LIVE UPDATES: Verdict reached in Lori Vallow Daybell trial

Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial in Maricopa County, Arizona, on one charge of conspiracy to commit the murder of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband. Nate Eaton is live in the courtroom with updates. Please excuse any typos. Times listed below are in Mountain Standard Time, so they are an hour behind Idaho. (Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time.) The most recent updates are at the top.

3:57 p.m. I’ll be live tonight for a special edition of “Courtroom Insider” at 8 p.m. MDT. Join me on the East Idaho News YouTube channel. Lori says she will wait to be sentenced after the next trial. Court is dismissed.

3:56 p.m. Judge asks jury to wait for him in the jury room as he wants to thank them personally. They are now dismissed.

3:55 p.m. Judge thanks the jurors and says they are released. The admonition is listed – they can talk with anyone about any aspect of this case. They also don’t have to talk to anyone.

3:54 p.m. Judge asks Lori if she wants to be sentenced in about 30 days or wait until after the next trial. Lori asks what the judge suggests. He says it does not matter to her. Judge tells her to consult with her advisory counsel. Jury coming back.

3:53 p.m. Lori agrees that the victim’s family suffered emotional and physical harm. Also agrees that she had an accomplice. Lori stipulated to three factors. Judge is bringing in jury and releasing them.

3:51 p.m. Lori says she is willing to stipulate to aggravating factors. Jury would need to find if this was a dangerous offense and if it causes financial harm or the victim died because of the conduct. Lori says she will stipulate to these. “Do you understand the jury would have to find these aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt?” Lori says yes. Judge could also find additional aggravating factors at sentencing.

3:50 p.m. Judge asks the clerk to poll the jury. She asks if it’s their true verdict. All say yes. Judge asks the jury to retire and be back in a few minutes.

3:49 p.m. GUILTY

3:47 p.m. Judge asks the foreperson if the jury has reached a verdict. “Yes we have.” Judge asks him to hand the verdict to his clerk.

3:46 p.m. Kay Woodcock and Gerry Vallow are here. Judge tells his staff to line up the jurors in the hallway.

3:45 p.m. Lori’s paralegal just arrived. Judge is back on the bench.

3:44 p.m. Brandon Boudreaux and his wife just walked into the courtroom. They are sitting on the front row of the gallery behind the prosecutor.

3:42 p.m. Annie Cushing, sister of Tylee’s father Joseph Ryan, traveled from New York and has been in court every day during the trial.

3:38 p.m. I’m sitting next to Jacques Billeaud of the Associated Press. He’s been reporting almost 33 years and has covered hundreds of trials. He says he still gets an adrenaline rush right before a verdict.

3:34 p.m. Lori is whispering with her advisory attorney.

3:32 p.m. Kay Woodcock and other family members are not here yet. Judge says we will wait until people arrive for the verdict. Could be a few minutes.

3:31 p.m. Lori has questions about aggravating factors. Judge asks if she plans to present any testimony or evidence in the aggravation phase. Lori says no, but can she stipulate to some things. Judge says we may need to wait to see what the verdict is. Judge asks Kay if her witnesses are here. They are not.

3:29 p.m. Lori just walked in wearing a black pant suit and purple blouse. Judge says the jury has reached a verdict. He says if the verdict is not guilty, the case will be over. If it’s guilty, there will be an aggravating phase that will begin immediately.

3:26 p.m. Judge’s staff and other court personnel are in the courtroom. There are around 20 members of the public here. Judge Justin Beresky just entered.

3:21 p.m. If jury finds Lori guilty, the jury will immediately hear aggravating circumstances from the prosecutor. Lori could also speak. The sentencing will not happen today and will likely be scheduled 30-60 days from now.

3:20 p.m. Public is being brought into the courtroom. There are extra sheriff deputies here today.

3:17 p.m. Lori’s adivsory counsel just walked in. We are inside the courtroom.

3:13 p.m. Prosecutor Treena Kay and her paralegal just walked into the courtroom with Det. Nathan Duncan. Judge’s assistant tracking down the defense team. Lori will be brought over from the jail for the verdict.

3 p.m. A verdict has been reached in Lori Vallow Daybell’s Arizona trial. It will be publicly announced between 3:30-4 p.m. Arizona time. We are waiting outside the courtroom to take our seats.

ORIGINAL STORY

PHOENIX — A verdict has been reached in Lori Vallow Daybell’s Arizona trial. It will be publicly announced between 3:30-4 p.m. Arizona time.

The jury deliberated for 17 minutes Monday and spent under three hours deliberating Tuesday.

Daybell is charged with conspiracy to commit the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

Maricopa County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Treena Kay argued Daybell conspired with her brother, Alex Cox, to shoot and kill Vallow at her Chandler home in 2019 so she could collect money from his life insurance policy and marry her then-boyfriend Chad Daybell, a Rexburg author who wrote several religious novels about the end of the world.

Daybell, who isn’t a lawyer but represented herself during the trial, claimed the shooting was in self-defense. She didn’t call any witnesses or put on any evidence during the trial, but did cross-examine many of the prosecution’s witnesses.

EastIdahoNews.com reporter Nate Eaton will post live updates from the courtroom in this story when proceedings begin. Video from the courtroom will be shown in the player above.