Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Andrea Shaw, a 23-year-old Idaho mother accused of murdering her 18-month-old twins, Dallas and Tyson. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and denies killing the children, who were found dead in the bed they shared at their home in Payette, Idaho, on May 1, 2025.
Authorities allege Shaw smothered the twins, but she claims their deaths were linked to vaccinations. The decision to pursue capital punishment was outlined in a court filing on Friday, ahead of her trial scheduled for January. Her lawyer, Joe Filicetti, rejected the prosecution's case, saying: “There is no chance that a jury is going to find this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Execution method and legal context
Idaho has not executed a prisoner since 2012, meaning Shaw could potentially become the first person put to death there since then. However, she has not been convicted or sentenced, and other prisoners remain on the state's death row. The state recently made firing squads its primary execution method in July, following an abandoned attempt to execute convicted murderer Thomas Creech by lethal injection in 2024, when officials failed to establish a suitable vein.
In a separate filing on Monday, prosecutors argued that the allegations against Shaw met the conditions required to pursue capital punishment. They alleged she showed “exceptional depravity” and “utter disregard for human life”, according to court documents reported by the New York Times. For a death sentence to be imposed, a jury would have to find her guilty and determine beyond a reasonable doubt that at least one statutory aggravating factor had been proved.
Shaw's account and prosecution's response
Shaw was arrested in June, more than a year after the twins' deaths. Days after losing them, she appeared alongside her husband Nathaniel on a podcast produced by Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organisation. During the interview, she claimed the children became unwell after receiving hepatitis A, DTaP and flu vaccinations. She said: “They were okay. They took a nap when we got home. For the rest of the evening it was business as usual.”
Shaw claimed the twins became lethargic the next day, developed diarrhoea and had a blue tinge around their lips. She said they were taken to hospital and later discharged, but she later found them dead at home. She previously said: “They looked as if they had gone in their sleep. I flipped over Tyson to try and shake him awake, then I immediately grabbed my phone to dial 911. Then I flipped Dallas over and found her the same way.”
Payette County prosecutor Mike Duke previously rejected her account of vaccine-related deaths, telling the court: “This is not a vaccine case.” He disputed her explanation, saying a forensic pathologist had excluded vaccinations as the cause of death. According to his court filing, the autopsies identified pulmonary vascular congestion - a build-up of blood and fluid within the lungs' vessels. Investigators had also excluded heat and carbon monoxide poisoning. Duke alleged Shaw changed her account during the investigation and argued that smothering was “the only reasonable explanation for why both would die at the same time.”
Defence and next steps
Her defence team disputed the suffocation allegations and indicated it would continue arguing that the twins suffered vaccine injuries. Shaw remained in custody in Payette County while awaiting the trial scheduled in January.
