Madeline Veronique Daly, a 36-year-old mother from Wyoming , has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her 11-month-old son, Basil Daly.
Prosecutors said she shot the infant as law enforcement officers closed in on an RV in rural New Mexico.
Daly admitted that she killed her son because she did not want the child’s father to obtain custody, according to prosecutors.
Investigators said she later told officers that the killing was “worth it” if it prevented the child’s father and paternal relatives from seeing him again.
Custody dispute ended in fatal shooting
Soon after, Grant County Sheriff’s deputies tracked Daly to a rural property near a highway in New Mexico. But she ran into a nearby RV while carrying Basil as soon as she saw the officers. Moments later, deputies heard a single gunshot. Officers forced their way into the RV and found Basil with a fatal gunshot wound to the face. The child died at the scene. Daly was taken into custody without further incident.
The case began in December 2025 after a Wyoming court granted Basil’s father emergency custody of the child.
Prosecutors said that Daly had violated the court order by taking her son from Wyoming to neighboring New Mexico, which led to a kidnapping investigation. Authorities said officers located her outside a bunkhouse.
The guilty plea, entered on August 26, means Daly now faces a possible life sentence in prison. The case has drawn fresh attention as the high-profile Lindsay Clancy trial continues to generate discussion about cases involving mothers accused of killing their children.
