Investigators considered heat, illness, carbon monoxide and recent vaccinations before prosecutors alleged the 18-month-old children were suffocated.
PAYETTE, Idaho — Newly released court records describe the medical findings and investigative steps behind first-degree murder charges against a Payette woman accused of suffocating her 18-month-old twins in their shared bed last year.
Andrea Shaw, 23, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the children, who were found dead May 1, 2025, at a home on North Ninth Street. A Payette County grand jury indicted Shaw on June 29, 2026, and Boise police arrested her the following day. The charges are allegations, and Shaw has not entered a plea.
Officers responded at about 11:30 a.m. after a family member called 911 to report a possibly dead child. Police found both toddlers lying face down in the bed they shared, according to court records. The documents described the children as cold and stiff, conditions medical professionals told investigators could indicate rigor mortis. Autopsies were conducted the next day in Ada County, but the reports have been sealed and the official causes of death have not been publicly released.
Investigators examined several possible explanations, including extreme heat inside the children’s room, carbon monoxide exposure, illness, poisoning and reactions to vaccines they had received eight days earlier. Court records said the room routinely became hotter than 100 degrees, but investigators concluded that the temperature did not fit the estimated time of death and ruled out heat as the cause.
Toxicology results also did not support carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the records. Tests showed that each child had a carboxyhemoglobin saturation level of 3%, which investigators said was within a normal range. The records did not identify another poison that could explain both deaths.
One of the children had diarrhea and tested positive for rotavirus, according to prosecutors. Forensic pathologists considered that illness and the twins’ recent vaccinations but did not identify either as the cause of death, the records said. The children had received influenza, hepatitis A and DTaP vaccines during an April 23 medical visit.
Medical examinations showed pulmonary vascular congestion in both children, while the boy also had pulmonary edema, according to the court documents. Investigators said those findings can occur when airflow is blocked. Prosecutors contend that the medical evidence supports their allegation that the twins were smothered, though the sealed autopsy reports have kept much of the forensic evidence from public view.
Shaw publicly offered a different explanation soon after the deaths. Three days later, she appeared on an internet program produced by Children’s Health Defense and said she believed the children had died because of their recent vaccinations. Her defense attorney, Joe Filicetti, has said Shaw denies the criminal allegations and maintains that the deaths resulted from a medical event rather than an intentional act.
The defense has questioned whether prosecutors can prove suffocation and has said Shaw sought medical care after the children became ill. Prosecutors, however, have alleged that Shaw changed parts of her account during the investigation and acknowledged being with the twins around the time of their deaths. No evidence has been presented at trial, and a jury has not determined whether Shaw is responsible.
Shaw remains jailed without bond after a judge revoked her previous $2 million bond. She is scheduled to return to court Aug. 18, when she is expected to enter a plea to the two murder charges.
Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.