick Lori Vallow smirks and giggles ahead of capital trial for killing her children
IDAHO COUNTY, IDAHO: 'Doomsday' mom Lori Vallow was seen smirking in court on Tuesday, August 17, ahead of a capital trial for killing her children. Vallow was spotted giggling throughout the trial, often turning to her attorneys. At times, she looked back into the public gallery. Her attorneys asked a judge to send the case back to a grand jury because of the “confusing” indictment. Vallow is accused of killing two of her children and stealing their social security benefits. Her lawyers told a judge they “just want a fair trial” during the hearing in an Idaho county courtroom.
Vallow, 49, and her fifth husband Chad Daybell, 52, have pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy and grand theft charges. Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan died in 2019. Vallow's lawyers asked the judge to separate her conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit theft charges.
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"I have issue with the state saying, ‘Hey, we can lump all these things into one conspiracy charge,’ and as long as they find one of these conspiracies, then the conspiracy is met,” attorney John Thomas said during Tuesday’s proceeding, Fox News reported. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense that way.”
One of the conspiracy charges was lodged because the couple allegedly planned to kill Vallow’s daughter and steal the social security benefits, prosecutors said. The child was receiving the social security benefits because her father died. The other conspiracy charge, which is the same, in connection with her son’s death.
“The conspiracy to commit murder and the conspiracy to commit grand theft are two separate conspiracies,” Thomas continued. “We believe it would be confusing to a jury to be able to figure out what elements were met, when the elements were met and to what extent the elements were met.”
However, the prosecution argued that the charges were not confusing. “One was to murder Tylee Ryan and to steal the social security money that was allotted to her, and one was to kill JJ Vallow and steal and collect the social security funds that were allotted to him,” Prosecutor Rob Wood said. “We believe the jury will find that there was this agreement, that they agreed to commit these two crimes.” Meanwhile, Judge Steven Boyce said he would make a decision after considering the arguments.
Vallow’s children disappeared in 2019 but the pair never reported them missing. When extended family members said they had not seen the children in months, the couple refused to help detectives in their investigation. The two of them fled to Hawaii, where they were ultimately arrested in connection with the children's disappearance.
The children's burned bodies were later discovered in a makeshift grave near Vallow’s home in rural Idaho. The cult mom's lawyers have argued that she was mentally unfit for trial. However, it was determined that she ws competent enough to stand trial after spending 11 months in a mental hospital.
Vallow and her fifthe husband Daybell married two weeks after his ex-wife died. She reportedly died from natural causes but her body was later exhumed by investigators. Vallow has also been charged with conspiring to murder her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. Charles was allegedly shot and killed in Arizona by her brother, Alex Cox, who later died of natural causes.