On September 6, 2023, 7-year-old Ariza Chavez-Boilard was found dead in her bed in an apartment in Sierra Vista, Arizona, the victim of a gunshot wound. Her mother, 42-year-old Christina Boilard, was also discovered in the same apartment with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Neighbors had not seen either of them for two days and called for a welfare check that led police to the scene.

Investigators concluded the deaths were a murder‑suicide, determining Christina Boilard shot her daughter before taking her own life; the Pima County Medical Examiner was assigned to perform autopsies to confirm causes of death. Family members later said Christina was a Gulf War veteran who had struggled with PTSD and opioid addiction. The Arizona Department of Child Safety had previously removed Ariza from the home in 2017 because of her mother’s daily methamphetamine use and delusional behavior; following services, Ariza was reunified with her mother and the DCS case closed in December 2017.

There were no active DCS services at the time of the deaths and the Sierra Vista Police Department reported Christina Boilard as the sole person responsible, with no arrests resulting from the investigation.