Lori Vallow, who is currently serving three life sentences for the murders of her two youngest children, has revealed her motives for choosing to represent herself in her upcoming trial.
In 2023, Vallow received life sentences for the 2019 murders of her children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua ‘JJ’ Vallow, 7, as well as for the planned murder of Tammy Daybell, the first wife of her current husband, Chad Daybell.
While incarcerated in Idaho, Vallow is now gearing up for a trial in Arizona, where she faces a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
Charles Vallow was shot dead at Lori’s home in Arizona in 2019.
In the past, prosecutors have stated that Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, informed the police that he had shot Charles in self-defense after being attacked with a baseball bat.
Cox passed away later that year, with authorities attributing his death to natural causes.
In an interview with True Crime Arizona, Vallow spoke about her decision to represent herself in the forthcoming trial.
She explained: “There’s lots of reasons. I am not an attorney. I’m not an attorney. I do not 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.
“I came here with the intention of having a speedy trial. Right? These charges came first. Right? They’re like five years old. I first talked to the attorneys, and I was like, they’ve had five years, the prosecutors, to put their case together.
“And I really want to go to trial, we need to go.”
When questioned about critics on social media who suggest she is representing herself because she perceives the trial as a ‘challenge, a show, a game’, Vallow responded:
“I never hear any of this stuff because I’m in a room 23 hours a day, and we don’t have any access to any kind of news.
“Or any kind of anything, really. So I didn’t know that people were saying that, but I wouldn’t agree with that, obviously.”
Moreover, she asserted that she is more familiar with her case than any lawyer who has studied it for two years could be.
She also implied that the events involving her children should be viewed as a family tragedy rather than a murder.
She remarked: “But here’s the thing, when you waive your speedy trial, then they can keep you here as long as you want. There are intelligent, strong, beautiful women in here that have been here for eight years because of family tragedies.
“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.”
The opening statements for her trial are set to begin on Monday, April 7.
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