Idaho mother charged with murder wanted lower bond. A judge instead revoked it
Despite support from her husband, parents, siblings and cousins — and an argument from her own attorney — the Idaho mother accused of killing her 18-month-old twins won’t be able to post bond.
Instead, Judge Kiley Stuchlik, of Idaho’s 3rd Judicial District, on Tuesday revoked Andrea Renee Shaw’s $2 million bond — leaving the young mother behind bars. After learning that the 23-year-old gave birth to a newborn girl days before she was arrested, Stuchlik said she had some concerns.
But Stuchlik can revisit her decision, she said, especially if the defense discovers any possible mitigating evidence after reviewing a transcript of the grand jury proceedings. “That will be my decision for today,” the judge said.
Shaw, who grew up in Payette, was indicted late last month in Payette County on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her fraternal twins, Tyson and Dallas. Prosecutors have alleged that she suffocated the twins, while her defense attorney, Joe Filicetti, blamed the suffocation on an adverse reaction to a series of vaccines the children received days before.
“I’m going to defend this case like she’s not guilty — because she’s not,” he said in court.
Payette County Prosecutor Mike Duke said in court that this isn’t a vaccine case. He pointed out that the young mother could face the death penalty, and said that when two kids die at “the exact same time, in the exact same bed,” the state is going to take an interest.
Only Andrea or her husband, Nathaniel, could have been involved in the children’s deaths, Duke said, adding that Andrea’s story changed “every time it looked bad.” She was the only one who saw the children at around 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., when it’s believed they died, he said. Her husband repeatedly said he was asleep.
“This is a case where a mother, unfortunately, has killed her two children,” Duke said.
He pushed for the presiding judge to not only deny the defense’s request for a lower bond of $100,000, but also to revoke it. As difficult as it might be for a mother to be away from her newborn, Duke said, that child is exactly his office’s main concern if she were to be released on bail — something Filicetti called “ridiculous.”
Filicetti filed dozens of pages of court filings over the past 24 hours, outlining his theory in the hope of reducing his client’s $2 million bond. He told reporters after the 30-minute hearing that the judge’s decision wasn’t the result they were looking for, but that they’d be back and were “going to get her out.”
“She was a caring, loving mother,” he said. “She’s not what the state’s making her out to be.”
