Santa Fe/Wyoming: A 36-year-old woman from Wyoming, USA, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her 11-month-old son.
Madeline Veronique Daly has said that she shot her son, Basil Daly, dead, to deny the child’s father his custody.
She shot the infant as law enforcement officers closed in on an RV in rural New Mexico, prosecutors said.
Madeline entered the guilty plea on August 26 and now faces a possible life sentence in prison. The matter has drawn fresh attention as the high-profile Lindsay Clancy trial continues to generate discussion about cases involving mothers accused of killing their children.
Investigators claimed that Madeline later told officers that the killing was “worth it” if it prevented the child’s father and paternal relatives from seeing him again.
The case began in December 2025 after a Wyoming court granted Basil’s father emergency custody of the child. Prosecutors said that Madeline had violated the court order by taking her son from Wyoming to neighboring New Mexico, which led to a kidnapping investigation, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Grant County Sheriff’s deputies then tracked her to a rural property near a highway in New Mexico. Officers located her outside a bunkhouse, but she ran into a nearby RV while carrying Basil as soon as she saw the officers, authorities said.
The deputies heard a single gunshot moments later. Officers forced their way into the RV and found Basil with a fatal gunshot wound to the face. The child died at the scene. Madeline was taken into custody without further incident.
According to court documents cited by investigators, Madeline had said during the custody battle that: “he (the child’s father) was not going to allow her (then) 8-month-old baby go back and forth from Nebraska to Wyoming twice a month.” She therefore kidnapped him.
The woman made several statements after her arrest explaining her actions, investigators claimed. According to police records, she said, “Jake can’t get Basil,” when asked what she thought after seeing officers approach the property.
Madeline also claimed the child would have been in danger if returned to his father, authorities said. However, those allegations against the father have not been proved.
The sixth judicial district attorney’s office noted that Madeline had been held without bond following her arrest because of the seriousness of the charges and the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
It then announced that she pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of court proceedings held this week. The conviction carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under New Mexico law, prosecutors said. Sentencing will take place at a later date.
