‘Cult mom’ Lori Vallow wanted him dead – 7 years later he gets last word on surviving doomsday killer’s plot
Brandon Boudreaux survived a 2019 Arizona shooting allegedly carried out by Alex Cox during a divorce and custody battle
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A bullet missed Brandon Boudreaux’s head by inches when a gunman opened fire on him outside his Arizona home in 2019.
The failed assassination exposed a murder-for-hire plot involving Lori Vallow Daybell. Prosecutors said she recruited her brother, Alex Cox, to kill Boudreaux, who was in the midst of a contentious divorce from Vallow’s niece, Melani Pawlowski.
Now, Boudreaux is telling his side of the story.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Oct. 2, 2019, Cox allegedly fired from a parked Jeep Wrangler as Boudreaux pulled his Tesla into the driveway at his Gilbert home. Boudreaux saw the vehicle’s rear window open moments before the shooter fired. A bullet struck Boudreaux’s driver’s-side door, shattering the window.
Brandon Boudreaux was shot at during a failed murder-for-hire plot involving Lori Vallow Daybell. (Courtesy of Brandon Boudreaux)
ARIZONA JURY FINDS 'CULT MOM' LORI VALLOW GUILTY OF CONSPIRING TO MURDER LATE HUSBAND
Although police identified Cox as the suspected shooter shortly after the attack, he died in December 2019 without facing charges.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Arizona jury convicted Vallow, known as the "cult mom," in June 2025 of conspiring to kill Boudreaux. Two months earlier, another jury convicted her of conspiring to murder her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, whom Cox shot and killed in July 2019.
The Arizona convictions followed Vallow’s 2023 Idaho trial. Jurors found her guilty of murdering her two children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her husband, Chad Daybell.
Jurors also convicted her of grand theft for collecting her children’s Social Security benefits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lori Vallow glances at the camera during her March 6, 2020 hearing in Rexburg, Idaho. At her right is defense attorney Edwina Elcox. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool)
Sharing his story
Boudreaux is telling his story in his new book, "Unthinkable." He initially wrote the book privately for his four children. He wanted them to have a broader account of the ordeal and understand his decisions.
"I'm sure I made some mistakes," Boudreaux told Fox News Digital. "If they need some closure, if they need to understand better... my goal was to give them all the information."
He also hoped to demonstrate how his faith anchored him, while giving his children the freedom to choose their own spiritual path.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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 smirks in a new mugshot taken after her Idaho murder conviction. (Madison County Sheriff)
The project expanded after Boudreaux showed the manuscript to loved ones, who urged him to share it with the public.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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."
Still, Boudreaux waited until the criminal proceedings advanced before speaking publicly, purposely avoiding the release of information that could interfere with the investigations.
Lori and Chad Daybell were convicted of killing 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019. (Rexberg Police Department)
"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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
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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)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Gilbert Police Department confirmed to NBC News that the investigation into the 2019 shooting remains active.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}‘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.
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"Just because something hard happens in your life doesn’t mean that you have to respond a certain way."