State of Idaho will pursue death penalty for woman accused of killing twin toddlers
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PAYETTE (Courtroom Insider) — The State of Idaho has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty for a Payette woman accused of killing her twin toddlers.
Andrea Renee Shaw, 23, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Tyson and Dallas Shaw, according to court documents. Both boys were 18 months old when they died.
Tyson and Dallas died of suffocation at the hands of their mother, according to Shaw’s indictment; however, Shaw has blamed vaccines for the deaths of her children. She was also the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics, blaming the academy’s vaccine recommendations for the deaths of the twins.
Shaw’s attorney, Joe Filicetti, has spoken publicly about his belief that the twins’ death was a medical event, not a murder, including on a recent episode of “Courtroom Insider with Nate Eaton.”
COURTROOM INSIDER | Young Idaho mom charged with murder. Did vaccines kill her twins?
Shaw pleaded not guilty to the murders on Aug. 18. Then on Friday, Payette County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Sirucek filed a notice of his intent to seek the death penalty on behalf of the state.
The notice argues four aggravating circumstances that Sirucek says justify the use of capital punishment in Shaw’s case, the first being that Shaw is accused of killing both of the children at the same time.
The notice goes on to say that the alleged murder “was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity.”
According to the notice, the state alleges that Shaw exhibited an “utter disregard for human life” by her alleged commission of the murders.
The last aggravating factor, according to the state’s notice, is that the state believes Shaw poses a risk to the public.
“The defendant, by her conduct, whether such conduct was before, during, or after the commission of the murder at hand, has exhibited a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society,” the document states.
Shaw is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Dec. 8, with her trial set to begin on Jan. 11.