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Lori Vallow (Courtesy: Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)

PHOENIX – Lori Vallow, the so-called “Doomsday Mom” ​​who was convicted of murder in Idaho, appeared in a Maricopa County courtroom for the first time in months.

Vallow is charged with the fatal shooting of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and the attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. She is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in both cases that were investigated by Chandler and Gilbert police.

A status conference was held Nov. 6 to discuss her mental competency trial, which could likely delay her murder conspiracy trial. Vallow’s new public defenders made their first court appearance, asking Judge Justin Beresky to grant them motion to withdraw the application provided for in Rule 11.

It was Vallow’s former public defenders who filed a motion for Rule 11 evaluation. These public defenders have since withdrawn from the case. On on the Maricopa County Superior Court website, pursuant to Rule 11, the Division of Criminal Services evaluates the competency of defendants in criminal cases. Vallow’s February 2025 trial has been canceled at this time due to the request.

Judge Beresky was told by one of Vallow’s new attorneys, Pamela Hicks, that after a “lengthy” conversation with Vallow, they feel she should not be in Rule 11 and the defendant wants to continue her trial by representing herself .

Meanwhile, the prosecution told Judge Beresky that he had already ruled that a Rule 11 trial was necessary when the original motion was granted on October 21. That motion was filed by Vallow’s former public defenders, who have since withdrawn over it. Prosecutors argued that a “reasonable basis” was found for the competency evaluation, and if the motion to withdraw was granted, the state would require a psychiatric evaluation.

Finally, the judge wants more information related to Vallow’s Idaho case, where she was found incompetent for nearly a year before being reinstated in April 2022. Vallow was eventually convicted of murder to her two younger children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow. and Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill her romantic rival Tammy Daybell, the first wife of Vallow’s co-defendant and current husband, Chad Daybell.

The judge presiding over Vallow’s case in Idaho said she had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and hyper-religiousness. Evidence in the trial showed that Vallow and Daybell used a classification system to decide who was a “light” or “dark” spirit and believed it was their mission to rid the world of zombies as the end of the world approached. Judge Beresky now wants to know if the drugs were instrumental in restoring Vallow’s competency and has decided to keep the Rule 11 trial, especially if he wants to represent himself in court without an attorney.

Reports from two court-appointed doctors are expected as soon as Nov. 7, and the judge will keep Vallow’s Rule 11 hearing on the Nov. 14 schedule. A status conference is subsequently set for November 20 to determine more about the status. of the case.