PHOENIX (CN) — Testimony is nearing an end in the murder conspiracy trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, a religious extremist accused of planning the murder of her ex-nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux in 2019.
On the fourth day of trial, forensic scientist Vanessa Mielke told the court Tuesday that the DNA collected from the Jeep from which Boudreaux was shot at outside his Chandler, Arizona, home belonged to Daybell’s brother Alex Cox.
Mielke, who tested the DNA evidence collected by the Chandler police after the October 2019 shooting, said the odds of finding a coincidental match are less than one in one quintillion, or a 1 followed by 18 zeros.
Later, police witnesses say they found gunshot residue left on the interior of the rear window and multiple rifles inside Cox’s apartment. His recent internet searches included places to practice shooting rifles.
State prosecutors say Cox, who died of natural causes before he could be charged, was responsible for Vallow Daybell’s dirty work in this murder attempt as well as the multiple murders Vallow Daybell has already been convicted in the conspiracy of, the victims being her ex-husband, her two children and the ex-wife of her lover Chad Daybell.
Evidence across three separate trials in two years paints a picture of cult-like religious beliefs, the most prominent of which was Vallow Daybell’s belief that her ex-husband and children were possessed by dark spirits and turned to zombies to prevent Vallow Daybell from leading the survivors of the upcoming holy apocalypse. Texts between her, Cox and Chad Daybell seem to confirm those beliefs.
Prosecutors suggest that was simply a ruse to excuse eliminating her family so Vallow Daybell could collect social security and life insurance and spend a new life with Daybell, whom she moved to Hawaii with in 2020 before police discovered her children’s bodies.
While Vallow Daybell wasn’t in Chandler when Boudreaux reported a gunshot into his own car window coming from the back of a dark-colored Jeep, police soon learned that the Jeep was registered to Vallow Daybell in Texas, where she used to live.
Detective Ray Hermosillo of the Rexburg, Idaho, police department said Tuesday that he observed Vallow Daybell on security footage going in and out of an apartment rented by Cox, where the Jeep was left parked. After retrieving a search warrant, Hermosillo said he found multiple rifles inside the apartment garage, strengthening the theory that Cox used a rifle to shoot Boudreaux.
He said he later saw surveillance footage of Vallow Daybell going in and out of a storage unit in the days leading up to and following the shooting. In it, she is seen stashing the Jeep’s rear seats and spare tire to make it easier for Cox to shoot out the back window.
Vallow Daybell filed a motion last week to preclude testimony from Hermosillo, who testified against Chad Daybell his own trial over the deaths of his ex-wife and Vallow Daybell’s children in Boise in 2023. Maricopa County Judge Justin Beresky denied the motion.
Vallow Daybell began Tuesday morning by cross examining Chandler Police Detective Ryan Pillar, who took a break from the stand Monday due to scheduling conflicts. Back on the stand, Pillar, lead case agent on the shooting, said “at least four people” heard a loud bang consistent with a gunshot at the time of the accused crime. Vallow Daybell pressed him to name the so-called witnesses, but Pillar was unable to do so, saying that he never talked to them directly.
Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself, argued that the reports she read never included four witnesses, but the state objected to her adding her own testimony. Next, Vallow Daybell pressed Pillar about the reported color of the Jeep from which Boudreaux says he was shot at. While he told police it was green, other witnesses who saw the car parked outside his house told police it was gray.
“It is quite common that colors are mistaken, especially when you add a dramatic element to it,” Pillar said.
Vallow Daybell asked Pillar why the bullet fragments found Boudreaux’s car — police say the bullet traveled through the driver’s side, taking the window out in the process — weren’t tested to determine the type of gun that was used. She suggested that the police didn’t know whether the weapon shot was a rifle, a handgun or something else.
On redirect, state prosecutor Treena Kay said the type of gun used doesn’t matter.
“Could a handgun kill someone?” she asked.
“Yes,” Pillar answered.
“Could a rifle kill someone?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
The state indicated it has only one remaining witness — an FBI agent who extracted text and call data from Vallow Daybell’s cell phone. The state expects to rest on Wednesday.
