A medical examiner testified Monday in Lori Vallow Daybell’s trial that her husband, Charles Vallow, may have been lying on the ground when one of the bullets that killed him was fired.
Vallow Daybell, known widely as the “doomsday mom,” is on trial in Arizona for the 2019 death of her fourth husband, Charles.
She claims her brother, Alex Cox, shot Charles in self-defense. Cox died later that year from a pulmonary embolism and was never charged.
Dr. Derek Bumgarner, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, said Charles Vallow died from two gunshot wounds—one to the chest and another to the abdomen. The first shot, which pierced his heart, appeared to be fired from close range—about 2 to 4 feet away.
The second shot, however, appeared to have an unusual “shored” exit wound, which Bumgarner said suggested Charles was on a firm surface, like the floor, when the bullet exited his body. He also had abrasions on his knees, possibly from falling after the first shot.
Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself in court, cross-examined the medical examiner and asked whether the abrasions could have come from a struggle before the shooting. Bumgarner acknowledged that possibility.
She also asked whether the second exit wound could have been caused while her husband was still falling. “Not really,” Bumgarner replied, emphasizing that the injury likely came after Charles had hit the ground.
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Vallow Daybell floated the idea that tight clothing, such as bamboo fabric, could have caused the shored wound. Bumgarner said he wasn’t familiar enough with that material to say.
Later, a Chandler police officer testified that Vallow Daybell appeared unemotional and even laughed during her police interview the day Charles was killed.
Vallow Daybell is already serving life in prison after being convicted in Idaho for the murders of her two children and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her fifth husband’s wife, Tammy Daybell.
