Lori Vallow Daybell, widely known as the ‘Doomsday cult mom,’ disclosed why she has decided to represent herself as she prepares to face her second murder trial.
Already convicted in Idaho for conspiracy to murder her children, Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow, as well as her husband’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, Vallow Daybell was extradited to Maricopa County, Arizona, in November 2023 on two indictments.
Speaking to True Crime Arizona, Vallow Daybell, who is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, stated, ‘I’m fighting for my life here.’
This upcoming trial focused on the 2019 death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by her brother Alex Cox in Chandler, and the attempted murder conspiracy involving her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux.
Although Cox claimed self-defense and later died of natural causes, a jury was selected for the conspiracy to commit murder trial, with opening statements scheduled for Monday.
Explaining her decision to represent herself, Vallow Daybell said, ‘I’m not an attorney. I don’t have training to be an attorney. There’s something that I figured out when I got to this jail, you know. This experience has been five years running, OK.
‘I went through a whole trial, you know, before in my other state. And then, I was brought here to Arizona to face some more serious charges.’
The convicted child killer also responded to how the public viewed her decision: ‘I never hear any of this stuff because I’m in a room 23 hours a day, and we don’t have access to any kind of news.
‘So I didn’t know that people were saying that, but I wouldn’t agree with that, obviously.’
Daybell said her choice was also motivated by a desire for a speedy trial, not only for herself but for other women incarcerated with her.
Lori Vallow Daybell, widely known as the ‘Doomsday cult mom,’ disclosed her reasoning behind a surprising legal decision as she prepared to face her second murder trial.

Vallow, also known as ‘doomsday cult mom’, was handed multiple life sentences with no chance of parole in July 2023 for murdering two of her children , Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, 7
‘There are intelligent, strong, beautiful women in here that have been here for eight years because of family tragedies,’ she said.
It’s the same, like my case, a family tragedy, not crime. A family tragedy, and they’re waiting and they’re facing the death penalty for a family tragedy,’ she said.
‘I know these women. I talk to them every day. I try to uplift, strengthen and help women in this jail, and I think that’s the purpose, why I’m here.’
She described the events of her life as a ‘family tragedy’ and despite a jury finding her guilty, maintained that she had been wrongfully convicted in Idaho.
‘It’s a tragedy. Families have tragedies. Things happen and there was a domino effect of tragedies in my life. And that’s really sad.’
When prompted to elaborate on the ‘domino effect,’ Vallow Daybell smiled and responded, ‘It’s probably something that we should save for next time.’
As the trial approached, she admitted she was feeling some pressure.
‘It’s a big case. It’s stressful. There’s a lot of things,’ she said. ‘There’s a lot of legal things that have to be done. We’re working on stuff every day. We’re working late into the night. The biggest challenge for me in this trial will be the logistics.’
When asked about the possibility of being found not guilty, Vallow Daybell replied, ‘I don’t think I’m here to convince anybody. I think I’m there to just tell the truth. I’m defending myself against being wrongfully accused.’

This upcoming trial focused on the 2019 death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow (pictured), who was fatally shot by her brother Alex Cox in Chandler

Pictured: In this Tuesday, June 9, 2020, file aerial photo, investigators search for human remains at Chad Daybell’s residence in the 200 block of 1900 east, in Salem, Idaho
This is not the first time Vallow Daybell has made a shocking request before trial.
In February, Vallow Daybell asked a judge to block Court TV from streaming her upcoming murder trial in Arizona on March 31.
The disgraced mother filed an objection last month in Maricopa County Superior Court, stating the Court TV ‘should be ashamed’ for asking to stream her upcoming murder trial.
‘Court TV should be ashamed of its very nature and its request, since its sole objective is NOT to bring people real news or facts but instead its objective is to entertain the public with the very true-life tragedies that happen in real people’s lives,’ she wrote in court documents, obtained by Fox News Digital.
Vallow Daybell also claimed that the broadcasting network is using her and Daybell’s images in commercials, leading the couple to be ‘falsely characterized, libeled and slandered.’
Her husband, Chad Daybell, was sentenced to death in June of the previous year after being convicted of murdering Tammy, J.J. and Tylee in cult-like killings.
The two children went missing in 2019, and their bodies were discovered the following year buried in Chad Daybell’s backyard in eastern Idaho.