State, defense each rest their case l Lori Vallow Daybell murder conspiracy trial l Day 7

PHOENIX - Wednesday marked the seventh day of the Lori Vallow Daybell murder conspiracy trial, and a rather unexpected development happened in court.

What we know:

During the afternoon hours on April 16, the state of Arizona rested its case against the so-called "Doomsday Mom." Later, Vallow Daybell herself said she will rest her case.

Vallow Daybell didn't announce her decision in front of a jury - she spoke to her counsel for a few minutes. While she has not called any witnesses to the stand, there is a chance she could change her mind, and present evidence or testify.

Lori's decision to rest her case, while not revealed to the jury, nevertheless appeared suddenly. Lori has also said the state did not present sufficient evidence. She filed what is known as a "Rule 20" motion, which asks the judge for an acquittal due to insufficient evidence.

"The state has failed to show substantial evidence for Count One: conspiracy to commit first-degree murder," Vallow Daybell said. "Premeditated murder? The state has provided no evidence that I agreed with another person, that any one of us would engage in certain conduct, that I intended to promote or assist in this premeditated murder. Premeditated murder requires the state to establish a person caused the death of another with premeditation. The lack of evidence to show any evidence of a conspiracy to commit murder. There was no plan to murder Charles. No evidence has shown that. In fact, evidence suggested self-defense on the part of Alex."

Ultimately, the judge said there is enough evidence for a reasonable juror to determine that Vallow Daybell is guilty.

We should note that as of April 16, the jury has not gone into deliberation, and a verdict has not been reached in the case.

Big picture view:

In all, during seven days of trial proceedings, prosecutors called 19 witnesses to testify against Vallow Daybell.

On Wednesday, prosecutors finished off with Chandler Police lead detective Nathan Duncan, and the jury saw an overwhelming amount of evidence, such as e-mails, text messages and photos, all presented by a prosecution that was aiming to show that Vallow Daybell conspired with her late brother, Alex Cox, months before Charles was shot and killed by Cox.

The defense’s argument has been a narrative of self-defense, but jurors also saw the romantic text messages between convicted murderer Chad Daybell and Lori, at a time when the two were in the midst of an affair

The jury also saw Vallow Daybell acting as her own attorney, cross-examining Det. Duncan about his testimony on her alleged religious beliefs, focusing on a biblical figure named ‘Nephi’ who, in a text to Alex, the defendant said she would be like in the lead-up to the deadly shooting on July 11, 2019.

"Four different prophets in the Book of Mormon there, Nephi. Are you aware of that?" Vallow Daybell asked.

"No," Det. Duncan replied.

"OK. So, isn't it true that you really have no idea what I was referring to, when I reference Nephi in my text message?" Vallow Daybell asked.

"I can only go off of what I what I see. I can't tell you what you're thinking, or what you're trying to relay there. But based on my knowledge and based on talking to people about who is in Nephi, that is a story that came up consistently," Duncan said, in response.

The state was originally ready to call 21 witnesses in total.

What happened earlier in the week?

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday, a video showing Vallow Daybell at a drug store after Charles' death was played. In the video, Vallow Daybell bought two pairs of flip-flops, following a stop at a fast food store drive-thru to get food for Joshua "JJ" Vallow.

Vallow Daybell's daughter, Tylee Ryan, was with her for the ride. Vallow Daybell never called 911, and witnesses described her demeanor after the shooting as "non-chalant." She also had Charles’ phone with her, which helped police track locations by GPS along with her own phone.

Chandler Police Det. Ariel Werther testified to this timeline, but when Vallow Daybell got her chance to cross-examine him, she was scolded by the judge for inquiring about Charles' dating life, after objections were raised by prosecuting attorney Treena Kay.

"Whether he went on dates or had dates scheduled is not relevant to this case. Ask another question," the judge was heard saying. "You can ask about the date of the person who testified the night before, because that person was in here and had some relevant information, but other than that, any of these other questions are not relevant."

Why is there a trial for Vallow Daybell in Arizona?

The backstory:

In Arizona, Vallow Daybell is accused of planning the death of her then-husband, Charles Vallow, in 2019. It was allegedly motivated by Vallow Daybell's religious beliefs, and a $1 million life insurance policy that Charles owned.

Charles was shot by Vallow Daybell's late brother, Alex Cox. Cox had said he shot Charles after a fight involving a baseball bat.

Vallow Daybell is also accused of attempted murder in connection with her ex-nephew-in-law, Brandon Boudreaux. The shootings of Charles and Brandon happened within months of each other.

In Idaho, Vallow Daybell was found guilty of killing Tylee Ryan and Joshua "JJ" Vallow. She was also found guilty of her role in the death of Tammy Daybell, Chad Daybell's first wife. Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison in Idaho.

Chad Daybell, Lori's husband, was convicted of all three murders last year. He was sentenced to death.

What you can do:

Day seven of the trial gets underway at 10:30 a.m. on April 16. FOX 10's coverage of the trial begins at 11 a.m. on our YouTube channel.

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