Mother Accused of Killing Toddler Twins in Private Trauma Therapy

An Idaho mother accused of killing her twin toddlers is receiving trauma therapy and speaking with relatives by video from jail, according to a new report.

Andrea Shaw, 23, was arrested in June after her 18-month-old twins, Dallas and Tyson, were discovered dead in their bed on May 1, 2025. The children were found at the family’s trailer home in Payette, roughly 60 miles from Boise.

Prosecutors allege the toddlers were smothered. Shaw, however, maintains that Dallas and Tyson died after receiving Hepatitis A, DTaP and influenza vaccines.

Shaw has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial at the Payette County Jail.

Despite being incarcerated, Shaw has reportedly been permitted to video chat several times a day with her 23-year-old husband and their three-month-old daughter, The New York Times reported.

Her defense attorney, Joe Filicetti, has also arranged regular appointments with a trauma counselor trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, commonly known as E.M.D.R. therapy, according to the newspaper.

The sessions take place with a “glass barrier” separating Shaw from the therapists, the NYT reported. E.M.D.R. treatment generally costs between $100 and $350 per appointment, depending on its length.

The psychotherapy technique is intended to reduce the distress linked to traumatic memories, according to the EMDR Institute, Inc. 

Filicetti has also provided Shaw with books to read while she remains in custody, including the memoir “Tuesdays with Morrie,” the report said.

Shaw called 911 on the night her children died. She was arrested days after giving birth to her youngest child the following year.

When she appeared before Judge Kiley Stuchlik, Shaw wore a red-and-white striped jail uniform and was restrained at both her hands and feet.

During the hearing, Payette County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Duke said Shaw was charged after investigators concluded that her account changed repeatedly, while Nathaniel maintained one consistent version of events.

“There are only two people who could have been involved in this crime. One of them was straightforward and cooperated with law enforcement,” Duke said, according to KSL.

“The other changed her story every time it made her look bad, every time there were criminal implications, and she admitted that at the time of death, she was there with the kids.”

Duke also said investigators had eliminated environmental explanations, including extreme heat and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Before her arrest, Shaw had publicly spoken about what she described as the dangers of childhood vaccinations.

Shaw told the Children’s Health Defense podcast – part of an anti-vaccine nonprofit previously chaired by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy – that their health declined after both received the flu, Hepatitis A and DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis) vaccines.

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RFK Jr’s department removed the flu and Hepatitis A shots from the list of vaccines routinely recommended for all children in January. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still classifies the flu, Hepatitis A and DTaP shots as safe and effective, with serious reactions extremely rare.

While speaking of their deaths on the podcast, Shaw claimed that her husband’s side of the family ‘all have bad reactions or are allergic to the flu shot.’

‘They were okay, they took a nap when we got home. For the rest of the evening it was business as usual,’ she said of her late children. 

She then broke down in tears, stating that the twins woke up lethargic the following day. 

‘[Dallas] looked tired, I changed her diaper and I noticed the typical toddler pot belly was gone, she was skinny, she looked tired.

‘I moved her out of the way so I could change her brother, she just laid on the carpet and wouldn’t move, her eyes were rolling back as if she was going to sleep,’ Shaw said. 

Shaw claimed the two of them both had green diarrhea and a blue tinge to their lips. Her husband said he was at work while the health crisis unfolded.

She said her mother-in-law then arrived and rushed the kids to a nearby hospital and the two were discharged days later.

Describing her finding them dead inside their home, she said: ‘They looked as if they had gone in their sleep.

‘I flipped over Tyson to try and shake him awake, then I immediately grabbed my phone to dial 911. Then I flipped Dallas over and found her the same way.’

Despite her claim that vaccines are to blame, Duke said that a forensic pathologist determined that is not the case. 

‘This is not a vaccine case,’ Duke previously said in court. 

Tyson and Dallas died from pulmonary vascular congestion, which is a buildup of fluid and blood in the vessels of the lungs, according to an autopsy report,  Duke wrote, according to the outlet. 

The autopsy noted that Tyson also suffered from pulmonary edema, which causes more severe buildup. 

‘According to our expert, these symptoms are consistent with being smothered. They occur when something blocks air from entering the airways, and as the diaphragm expands, it creates a low pressure condition in the lungs and airways,’ Duke wrote. 

‘This is the cause of death of the twins. It is also the only reasonable explanation for why both would die at the same time, on the same night, in the same room, in the same bed.’

Shaw has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and her initial $2 million bond was revoked. 

Her trial starts in January 2027. She faces 10 years to life in prison, or the death penalty if found guilty.