Key takeaways:
- Andrea Shaw was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder after her twin toddlers, Tyson and Dallas, were found dead in a shared bed in Payette, Idaho.
- Court documents cited by KTVB allege Shaw suffocated the children; her attorney says she denies the charges and that the state cannot prove them.
- Shaw had publicly claimed the twins died after receiving routine vaccines, but medical experts say the vaccines at issue are safe, effective and recommended for children.
An Idaho mother who publicly claimed her 18-month-old twins died after routine vaccinations has been charged with murdering them, with court documents alleging she suffocated the children, authorities said.
Andrea Shaw, 23, was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her twins, Tyson and Dallas. The children were found dead in a shared bed at a home in Payette, Idaho, on May 1 last year, according to The Guardian. Payette police said at the time that officers had responded to a report of a possibly deceased child and found two dead twin siblings.
“Foul play is suspected, and the incident is being handled as a homicide at this time,” police said then, according to CBS affiliate KBOI. Investigators did not initially identify any suspects, and the cause of death was to be determined by the Ada County medical examiner’s office. The Guardian reported that more than a year later, the cause of death has not been publicly released.
Court records and Payette police said Shaw was indicted June 29 on two counts of first-degree murder. The Guardian, citing court documents reported by KTVB, said the indictment alleges Shaw suffocated her toddlers. Shaw was arrested in Boise and is being held on a $2 million bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 14 in Payette County district court. If convicted or if she pleads guilty to first-degree murder, she could face life in prison or the death penalty.
Shaw’s attorney, Joseph Filicetti, denied the allegations. In a text message, he wrote that Shaw “denies anything and everything” and said the state “cannot prove” the charges. “We will defend her with wholeheartedness,” Filicetti added.
Days after the twins died, Shaw and her husband appeared on an internet show produced by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group previously led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the U.S. health and human services secretary. Kennedy formally resigned as chairman in December 2024 to join President Donald Trump’s administration, CBS News reported.
On the show, Shaw said the twins had died days after receiving vaccines for the flu and other diseases. “They had got their shots at the same time by two nurses at the same time,” Shaw said. “And they got sick.”
The Guardian reported that Shaw also said during the podcast that she was being treated as a suspect. “So, the way they worded it to me, especially on the second day of interrogation, [was] they said that it wasn’t medical and that they determined asphyxiation. And that I had supposedly had a postpartum overwhelming blackout and done it to my children,” she said.
A GiveSendGo fundraiser linked to the episode said the family had taken the twins to their 18-month well-child visit, where they received routine vaccines, and alleged that both children died in their sleep a few days later. The fundraiser raised more than $10,000, The Guardian reported.
Filicetti also told Boise station KTVB that he believed the twins died from vaccinations. “They were looking at it as a vaccine death, and that’s still what I believe it to be,” he said. “I’m not a medical expert, but the medical experts I have, they go through a series of steps when looking at different complications.” The Guardian reported that Filicetti did not provide evidence to KTVB to support those claims when asked.
Medical experts say the childhood vaccines at issue — hepatitis A, influenza and DTaP — are safe and effective for children and are recommended by various medical groups.
Shaw is also a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit brought by Children’s Health Defense and others against the American Academy of Pediatrics. The suit, filed in January in federal court in Washington, accuses the academy of racketeering and describes Shaw as a mother “whose children died following routine vaccinations administered according to AAP guidelines.” The American Academy of Pediatrics has asked the court to dismiss the case, calling it the “latest missive in a campaign targeting” the group and its “use of science-backed evidence in vaccine policy.”
Payette police and the Payette County prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the pending case. “Future information will be presented through the judicial process,” Police Chief Gary A. Marshall said.
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