Husband Delays Hours Before Dialing 911 After Spouse’s Shooting, Authorities Reveal

In a chilling development, recent revelations have emerged in the case of a Colorado man, David O’Grady, who is accused of fatally shooting his wife under dubious circumstances. O’Grady, aged 37, insists the tragedy was an accident that occurred while he was “clearing his gun,” which led to his wife being shot in the chest. He claims he attempted CPR on her for about an hour before reaching out to emergency services.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office has charged O’Grady with first-degree murder and domestic violence, as noted in earlier reports by Law&Crime. This grave incident unfolded on the morning of September 7 at the couple’s home located on Shawnee Way in Aurora, tragically resulting in the death of 29-year-old Taylor Dawn Last, O’Grady’s wife.

Initially, O’Grady asserted that he delayed calling 911 because he was performing CPR on his wife. However, investigators now suspect that he postponed contacting authorities for several hours, casting doubt on his earlier claims.

The case took a further twist when initial charging documents revealed that O’Grady informed the dispatcher he had accidentally discharged his firearm the night before while attempting to clear it, inadvertently striking his wife.

As the investigation continues, these unfolding details paint a complicated and troubling picture of the events leading up to Taylor Dawn Last’s untimely death, raising questions about the true nature of the incident.

That initial charging document says O’Grady told a dispatcher he was “clearing his gun last night, but accidentally discharged his firearm and hit his wife in the chest.”

While dispatchers heard the hourlong version of the story, O’Grady allegedly told responding sheriff’s deputies his wife had been dead for several hours by the time they arrived at around 7:45 a.m., according to court documents recently obtained by The Denver Post.

At the time of the shooting, the couple’s two children, a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old, were sleeping in the house, according to the original affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Also present was O’Grady’s mother.

Deputies were allowed in the home by the defendant and found Last “lying on her back on the ground, with her left arm on her chest,” the affidavit says. The document describes the victim’s body as “cold and stiff to the touch, indicating that Taylor had been dead for a while.”

In his initial interview, O’Grady allegedly admitted he and Last had been arguing about some kind of a party. As the argument unfolded, “David said he knew the gun was loaded, fired a round into the bed, and then, as Taylor was coming into the room, aimed it in Taylor’s direction and pulled the trigger,” according to the affidavit.

Last was struck in the chest by the bullet and died, authorities say.

As the shot rang out, the other inhabitants took note.

The couple’s children slept in a shared bedroom upstairs across a “narrow hallway” from their parents’ bedroom, according to law enforcement. The children allegedly told investigators they heard “loud arguing” and a “bang” that caused them to “jump” out of bed, the affidavit says.

The children also allegedly said they saw O’Grady “had thrown something” at Last and then she fell “onto the bed with her hands up in the air,” the affidavit alleges. The couple’s children also said they saw “[b]roken colorful things” on the ground in the immediate aftermath, authorities allege. But, notably, “none” of those purported items were visible when law enforcement arrived.

In a GoFundMe, Last’s aunt describes her niece’s slaying as “an unimaginable tragedy” and “tragic act of domestic violence” that now leaves her two children without their mom and dad.

“She was a loving mother to her two beautiful little girls,” the online fundraiser reads. “The unthinkable happened – their father was responsible for her death, and he is now incarcerated. This leaves these sweet girls without both of their parents.”