A bullet missed Brandon Boudreaux’s head by inches when a gunman opened fireplace on him outside his Arizona dwelling in 2019.

The failed assassination uncovered 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 facet of the story.

On Oct. 2, 2019, Cox allegedly fired from a parked Jeep Wrangler as Boudreaux pulled his Tesla into the driveway at his Gilbert dwelling. Boudreaux saw the car’s rear window open moments before the shooter fired. A bullet struck Boudreaux’s driver’s-side door, shattering the window.

Although police recognized Cox as the suspected shooter shortly after the attack, he died in December 2019 with out going through fees.

An Arizona jury convicted Vallow, identified as the “cult mom,” in June 2025 of conspiring to kill Boudreaux. Two months earlier, another jury convicted her of conspiring to homicide her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, whom Cox shot and killed in July 2019.

Joshua Vallow, 7, left, and Tylee Ryan, 17, in a picture launched by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. AP

The Arizona convictions adopted Vallow’s 2023 Idaho trial. Jurors discovered her responsible of murdering her two kids, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and conspiring to homicide Tammy Daybell, the former spouse of her husband, Chad Daybell.

Jurors also convicted her of grand theft for amassing her kids’s Social Security advantages.

Sharing his story

Boudreaux is telling his story in his new e-book, “Unthinkable.” He initially wrote the e-book privately for his 4 kids. He needed them to have a broader account of the ordeal and perceive his choices.

“I’m sure I made some mistakes,” Boudreaux instructed Fox News Digital. “If they need some closure, if they need to understand better… my goal was to give them all the information.”

In a courtroom sketch, Brandon Boudreaux testifies during Lori Vallow Daybell’s homicide trial in Boise, Idaho,, April 10, 2023. AP

He also hoped to show how his religion anchored him, while giving his kids the freedom to select their own religious path.

“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.

The undertaking expanded after Boudreaux confirmed the manuscript to family members, who urged him to share it with the public.

“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 felony proceedings superior before talking publicly, purposely avoiding the launch of data that could intrude with the investigations.

Lori Vallow Daybell seems in a reserving picture at the Madison County Jail in Rexsburg, Idaho,, May 12, 2023, after being discovered responsible of homicide. via REUTERS

“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 taking pictures

During Vallow’s Idaho homicide trial, Boudreaux testified that his marriage to Pawlowski collapsed in 2019 as she grew nearer to Vallow.

The couple filed for divorce in July 2019. They later fought over custody of their kids.

According to a 2020 custody submitting 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 submitting also claimed Chad Daybell instructed Pawlowski something must occur to Boudreaux to advance his spirit and the Lord’s plan.

Pawlowski has not been charged in the taking pictures.

Lori Vallow Daybell faces fees of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux (left). Facebook

Boudreaux, who remarried in 2020, said the taking pictures, his divorce and the lingering worry that someone was still after him left him struggling to belief 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 consideration introduced some discomfort, but said most individuals deal with him with kindness and respect.

Investigation stays energetic

Boudreaux declined to focus on particulars of the taking pictures investigation, saying he needed to depart that work to regulation 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 taking pictures stays energetic.

Siblings JJ, 7, left, and Tylee Vallow, 16, smile and hug at Yellowstone National Park in Idaho on Sept. 8, 2019, alongside their uncle Alex Cox. FBI

‘Everybody has value’

Boudreaux said he hopes readers take away a broader message from “Unthinkable” about discovering worth and overcoming adversity.

“I hope that everybody has value and everybody can help someone else,” he said, including that tough experiences do not have to dictate a particular person’s selections.

“Just because something hard happens in your life doesn’t mean that you have to respond a certain way.”