Idaho Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Mother Charged in Twins' Deaths: 23-Year-Old Pleads Not Guilty, Blames Vaccine Reaction
In Payette, Payette County, Idaho, prosecutors have notified the court that they will seek the death penalty against a 23-year-old mother charged with murdering her 18-month-old twins.
Andrea Shaw has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. Court records show the twins were found dead on May 1, 2025, in the bed they shared at their home in Payette, at 18 months old. Shaw has said the children became sick and died after receiving flu shots and routine childhood vaccinations; the vaccinations were reported to have taken place eight days before their deaths.
Payette County Prosecutor Mike Duke wrote in court documents that an autopsy revealed symptoms consistent with smothering, and that suffocation was the only conceivable explanation for the twins' deaths. Deputy prosecuting attorney Ryon Sirucek notified the court last week of the state's intent to seek the death penalty, writing that prosecutors would try to show four aggravating factors: that another murder was committed at the same time; that the killings were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel; that the defendant showed utter disregard for human life; and that she would likely pose a continuing threat to society.
Shaw's attorney, Joseph Filicetti, called the decision outrageous and said the defense will file a motion to dismiss the case. Filicetti said the grand jury that indicted Shaw was not told that the county coroner found the cause of death to be undetermined but consistent with hyperthermia, or overheating, and that the pathologists who examined the twins also found their causes of death undetermined. Prosecutors wrote in court documents that the temperature in the twins' room would often reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but that the children had survived high temperatures before and that their time of death did not correlate with the peak temperature of the day.
According to court records and local reporting, Shaw was indicted and arrested in July 2026; Judge Kiley Stuchlik later revoked her bond and ordered her held in the Payette County Jail pending trial, scheduled for January 2027. Shaw is charged only and is presumed innocent. (GSM, based on reporting by The Associated Press)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：爱达荷州 Payette 市政厅（资料图），本案由 Payette 县检方在当地起诉。照片：Tamanoeconomico 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。被告本人合规近照未查得。 / Payette City Hall in Payette, Idaho (file photo); the case is prosecuted in Payette County. Photo: Tamanoeconomico, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
