A woman who admitted to murdering her 11-month-old son has said she carried out the horrifying crime to avoid sharing custody of the infant with his father.

Madeline Veronique Daly, 36, of New Mexico, pleaded guilty this week to killing Basil Daly in December 2025, weeks after she had kidnapped him from his father’s home in Wyoming, where he had been living after the dad was granted emergency custody.

She then took him to a rural area in Grant City, New Mexico, and attempted to hide in a trailer park after Basil’s dad reported him missing.

When authorities found her, she murdered her son with a single gunshot to the face, before attempting to turn the gun on herself, police said in her affidavit.

However, she was subdued by officers before she could do this, with investigators saying she later told them that killing Basil was ‘worth it’ to prevent her ex, or his family, from gaining custody, Daily Mail reports.

Detective Jason Jordan of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the affidavit: ‘Even if the rest of life is worthless she would do it again just so to make sure that the [family] didn’t touch him.

‘When asked what went through her mind when she saw law enforcement walking up, she replied, “[the father] can’t get Basil”.’

She also reportedly told deputies that she knew she had broken the law by kidnapping the boy but did it to keep him ‘safe’ from his dad, and alleged that he would have been ‘in danger and molested’ if she had stepped out of the trailer.

Daly claimed that Basil’s father ‘never wanted anything to do’ with him, ‘financially, physically, emotionally ever’.

She originally lost custody of Basil in November 2025 to his father, who has not been named.

He reported the child missing on November 19, saying he had not seen him for several weeks as Daly was resisting handing him over.

She was later reported to authorities after she applied for a job in New Mexico, and the prospective employer discovered she had a warrant out for kidnapping after conducting a background check.

Police say they subsequently tracked her down to a bunkhouse and saw her run to an RV, from where a single gunshot rang out.

Basil was later found inside with a single gunshot wound to the face.

Police stated Daly then tried to turn the gun on herself, but officers were able to subdue her before she could do so.

She later told police that she ‘saw the sheriffs and knew my time was up.’

Daly, who was arrested at the scene and held in custody, now faces a life sentence after taking a plea deal.

She will be sentenced at a later date.


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