The Arizona trial of Lori Vallow, dubbed the 'Doomsday Mom,' is to be postponed after a judge designated the case as "complex," per reports. This legal maneuver will provide both the defense and prosecution additional time to thoroughly gather evidence before proceeding. Originally slated to start in April, the highly publicized case's new schedule is to be hotly contested by the involved parties until late February, reported Fox10 Phoenix.
LORI VALLOW: Judge grants State’s motion to designate case as complex. Comprehensive pretrial conference vacated. Prosecution & defense must file joint case management plan addressing many issues no less than 2 days before scheduling conference. This means April trial is vacated. pic.twitter.com/XyzSpIHj72
— Justin Lum | 林俊豪 (@jlumfox10) January 4, 2024
Vallow, already serving a life sentence for the killing of her two children and the conspiring murder of her current husband's late wife in Idaho, now faces charges of conspiracy to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and her niece's ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. In a dark twist of events, Charles was shot by Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense and wasn't charged before his untimely death in December 2019. Meanwhile, a failed murder attempt on Boudreaux was linked to a vehicle reportedly purchased by Charles, details The Independent.
The prolonging of Vallow's trial is set to elicit frustration from the victims' families. Charles’ sister, Kay Woodcock, had previously expressed relief at Vallow's extradition to Arizona, posting on social media, "Your justice is finally coming." Following the gruesome discovery of her children's remains on husband Chad Daybell's property, the lurid saga surrounding Vallow stretches across state lines and spotlights a series of mysterious deaths and an alleged doomsday cult.
The additional time granted by the Arizona court requires the legal teams to eventually provide lists of witnesses and a summary of the facts among other details, which goes to demonstrate the multi-layered intricacies of the case, as specified by court documents sourced by Fox10 Phoenix. Daybell, too, is to separately face trial in Idaho, similarly declared a complex case due to the heinous nature of the crimes attributed to him and the entangled sequence of purported cult activities and subsequent deaths.
