A New Mexico mother has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after admitting she killed her 11-month-old son during a police operation, telling investigators she did not want the child returned to his father.
Madeline Veronique Daly, 36, entered her plea on August 24 in the Sixth Judicial District Court in Silver City, bringing an end to proceedings over the death of Basil Daly in December 2025. The plea agreement means she faces the maximum sentence available in New Mexico. ([grantcountybeat.com](https://www.grantcountybeat.com/home/news-articles/madeline-daly-pleads-guilty-on-capital-murder-charge))
Under the agreement, Daly is expected to receive 30 years in prison, a term treated as life in New Mexico. A separate sentencing hearing will be held, while a child-abuse charge was dropped as part of the deal, according to the Grant County District Attorney’s Office and local reporting. ([grantcountybeat.com](https://www.grantcountybeat.com/home/news-articles/madeline-daly-pleads-guilty-on-capital-murder-charge))
Police surrounded RV after custody dispute
Daly had taken Basil from Wyoming after a judge granted emergency custody to his father. The child was reported missing on November 19, 2025, after Daly resisted handing him over, and a warrant was issued accusing her of kidnapping.
Investigators eventually traced Daly to a rural property along Highway 15, near Silver City, after an outstanding Wyoming warrant was identified during a background check linked to a job application.
Grant County sheriff’s deputies found Daly and her son at the property on December 23. She ran towards a motorised RV with Basil as officers approached, then remained inside while deputies worked to obtain a search warrant. ([grantcountybeat.com](https://www.grantcountybeat.com/home/news-articles/madeline-daly-pleads-guilty-on-capital-murder-charge))
A gunshot was heard from inside the vehicle. Officers entered and found the baby with a fatal gunshot wound before taking Daly into custody following a brief struggle.
According to an affidavit written by Detective Lieutenant Jason Jordan, Daly told investigators she knew the authorities were closing in and thought: “Jake can’t get Basil.” She reportedly said she believed killing him was “worth it” if it prevented his father or his family from having custody.
The affidavit also says Daly tried to use the gun on herself after shooting Basil, but officers subdued her before she could do so. She claimed she had been keeping the child “safe” and alleged, without evidence cited in the court material, that he would have been in danger if he remained with his father.
Daly told investigators she had decided to take Basil after losing custody because she would not allow him to travel between Nebraska and Wyoming twice a month, according to the affidavit.
Roxanne Garcia-McElmell, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said Daly could be transferred to Wyoming after serving her New Mexico sentence to face the outstanding kidnapping allegation. A conviction there could mean she remains in prison for the rest of her life, she told the Cowboy State Daily. ([cowboystatedaily.com](https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/08/27/wyoming-woman-pleads-guilty-to-killing-infant-son-in-new-mexico-to-get-30-years/))
The murder trial, which had been scheduled to begin in January 2027, will no longer take place. Daly has been held without bail since her arrest, and the date of her sentencing has not yet been announced. ([cowboystatedaily.com](https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/08/27/wyoming-woman-pleads-guilty-to-killing-infant-son-in-new-mexico-to-get-30-years/))
