Idaho mother who said her twins died after vaccinations charged with two counts of first-degree murder

Andrea Shaw, a 23-year-old Idaho woman, was indicted by a grand jury on June 29 on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of her 18-month-old twins in May 2025, according to court records and a statement from the Payette Police Department. She was arrested by Boise police Tuesday and arraigned Thursday. If convicted or if she pleads guilty, she could face life in prison or the death penalty. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 14.

Shaw had publicly stated that her twins died as a result of vaccinations. During a May 2025 appearance on a show produced by Children's Health Defense, Shaw said she found her twins dead in their room days after they received flu and other vaccines. "They had got their shots at the same time by two nurses at the same time," Shaw said. "And they got sick." Authorities, according to CNN's reporting of the Payette Police Department statement, allege she suffocated the children.

Children's Health Defense is an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who formally resigned as chairman in December 2024 to join the Trump administration as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has not been affiliated with the group since that resignation. Shaw is also listed as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in January by Children's Health Defense and others against the American Academy of Pediatrics, which accuses the AAP of racketeering for its role in what the suit describes as fraud about childhood vaccine safety. The AAP has asked the court to dismiss the suit, stating in an April filing that it is the "latest missive in a campaign targeting" the academy and its "use of science-backed evidence in vaccine policy."