PHOENIX — Thursday marked the fourth day of testimony in the Lori Daybell trial in Maricopa County. Daybell is accused of conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, with the help of her brother.
Alex Cox shot and killed Vallow in July 2019, but he claimed self-defense. Daybell told jurors the same during opening statements.
The state called a new witness to the stand on day four, Daybell’s other brother, Adam Cox.
Adam said that he heard Daybell say that she believed she was transitioning to a "celestial state" and was expressing beliefs outside the LDS church. Adam said he expressed concerns regarding what Daybell was saying, including that she was higher than priests within their religion.
Adam said Vallow also told him about “fictional” emails addressed to Daybell’s now fifth husband, a doomsday author. Those emails made it appear that Vallow was asking the author to come to Arizona and write a book on Vallow’s baseball career.
Watch Thursday's trial in the player below:
Adam testified he had tried to talk to his family and Daybell about his concerns, but he was cut off. Vallow and Adam started trying to develop a plan for an intervention and possibly record Daybell. The hope, he said, was to take the recording to the leader within their religious community.
“I personally feel she’s too far gone,” said Vallow in a text to Adam. “It’s going to take us going to Holmes, or she won’t ever stop.”
Holmes was the last name of the stake president in their religious community.
Adam said that he had been texting Vallow the morning he was shot and killed, but he didn’t find out until two days later that his brother-in-law had died. The last message he sent to Vallow was marked as read on July 11, 2019, hours after police responded to the deadly shooting.
Daybell, during cross-examination, seemed to attempt to create separation between her relationship with Adam. One of her final questions included if Adam had heard or seen her or Alex conspire to kill Vallow. Adam said no.
On redirect, Adam said he told his family he believed Alex and Daybell had planned to kill Vallow. At one point, he even said there was “no doubt in my mind."
The second witness called to the stand was Serena Sharpe, who met Daybell during a religious conference at the end of 2018.
She testified that Daybell started talking about the light and dark and casting out evil through prayer. Sharpe said Daybell had also tried to introduce an idea that she and others would no longer have to repent.
During a girls' weekend in March 2019, Sharpe said that Daybell asked the group to “cast out” an evil spirit from Vallow. Sharpe testified that Daybell was calling the spirit Ned.
Daybell has not asked any questions regarding religion during her cross-examinations.
VIDEO: ABC15's Ashley Holden breaks down what happened inside the courtroom during day four:
The court heard testimony Thursday from three other witnesses, including two people who work for the City of Chandler.
One, a now-retired police officer talked about the extraction process from cell phones. The second was a forensic scientist who helped with testing on the bat found at the scene.
Vallow claimed in opening statements that Vallow was yielding a bat during an argument when the shooting happened.
The scientist, Marrisa Francisco, said there were two prints found on the upper portion of the bat. Francisco testified that the prints had no value for identification, but the original request was to see if there were prints that matched Charles Vallow, Alex Cox, or Lori Daybell.
She said both prints were inconclusive to exclude or identify as Charles Vallow's.
The week ended with emotional testimony from Kay Woodcock, Vallow's sister. She described the months leading up to Vallow's death and talked about visits from her brother.
Woodcock also described a time when Vallow couldn't find Daybell. The period lasted over 50 days, and Vallow told Woodcock he was changing his life insurance policy beneficiary.
The relationship between her brother and his wife, Woodcock said, was contentious.
She described the day she found out her brother was dead, learning Vallow was shot and killed by Alex on the internet. Woodcock described how hard that was through tears.
During cross-examination, Daybell asked the question she asked repeatedly Thursday if Woodcock had seen or heard Daybell conspiring to kill Vallow.
"No but I saw a ton of evidence that did," said Woodcock.
As Woodcock came off the stand, Daybell's son Colby Ryan was there to offer her a hug. Ryan came to watch day four in person and spoke with ABC15 after.
COLBY RYAN: It was an emotional day in court and Colby Ryan chose to come. Giving Kay Woodcock (Vallow’s sister) a hug as she stepped down from the stand. Here’s what he had to say after ⬇️⬇️⬇️ @abc15 pic.twitter.com/lFQXeybIAs
— Ashley Holden (@ashleyvholden) April 11, 2025
"It was just confusing for me," said Ryan. "I think it’s validating just because of how I grew up, but it’s hard to watch her talk the way that she talks to other people. So, it’s hard."
Ryan has been watching the trial and providing his own thoughts on his YouTube page.
"That's just been the biggest point is to give myself a platform to talk about my emotions, things I'm experiencing, and hoping that reaches other people and helps them," said Ryan.
Court will resume on Monday with an early start time on April 14 and 15 at 10 a.m.
ABC15 will stream Lori Daybell's Arizona trial as it unfolds live on the ABC15 streaming apps, as well as theABC15 YouTube channel.
Monday's live feed is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Arizona time, following a 30-minute delay from a judge's orders.
