Mother says killing her 11-month-old son was ‘worth it’ because she didn’t want the father to have him
He would have turned one in January.
A Wyoming mother pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after she kidnapped her young son and took him across state lines before killing him. She later told the police she didn’t want her son’s father to have him.
In November 2025, Madeline Veronique Daly was involved in a custody battle with Jake Stoner, the father of her 11-month-old son, Basil, when the court granted him emergency custody, per Cowboy State Daily. Following the court ruling, Daly packed her bags and took her son from their home in Wyoming, with their whereabouts unknown. It wasn’t until December that they discovered she brought Basil to New Mexico.
A month after their disappearance, police were alerted to Daly’s whereabouts after a local business owner ran a background check when she applied for a job in Silver City, New Mexico. According to the owner, they were about to hire Daly before they learned she was wanted in Washakie County, Wyoming, for kidnapping, and made a call to police.
Mother fatally shoots son
Grant County officers were dispatched following a call from Washakie County and later arrived to find Daly at a bunkhouse in rural New Mexico, before she ran back to her RV, where officers reportedly heard a gunshot go off. It remains unclear how many times Basil was shot, but reports say he was shot in the face and chest. According to the affidavit, Daly also tried to shoot herself before being subdued by officers.
Daly later told officers that she “knew my time was up” when she saw the officers searching for her. In the affidavit, she said, “Jake can’t get Basil,” when she was asked what went through her mind at that moment. The affidavit also said, “So she said, ‘F*** it, it’s worth a shot.’” It was also noted that Daly believed her actions were “worth it” if it meant Stoner and his family would not have the chance to have custody of Basil.
According to Daly, she refused to allow Basil to travel back and forth from Nebraska, where Stoner resided, to Wyoming twice a month, claiming that he “never wanted anything to do” with her son “financially, physically, emotionally ever.” The mother also believed that she was keeping her son “safe,” as he “would have been in danger and molested” if she left the RV with him.
Reportedly, Daly is facing a maximum life sentence to be served at the New Mexico Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to first-degree murder on Aug. 26.
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