Idaho mother indicted on first-degree murder charges in deaths of toddler twins
A Payette, Idaho grand jury charged 23-year-old Andrea Shaw with two counts of first-degree murder for the 2025 deaths of her 18-month-old twins, rejecting her earlier claim that the deaths were caused by vaccinations.
A grand jury in Payette County indicted Andrea Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her 18-month-old twins in May 2025. Shaw, 23, was arrested by Boise police on June 29 and arraigned on Thursday. She is being held on a $2 million bond and faces life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted. Her next court date is set for July 14.
Shaw had previously appeared on a Children’s Health Defense webcast, an anti-vaccine organization, where she claimed the twins died after receiving flu, hepatitis A and DTaP vaccines. Medical experts note that those vaccines are considered safe and are recommended by major health agencies.
"We will defend her with wholeheartedness," said Joe Filicetti, Shaw’s attorney, adding that his client "denies anything and everything" and that the state "cannot prove" the charges.
The Payette Police Department and the county prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the case. Shaw is also listed as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense and others against the American Academy of Pediatrics, alleging the academy’s vaccine policies constitute racketeering. The academy has moved to dismiss the suit, describing it as part of a broader campaign targeting its science-based recommendations.
The case follows recent controversy over proposed changes to U.S. childhood vaccine guidance, which were temporarily blocked by a federal judge after concerns about procedural violations.
