Jury finds Lori Daybell guilty of conspiracy to commit murder in her 3rd trial

PHOENIX — After deliberating for less than an hour on Thursday, a 12-person jury found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of conspiring to murder Brandon Boudreaux.

He is the first direct victim in the three trials she faced for conspiracy to commit murder who survived and could testify about his experience.

Testimony in Daybell’s third trial, where she is representing herself, was completed on Wednesday. Jurors returned to deliberate on Thursday.

In her closing arguments, Daybell said there was no evidence of a conspiracy, but prosecutor Treena Kay said that is the only explanation that makes sense.

Shots were fired at Boudreaux’s car outside his home by someone in the back of a Jeep. Kay said Daybell helped her brother, Alex Cox, take the back seat and back wheel off her Jeep. She was seen on video putting those items in a storage unit. Cox was not seen in video at the storage unit. Prosecutors say he left his phone with Daybell in Idaho as an alibi while he drove to Arizona in the Jeep and tried to kill Boundreaux.

This is Daybell’s third criminal trial. She was convicted of murdering two of her children — 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow — in Idaho two years ago, along with conspiring to murder them and her new husband’s then-wife, Tammy Daybell. Earlier this year, she was convicted of conspiring to murder her then-husband Charles Vallow in Arizona.

This week’s trial included some outbursts as Daybell repeatedly brought up topics she was asked to avoid and the judge threatened that if she continued, he might allow prosecutors to bring in information about her four murder convictions.

In the first trial, she was sentenced to five terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. She chose to wait to be sentenced for conspiring to kill Charles Vallow at the same time as the sentence in this case. Sentencing was set Thursday for July 25. Daybell asked for it to be set as soon as possible, saying she did not want to delay being sent back to prison in Idaho.

After the verdict, Boudreaux stood with Kay Woodcock, Charles Vallow’s sister; Colby Ryan, Tylee’s brother; and his wife when making a statement.

“We’re still family, we always will be, regardless of the things that happened,” he said.

He said he is humbled by the hours spent by law enforcement and prosecutors on his case, thanking them along with the judge and jury who put their lives on hold for the trial.

Boudreaux said he has heard people ask why this trial would be held when Daybell already has multiple life sentences, but said we owe it to victims to uphold justice for them, commenting that many victims do not get to see justice.

He was teary as he said, “I did not enjoy sitting and giving someone who tried to kill me the chance to question me, but I owed it to Charles, to Tylee, to JJ and to Tammy to speak because I could.”

He discussed how he has chosen to believe in God, and that his belief has helped him create beauty from ashes in his life.

“Hating a person can be like a poison to our souls. It can take away our joy and our happiness. I believe we can have enmity toward someone’s actions or choices while still forgiving them for our own selves, to have more room for happiness and joy,” he said.