Lori Vallow Daybell Indicted by Grand Jury on Conspiracy to Commit Murder

Lori Vallow Daybell has been indicted by a Maricopa County, Arizona grand jury with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the death of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow, according to a press release from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office Tuesday.

"Lori N. Vallow, on or about July 11, 2019, with the intent to promote or aid the commission of an offense, to-wit: First Degree Murder, agreed with Alexander Cox [her brother] that at least one of them or another would engage in first-degree murder," read the indictment documents filed in court.

Earlier this month, Vallow Daybell, who has also been accused of the murder of her two children, was ordered to the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare by a judge for up to 90 days as part of a process to assess her mental fitness to stand trial.

Four months before he was fatally shot, Vallow filed for divorce from his wife, alleging that she had become obsessed with near-death experiences and multiple past lives. He also said he feared for his own life.

Vallow's former divorce attorneys say he told them, "If anything happens to me, it was Lori and her brother Alex who did it," according to a statement from Steven Ellsworth and F. Taylor Larson.

Police records show that Cox called emergency services in 2019 to report that he had shot and killed his brother-in-law, Charles Vallow, in self-defense when Vallow was picking up his son from his ex-wife. Until now, law enforcement had declined to comment on Lori's potential involvement in the death.

Cox was not arrested and died a few months later from what medical examiners said was a pulmonary blood clot.

"Complex, difficult cases of this nature take time to properly investigate and solve. I appreciate the tremendous number of hours the dedicated officers of the Chandler Police Department have invested," said County Attorney Allister Adel. "And my office is equally committed to bringing those responsible for Charles Vallow's death to justice."

Vallow Daybell, along with her husband, doomsday novelist Chad Daybell, whom she married in November 2019, have also been implicated in the death of Daybell's former wife, Tammy Daybell, who died under mysterious circumstances in October 2019.

Tammy Daybell's obituary read that she died in her sleep of natural causes. When Chad and Lori married two weeks later, authorities became suspicious and exhumed the body.

The two children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, were found buried on Chad Daybell's property in eastern Idaho in June 2020.

Newsweek reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment.