'Wake of Destruction' Judge Delivers Justice in Lori Daybell Sentencing

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: in this day and age where truth seems to matter little to our talking heads on the news and to our politicians I'm proud that this trial court and through our jury trials we draw on the collective wisdom of jurors to determine the truth as I said in my jury instructions to the jury is their job to determine the truth the defendant spent several minutes talking about statistics and being prevented from presenting her side and that is not the truth Maricopa County is a court of innovation we virtually screened hundreds of jurors and we kicked off jurors from service that had ever even heard of Lori Bell so when she says that she couldn't get a fair trial in Maricopa County that is not the truth your cases involved 24 separate jurors who deliberated and reach verdicts on these two cases they represent a broad cross-section of society which means these two verdicts represent the decisions of our community not the view of a single person not the view of a single prosecutor and not the view of a judge the collective decision making of juries helps to reduce individual biases and errors in judgment 12 jurors in the first case unanimously agreed that proof beyond a reasonable doubt established you conspired to kill Charles Valley and 12 separate jurors in the second case again with no prior knowledge of you whatsoever no knowledge of your notoriety unanimously agreed you conspired to have Brandon Boudreau killed many people have asked why the state bothered to extradite you and bring you to Arizona given the sentences that you received in Idaho trials are not just about seeking accountability or punishment from those who have committed crimes but to give the victims of crimes justice and acknowledgement of the impact of being a victim justice demands not only recognition of the pain inflicted but a firm response that upholds the dignity of every victim harmed by the actions of someone who has shown blatant disregard for humanity you've left a wake of destruction stretching from Louisiana across Texas Arizona up to Idaho and back again any time a person victimizes a single individual the ripple effects of their actions extend far beyond the immediate harm and you have not victimized just a single victim but many you've shattered lives you've undermined the trust you've soared fear in the hearts of many I can't imagine what Brandon and his family went through for those months hiding Charles's family wondering who's next is someone coming for them Jenny said a lot of the things I had already I was already gonna say to you Brandon I'll just touch on a couple of them I had wondered during the trial whether you to suffer from survivor's guilt and she confirmed that for me today I also remember looking at you in the back of the courtroom trial and just you have this look about you of a wounded individual I hope you can heal someday to Charles's family I just want to share with you that I'm sorry for your loss Charles seemed like a great all-around guy one of the exhibits that was put up during the first trial I noticed something he and I share the same birthday so I'll remember him on my birthday I've seen many many cases in my career where someone faces a long prison sentence for what amounted to one split second bad decision you are not that person the amount of contemplation calculation planning manipulation that went into these crimes is unparalleled in my career your powers of manipulation are profoundly destructive one that undermines trust distorts truth and can erode the very foundations of healthy relationships and society the impact of your manipulation has been devastating insidious and far-reaching and perhaps still unknown one can't help but wonder if Alex died as a result of the extraordinary burdens that you placed upon him no one will ever know you preyed on the vulnerability of those around you JJ, Tylee, Alex, Melanie, others and today I heard about Colby you specialized in exploiting the empathy and goodwill of others turning those virtues into tools of control and harm I think that over time as a result of being subjected to your manipulation those people lost their sense of self and their ability to distinguish truth from falsehood in the face of such profound damage a long prison sentence is not merely a punishment it is a necessary affirmation that our society values justice protection and the sanctity of human life you just referenced a bible verse or a verse recently about the prisoners shall go free that is not a literal verse that is a verse about people that accept Jesus can be in prison and they will go free when they die and go to heaven but it will take an act of God for you to go free in short you should never be released from prison eventually the camera that you seek out so much the media requests will lessen over time and you'll fade into obscurity the state has requested that I find additional aggravation the court does find that in CR 2021 001704 the offense was committed in the expectation that you would receive pecuniary gain in the CR 2022 001 242 case the court finds the emotional harm suffered by Brandon and his family to be immeasurable the sentences on those aggravating factors alone will be justified the state also asked to find an aggravating factor of a prior felony conviction within 10 years of this offense however I'm hesitant to do that just because of the way that statute reads that the offense had to be committed before the date of the offense on these two crimes which it wasn't so the court will decline to find that aggravating factor however as I said the substantial amount of harm to the victims and the victims family emotional financial and otherwise are immeasurable and justifies consecutive sentences Ms. Vallow what's your position on Ms. Woodcock's restitution request of $8,949.52 [00:08:21] Speaker 2: I just received it from my advisory council and I'd like to get a chance to look at it so I know that the restitution from Brandon hasn't been turned in yet so we'll look at that and I can discuss it with my advisory council [00:08:26] Speaker 1: Would you want to waive your appearance for a restitution hearing in the future and have your council handle that? [00:08:43] Speaker 2: I don't see why I couldn't appear by Zoom [00:08:46] Speaker 3: I think my request would be just to leave not waive her appearance at this time but if there ends up being some restitution hearing I can reach out to her and decide if she wants to be here for that [00:09:00] Speaker 1: we would have her extradited from Idaho for a restitution hearing if she wants to appear so that's my issue here she may be able to appear virtually I don't know [00:09:10] Speaker 3: because at this time we don't have the restitution from Mr. Boudreaux so [00:09:14] Speaker 1: I'm going to set a status conference regarding restitution as to Kay Woodcock we'll set that in a few moments if you agree to it prior to that date we'll vacate it if not we'll have to talk about setting a restitution hearing The court will also at the request of Brandon Boudreaux issue a lifetime injunction that prevents you from having any form of contact whatsoever with him for the rest of your life The court will also issue an injunction on behalf of Susan Vallow Kay Woodcock and Jerry Vallow that likewise prohibits you from having any form of contact with him for the rest of your life you'll be served with those injunctions later today In each case, it's ordered that you pay a $9 victim compensation fund assessment, a $20 probation assessment, a $2 victim's rights enforcement assessment, and a $13 criminal penalty assessment Although it's largely symbolic, the court's going to impose the maximum force of the court's going to impose the maximum fine allowable for each case, it's ordered that you pay a $150,000 fine plus a 78% surcharge on each case Those total fines on each case is $267,000 I know the law says that you can't financially benefit off your crimes but in the event that somehow you did those restitution amount or those fine amounts are out there that can be paid As to count 1 in CR 2021 001704 The court orders you to be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 25 calendar years This sentence would run consecutives This sentence would run consecutively to the district court of the 7th Judicial District of the State of Idaho in Fremont County case number CR 22-21-1624 As to count 1 in CR 2022 002, I'm sorry 001242-001, it's ordered that you be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 25 calendar years That sentence also due to the number of victims you've created in the two cases, the immeasurable harm you've inflicted on many It's ordered that that run consecutive to CR 2021 001704 Because these sentences are consecutive to one another and consecutive to the Idaho case in which you are currently serving a sentence, you're giving zero days credit for time served You have the right to appeal from the orders of the court and to have a lawyer represent you If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you If instead you want to represent yourself in your appeal, you must file a written waiver no later than 30 days after the filing of your notice of appeal If you cannot afford copies of the necessary records and transcripts, they would be provided for you at no cost If you want to appeal, you must file a notice of appeal within 20 days of today or you lose that right If you want to petition for post-conviction of relief, you must file a notice within 90 days from today Or within 30 days after the appellate court issues a mandate affirming the judgment and sentence in your direct appeal Whichever is later or you would lose that right as well It's ordered remanding you to the custody department of corrections effective today to carry out those sentences We're at recess.