Lori Vallow appears in Arizona court as she's arraigned on charges of murdering her fourth husband Charles Vallow - months after being convicted of killing her children JJ and Tylee

Lori Vallow flashed a smile today as she was led away in shackles after appearing at a court in Arizona charged with murdering her fourth husband Charles Vallow.

The 'doomsday cult mom' - who was convicted in May of murdering her two children Tylee, 16, and JJ, 7, is accused of scheming with her brother Alex Cox to kill Charles in July 2019, and plotting to kill her niece's husband Brandon Boudreaux. 

Vallow was extradited from Idaho to Arizona last week to face the charges. She was indicted over Vallow's death in June 2021, and Boudreaux's planned murder in February 2022. 

The alleged plans to murder her relatives came as Vallow became obsessed with the deranged apocalyptic prophecies of the author Chad Daybell - who she would go onto marry shortly after Charles' alleged murder.

The bodies of Tylee and JJ were found in the yard of Daybell's property in June 2020, and he is also set to stand trial for their murder in April 2024. 

Vallow appeared only briefly on Thursday, wearing handcuffs and an orange prison jumpsuit, as she stated her name and acknowledged the charges against her. 

She was booked into the Maricopa County Jail last week after her extradition, where she is being held without bond. 

The additional charges against her come after a grand jury indicted Vallow in 2021 in connection to the killing of Charles, who was fatally shot by Cox in her Arizona home. 

Cox, who died of natural causes in December 2019, insisted he shot and killed Charles out of self defense, but prosecutors claim it was planned as the brother and sister both descended into beliefs of the apocalypse. 

It is claimed that Vallow and Cox, both devout Mormons, were convinced the end times were imminent, and their relatives had become possessed by zombies and believed they could save them through killing them. 

Prosecutors allege the religious zealotry was an excuse used by the family to carry out the murders. 

The alleged plotting also saw Vallow allegedly plan to kill her niece's husband Brandon Boudreaux, who was shot at from a moving car in October 2019 but was not hit, shortly after JJ and Tylee were last seen alive. 

Boudreaux reportedly told investigators at the time he believed Cox was behind the wheel.  

Vallow denied murdering her children when she was convicted earlier this year, and said at her sentencing she was not responsible for their deaths. 

'Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here,' she said. 'No one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.' 

The two children were last seen alive in September 2019, however their remains were not discovered until cops searched Daybell's backyard in June 2020. 

Daybell, the author of numerous fantasist books warning of the end times, is accused of being involved in the murders related to his wild theories - including that God would spare only 144,000 people when the apocalypse struck in July 2020. 

Court documents claimed that Vallow wanted to be rid of her family to be ready for the second coming of Christ, and 'she had a more important mission to carry out.'