An Arizona judge ruled last week that “cult mom” Lori Vallow Daybell can represent herself in her trial for the murder of her fourth husband and attempted murder of her niece’s ex-husband.

Lori Vallow Daybell was previously convicted in Idaho on the murders of two of her children, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and her fifth husband’s first wife, Tammy Daybell. That fifth husband, Chad Daybell, was later convicted on the same charges. Vallow Daybell was sentenced to three life terms in prison, while her husband was given the death penalty.

And then Vallow Daybell was extradited to Arizona to stand trial there on conspiracy charges in the murder of Charles Vallow and the attemped murder of Brandon Boudreaux. The suspect in both cases was Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, who died, reportedly of natural causes, months after the shootings in 2019. Cox was also tied to the Idaho cases.

Judge Justin Beresky made the decision about representation a day after doctors said during a competency hearing that Vallow Daybell was fit to stand trial, KSAZ reported.

During Friday’s hearing on representation, Beresky asked Vallow Daybell why she wanted to represent herelf.

“For the past five years that I’ve been incarcerated,” she said, “I have taken upon myself to study case law and criminal rules of procedure in the State of Idaho and Arizona, as well as federally.”

She added that she studied family law for a decade prior to her arrest in 2020 and that she has “real trial experence.”

“I have participated in three different full trials from beginning to end,” she said, although it’s unclear what trials those were, other than her own murder trial in Idaho.

Beresky cautioned Vallow Daybell about the dangers of representing herself without the multiple years of experence an actually lawyers has.

“A person who represents themselves, they don’t get any breaks,” said attorney Benjamin Taylor. “The judge holds that person who represents themselves to the same standards as an attorney.”

Her two current attorneys will be considered her “advisory counsel,” the judge said.

Vallow Daybell’s Arizona trial is set to begin on March 31, 2025.

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[Featured image: Lori Vallow Daybell/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office]