PHOENIX (AP) – The parents of a 9-year-old boy who was shot in the head in their Phoenix home put off calling 911 as they cleaned up evidence in multiple rooms of the house, police said, calling it a case that “shocks your conscience.”
Wendy Lavarnia told police that her 2-year-old son found a gun left on a bed and accidentally shot his older brother Monday. Police cast doubt on her story as they launched a murder investigation involving the 28-year-old woman and her ex-convict husband, Kansas Lavarnia.
Police began to become suspicious of the mother’s story when they found inconsistencies in her account and when the boy’s father showed up at the home with a crudely bandaged gunshot wound on his upper arm.
The wound looked to have been punctured multiple times, possibly with a screwdriver, to camouflage the injury, authorities said.
Police declined Wednesday to specify the mother’s inconsistencies or say who they think shot the boy and his father. It’s unclear whether the couple is represented by lawyers who can speak on their behalf.