PHOENIX (AZFamille) – Infamous “doomsday mom” Lori Vallow Daybell was not in Maricopa County Superior Court this week.

“I think this is just a unique case,” Vallow’s defense attorney said during Thursday’s hearing.

Valou was convicted in Idaho last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2019 murders of her two youngest children, JJ and Tylee, and Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her fifth husband.

The judge said she was justifying the crimes by going down a “bizarre religious rabbit hole.”

Today, she faces additional charges in two cases in Arizona.

She is accused of orchestrating the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. And she also allegedly attempted to murder her niece’s husband, Brandon Boudreaux.

“It’s hard for me to put myself in the mind of a woman who is convicted of murdering her own children because she thought they were zombies. “So I really don’t know what’s going through Ms. Vallow’s mind, but it’s certainly possible that she’s not cooperating with this process because she just doesn’t think it’s necessary.” said Russ Richelsoph, an Arizona criminal defense attorney who is not connected to the case.

Currently, Vallow refuses to speak with mental health professionals who are trying to determine whether she is competent to stand trial.

During her trial in Idaho, she was initially deemed incompetent and was ordered to receive treatment. Later, she was determined to be mentally healthy.

Despite what happened in Idaho, Richelsoph says she could be found incompetent in Arizona.

The lawyer describes competency as a moving target that can change, and what matters now is Vallow’s current mental state.

“Just because she was incompetent in the past and then became competent doesn’t mean she’s competent today,” Richelsoph said.

Vallow’s previous attorneys requested a competency hearing, but his current legal team is requesting that request be withdrawn.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Vallow’s failure to speak with the mental health experts causes some delay, as we see here,” Judge Travis Marderosian said in court Thursday.

“The public might view this as a delaying tactic, but it’s actually a careful matter,” Richelsoph said.

Marderosian gave the doctor two more weeks to determine whether Vallow was competent.

“I know you want to move the case forward,” Marderosian said.

Richelsoph says it’s in everyone’s best interest to continue with competency hearings and mental health evaluations so that his mental capacity cannot be called into question during potential appeals.

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