Lori Vallow Daybell, the woman known as “Doomsday Mom,” told an Arizona jury in her opening statement Monday that her estranged husband was shot out of self-defense. But prosecutors argue that Vallow Daybell planned with her brother to shoot her estranged husband because she believed an evil spirit was possessing him.

Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself, is on trial for first-degree murder in connection with the killing of Charles Vallow, her estranged husband who was shot by her brother, Alex Cox, in July 2019.

Vallow Daybell is already serving three consecutive life sentences without parole for the murder of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow, who were killed in September 2019.

Vallow Daybell met Chad Daybell, a radical religious author, in 2018 and soon developed a romantic relationship with him even though the two were married to other people. They shared radical religious views that were Mormon-influenced but ultimately separate from the Mormon church. Vallow Daybell believed she and Daybell were supposed to lead the 144,000 people who would survive the end of the world in July 2020, leading to her “Doomsday Mom” nickname.

In her opening statement, Vallow Daybell described the circumstances that led to the shooting of Charles Vallow, her fourth husband. She claimed that Tylee, her daughter from a previous marriage, was not getting along with Vallow, and disagreements between the two increased to physical altercations in 2019.

On July 11, 2019, Vallow Daybell said Tylee and Cox were asleep at her residence in Idaho when Vallow showed up to take their son, J.J., to school. Vallow and Vallow Daybell got into an argument over his cellphone, waking up Tylee and Cox.

Tylee came out of her room with a bat to protect her mother, Vallow Daybell said. Tylee and Vallow then fought over the bat before the teen fell to the ground. Vallow lifted the bat to hit Tylee with it when Cox intervened. Vallow Daybell said Tylee then left the house to get away from the struggle between Vallow and Cox and “at some point” her brother “apparently” retrieved his gun and shot Vallow in self-defense.

Treena Kay, Maricopa County deputy prosecuting attorney, told the jury Monday that the shooting was not self-defense, but instead a way for Vallow Daybell to marry Daybell, her current husband, and collect $1 million of Vallow’s life insurance policy.

During her opening statement, Kay said that Vallow Daybell and Daybell believed Vallow was possessed by a spirit called Ned Schneider and that they needed to kill him and Ned. Cox and Vallow Daybell planned how they were going to kill Vallow, the prosecutor said, and that Vallow Daybell took Vallow’s cellphone to keep him there so Cox could kill him.

“Lori Vallow is why Charles didn’t just leave with J.J. that morning,” Kay said. “Lori Vallow is why Alex Cox was able to shoot Charles. Lori Vallow is why Charles is dead.”

Kay said after Cox fatally shot Vallow, Vallow Daybell left the house in Vallow’s rental car with his cellphone and wallet. She dropped J.J. off at school and Cox didn’t call 911 until 47 minutes after Vallow Daybell left.

During those 47 minutes, Kay said, Cox staged a scene. He put the bat by Vallow’s right arm, but Vallow was left-handed. Vallow Daybell told police that Vallow struck Cox with a bat, but Kay said there was no blood evidence on Cox.

“No blood on the floors, no blood on the gun, no damage to the mirrors, bat on the wrong side. The lack of physical evidence to help support this self-defense claim,” Kay said.