US mother pleads guilty to murder of 11-month-old son

A US mother who kidnapped her 11-month-old son and fatally shot him inside an RV in New Mexico has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after telling investigators she believed killing the child was “worth it” to prevent his father from getting custody, Cowboy State Daily reported.

Madeline Veronique Daly, 36, took her son, Basil Stoner, from Wyoming to New Mexico despite a court order that had granted emergency custody to the boy’s father. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office found Daly at an RV park near Silver City on December 23 after she applied for a local job. When officers arrived, Daly ran into an RV, and deputies surrounded the vehicle. Officers then heard a single gunshot. They entered the RV and found Basil had been shot in the face with a 9mm handgun.

Daly also attempted to turn the weapon on herself, but officers restrained her, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet. The shooting happened as police closed in on Daly after she had taken the child across state lines in breach of the custody order. Basil’s father had told investigators that he last saw his son on September 28.

During interrogation, Daly said she had taken Basil because she did not want him travelling between Nebraska and Wyoming twice a month. As per the affidavit, she said she “was not going to allow her (then) 8-month-old baby go back and forth from Nebraska to Wyoming twice a month”.

Investigators asked Daly what she was thinking when she saw law enforcement approaching the RV. She replied: “Jake can’t get Basil.” Daly also told police she believed she was keeping her son “safe”. She said killing him was “worth it” if it meant his father and other paternal relatives would never have the opportunity to see him. She made further claims that Basil “would have been in danger and molested” if she had left the trailer with him. She also alleged that his father had never wanted anything to do with the child “financially, physically, emotionally ever”. Authorities have not substantiated those claims.

Daly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Wednesday, prosecutors said. She now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.