An Idaho mother was indicted on murder charges Thursday after police said she suffocated her 18-month-old twins, a boy and a girl, while she publicly claimed, without evidence, that vaccines had killed them.
Andrea Shaw, 23, was arrested June 30 following a nearly year-long investigation into the deaths of her children. According to ABC News, she was indicted by a grand jury on charges of suffocating the children in an act that was either premeditated or taken in the course of aggravated battery. Prosecutors allege the deaths occurred around May 1, 2025.
Shaw has not entered a plea. Her attorney, Joseph Filicetti, said he believed the case against his client was weak and planned to request bail at her next court appearance on July 14. Filicetti also told ABC News that Shaw had given birth to another child five days before her arrest.
"Mrs. Shaw absolutely denies doing anything even imaginably bad," Filicetti said. He added, "We will have proof in trial."
Shaw faces a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Before her arrest, Shaw had spoken publicly about her belief that vaccines caused her children's deaths, including on a podcast hosted by Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization that was founded and previously led by current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Shaw is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Children's Health Defense against the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Routine childhood vaccines have been extensively studied in hundreds of large studies, are considered safe, and continue to be strongly recommended by major medical groups.
After Shaw's indictment, Children's Health Defense posted a video on its website in which its chief executive, Mary Holland, expressed support for Shaw. "There's zero evidence so far that this woman killed her children, zero," Holland said in the video.
The Payette Police Department issued a statement saying it would not release further information before trial. "Because this case is now pending before the court, the Payette Police Department will have no further comment regarding the facts of the case or the evidence. Future information will be presented through the judicial process," the statement read.
RFK Jr. stepped away from Children's Health Defense in 2024 after he was nominated by President Donald Trump. Medical groups have condemned the organization for promoting false health and vaccine data.
Shaw's next court appearance is scheduled for July 14.