An Idaho woman who went on an internet show claiming her toddler twins died as a result of vaccinations is now facing murder charges in connection with those very deaths, according to authorities.
A grand jury handed down an indictment against 23-year-old Andrea Shaw on June 29, charging her with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege she suffocated her 18-month-old twins in May 2025, according to court records and a statement from the Payette Police Department.
Shaw had previously appeared on an online program produced by Children’s Health Defense — an anti-vaccine organization founded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During that appearance, she claimed her twins died shortly after receiving vaccinations. Kennedy formally stepped away from the group in December 2024 when he joined President Donald Trump’s administration and has had no affiliation with it since.
Boise police officers took Shaw into custody on Tuesday, and she was arraigned on Thursday. She remains jailed on a $2 million bond. If convicted — or if she enters a guilty plea — she could face either life behind bars or the death penalty. Her next scheduled court date is July 14.
An attorney for Shaw did not respond to a request for comment. Both the Payette Police Department and the Payette County prosecutor’s office declined to speak about the case on Monday.
During her May 2025 television appearance, Shaw described discovering her twins unresponsive in their room just days after they received vaccinations for the flu and other illnesses.
“They had got their shots at the same time by two nurses at the same time,” Shaw said. “And they got sick.”
Medical experts emphasize that the vaccines in question — hepatitis A, influenza, and DTaP — are considered safe and effective for children and are recommended by multiple medical organizations.
Shaw is also listed as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in January in Washington by Children’s Health Defense and other parties against the American Academy of Pediatrics. That lawsuit accuses the academy of racketeering, alleging it played a central role in deceiving American families about childhood vaccine safety “for several decades.” Court documents describe Shaw as a mother “whose children died following routine vaccinations administered according to AAP guidelines.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics has moved to have the lawsuit thrown out, arguing in an April court filing that it represents the “latest missive in a campaign targeting” the organization and its reliance on science-based evidence in forming vaccine policy.
Earlier this year, pediatricians and medical professionals raised alarms when federal health officials made sweeping changes to childhood vaccine recommendations, removing several universal guidelines. Kennedy, who spent years as a prominent figure in the anti-vaccine movement, defended the changes as bringing the U.S. more in line with comparable nations “while strengthening transparency and informed consent.”
In March, a federal judge temporarily blocked those changes, ruling that Kennedy likely failed to follow proper legal procedures when restructuring a key vaccine advisory committee. However, that ruling is not final — the blocks remain in place only while the case moves toward either a full trial or a summary judgment decision.
