An Idaho mother who said her toddler twins died after vaccinations has been charged with murder

In this image taken from court video, Andrea Shaw attends a court hearing remotely via video, on July 2, 2026, in the Payette County District Court in Payette, Idaho. (KIVI-TV via AP)

An Idaho woman who said her toddler twins died last year after being vaccinated faces murder charges connected to their deaths, authorities said.

A grand jury indicted Andrea Shaw, who is accused of suffocating her 18-month-old twins in May 2025, on two counts of first-degree murder on June 29, according to court records and a statement from the Payette Police Department.

While appearing last year on an internet show produced by Children’s Health Defense -- an anti-vaccine group founded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- Shaw said her twins died after getting vaccinated. Kennedy has not been affiliated with the group since December 2024, when he formally resigned as chairman to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

Shaw, 23, was arrested by Boise police officers Tuesday and arraigned Thursday. She is being held on a US$2 million bond and could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted or if she pleads guilty to first-degree murder. Her next court appearance is July 14.

Joe Filicetti, an attorney representing Shaw, wrote in a text message that she “denies anything and everything” and that the state “cannot prove” the criminal charges.

“We will defend her with wholeheartedness,” Filicetti added.

The Payette Police Department and the Payette County prosecutor’s office declined to comment Monday.

During her May 2025 appearance on the Children’s Health Defense show, Shaw said she found her twins dead in their room days after they got vaccinated 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.”

Medical experts point out that the childhood vaccines at issue -- hepatitis A, influenza and DTaP -- are safe and effective for kids and 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 lawsuit, which was filed in January in federal court in Washington, accuses the American Academy of Pediatrics of racketeering for its “central role in an enterprise that has defrauded American families about the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule for several decades.” In the lawsuit, Shaw is described 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 suit, asserting in an April court filing that it is the “latest missive in a campaign targeting” the academy and its “use of science-backed evidence in vaccine policy.”

In January, pediatricians and other experts became alarmed when U.S. health officials made broad changes to childhood vaccine guidance, dropping several universal recommendations. Kennedy, who helped lead the anti-vaccine movement for years, said the changes better align the U.S. with peer nations “while strengthening transparency and informed consent.”

In March, a federal judge blocked the changes and said Kennedy likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. But the judge’s order is not the final word; the blocks are temporary, pending either a trial or a decision for summary judgment.

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Kelety reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Laura Ungar in Louisville contributed.

Josh Kelety, The Associated Press