In 2019, a bullet came within inches of Brandon Boudreaux’s head as a gunman opened fire outside his Arizona home.
The attempted shooting uncovered an alleged murder-for-hire scheme connected to Lori Vallow Daybell. Prosecutors said she enlisted her brother, Alex Cox, to target Boudreaux, who was involved in a bitter divorce from Vallow’s niece, Melani Pawlowski.
Years later, Boudreaux is sharing his account of the attack and the events that followed.
On Oct. 2, 2019, Cox allegedly fired from a parked Jeep Wrangler as Boudreaux drove his Tesla into the driveway of his Gilbert home. Boudreaux noticed the Jeep’s rear window was open just before the shot rang out. The bullet slammed into the driver’s-side door and shattered the window.
Brandon Boudreaux was targeted in a failed murder-for-hire plot tied to Lori Vallow Daybell. (Courtesy of Brandon Boudreaux)
Authorities identified Cox as the suspected gunman soon after the shooting, but he died in December 2019 before prosecutors could charge him.
In June 2025, an Arizona jury found Vallow, widely known as the “cult mom,” guilty of conspiring to kill Boudreaux. Two months earlier, a separate jury convicted her of conspiring in the death of her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot and killed by Cox in July 2019.
Those Arizona verdicts came after Vallow’s 2023 trial in Idaho. Jurors convicted her of murdering her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, as well as conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, the former wife of Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell.
She was also found guilty of grand theft for collecting Social Security benefits intended for her children.
Lori Vallow looks toward the camera during a March 6, 2020, hearing in Rexburg, Idaho. Defense attorney Edwina Elcox sits beside her. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool)
Sharing his story
Boudreaux recounts the ordeal in his new book, “Unthinkable.” He first wrote the manuscript as a private record for his four children, hoping to give them a fuller understanding of what happened and the decisions he made.
“I’m sure I made some mistakes,” Boudreaux told News Media. “If they need some closure, if they need to understand better… my goal was to give them all the information.”
Boudreaux also wanted the book to explain how his faith helped sustain him, while making clear that his children would be free to follow their own spiritual beliefs.
“I want them to understand their dad and maybe in understanding their dad and why he made the choices he did, maybe they’ll understand themselves better,” he said.
Lori Vallow wears a smirk in a mugshot taken after her Idaho murder conviction. (Madison County Sheriff)
The book eventually grew into a public project after Boudreaux shared the manuscript with family and friends. They encouraged him to make the story available to a wider audience.
“They all encouraged me,” he said. “They said they thought it was good enough and there was enough in there that people would be interested in.”
Even so, Boudreaux held back until the criminal cases moved forward. He deliberately avoided releasing details that might compromise the investigations or court proceedings.
Lori and Chad Daybell were convicted in the deaths of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
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“I needed to go on the stand with a defense attorney,” he said. “I just felt more comfortable waiting and making sure that I let that process go first.”
“Now that it feels like it’s most likely done, it was something that I always kind of intended to share my perspective on.”
Divorce and shooting
During Vallow’s Idaho murder trial, Boudreaux testified that his marriage to Pawlowski collapsed in 2019 as she grew closer to Vallow.
The couple filed for divorce in July 2019. They later fought over custody of their children.
According to a 2020 custody filing in Maricopa County Superior Court, Pawlowski’s second husband, Ian, wrote that she believed a “dark entity” or demon had possessed Boudreaux, East Idaho News reported.
The filing also claimed Chad Daybell told Pawlowski something must happen to Boudreaux to advance his spirit and the Lord’s plan.
Chad Daybell sits at the defense table after the jury’s verdict in his murder trial was read at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday, May 30, 2024. (Kyle Green, Pool)
Pawlowski has not been charged in the shooting.
Boudreaux, who remarried in 2020, said the shooting, his divorce and the lingering fear that someone was still after him left him struggling to trust others.
“Having been through someone shooting at me, and then having them continue, in my opinion, to keep looking for me … you’re just naturally gonna have some trust issues,” he said.
He acknowledged that public attention brought some discomfort, but said most people treat him with kindness and respect.
Lori Vallow Daybell smiles outside of an Idaho courthouse on Aug. 16, 2022. (Tony Blakeslee/East Idaho News via AP)
Investigation remains active
Boudreaux declined to discuss details of the shooting investigation, saying he wanted to leave that work to law enforcement.
“I encourage them to continue the investigation,” he said. “I really don’t want to talk about the investigation. I want to leave that up to them.”
The Gilbert Police Department confirmed to NBC News that the investigation into the 2019 shooting remains active.
‘Everybody has value’
Boudreaux said he hopes readers take away a broader message from “Unthinkable” about finding value and overcoming adversity.
“I hope that everybody has value and everybody can help someone else,” he said, adding that difficult experiences do not have to dictate a person’s choices.
“Just because something hard happens in your life doesn’t mean that you have to respond a certain way.”