A 9-year-old boy, Landen Lavarnia, died after being flown to a Phoenix hospital with a critical gunshot wound to the head on March 20, 2017; he died the next day. His mother, Wendy Lavarnia, initially told police her 2-year-old son had found a handgun on a bed and accidentally shot Landen. Investigators quickly found inconsistencies in that account and evidence of a large cleanup: blood had been cleaned from multiple rooms in the house and from the family vehicle, and emergency services were not contacted promptly.

Landen’s father, Kansas Lavarnia, arrived hours after police and had a gunshot wound to his upper arm that he had tried to conceal. Both parents were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and hindering prosecution. Prosecutors later described a theory that the bullet that hit Kansas may have been the same one that struck Landen, but authorities could not definitively determine who fired the fatal shot. Wendy Lavarnia pleaded guilty to reduced charges, receiving a 10-year sentence; Kansas Lavarnia later died by suicide in June 2018 after some charges against him had been dismissed.

If anyone knew the family, the household routine, or had information about what happened in the hours before Landen was found, please share what can help clarify the case.