SILVER CITY, N.M. (Court TV) — A mother who pleaded guilty to killing her infant son two days before Christmas amid a custody dispute apologized Monday at her sentencing.
Madeline Daly appears in court for sentencing on Sept. 28, 2026. (Court TV)
Madeline Daly, 36, had previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her son, 11-month-old Basil Daly, in a deal that led prosecutors to drop an intentional child abuse charge.
Daly was fighting Basil’s father for custody in December 2025 when she allegedly took the child from their Wyoming home to New Mexico in violation of a court order that had granted emergency custody to Basil’s father. Deputies found the mother and son on a rural property along Highway 15 on Dec. 23, 2025, after authorities in Wyoming alerted them that she faced kidnapping charges there.
Deputies said that when they arrived, they saw Daly flee into an RV with the child. As they waited for a search warrant, they heard a single gunshot. When deputies entered, they found Basil had been shot with a 9 mm round. Deputies took Daly into custody after a brief struggle.
“Basil Daly was an 11-month-old child, and he was killed by the person who should have been his protector. And it happened two days before Christmas,” prosecutor Patrick Silva said on Monday. “I think it’s important to make note that I think this has been, probably, at least in my limited experience, one of the most traumatic and heinous crimes that I’ve ever had the duty to represent the state on. The conduct here is probably the most heinous that can really be imagined.”
After her arrest, Daly told investigators that she had no regrets, saying, “Even if the rest of his life is worthless, she would do it again just to make sure that the (family) didn’t touch him,” an affidavit obtained by Cowboy State Daily said.
Daly addressed the court, saying she was “immensely proud of how I was raising my sweet little boy,” and “Basil and I lived simply, but we lived well. We were together every second since the moment he was born.”
Daly professed her love for her son: “My little boy impacted everybody who met him. I have no desire to be released, with my heart gone. I will never fully heal after such a painful loss. I loved Basil even before having met him and protected him from evil until the bitter end. Although I desperately, desperately wish I had chosen a different path, I’m confident that Basil is safe in Jesus’ arms.”
Madeline Daly and Basil Daly (Washakie County Sheriff’s Office)
Despite her earlier statement that she would “do it again,” Daly apologized in court. “What I did is inexcusable. I am so deeply sorry for taking Basil away from our friends and family. … I thank God, I don’t have to face my loss and sentence alone, but instead I’m surrounded by the love and support of my friends and family. Most importantly, I am thankful for having been forgiven by the Lord himself and given a newfound freedom from my sin and shame.”
“I suppose I’m happy for you that you feel that you received some kind of religious redemption,” Judge Tom Stewart told the defendant. “However, that doesn’t change the facts of the situation. I wish you would have reached out to get some help sooner.”
“Me, too,” Daly interrupted.
“But, well, you did not,” Stewart continued. “And that really, maybe, was literally the fatal error in your situation.”
Stewart said that because the charge of first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence, his only discretion was in determining whether the defendant would be eligible for parole. “If I for a moment thought that it would truly give any comfort to the family of Basil and [the child’s father] to deny you the possibility of parole after 30 years, I might consider doing it. But I think you’re going to be something like 66 years old in 30 years, if I’m not mistaken, and that’s a long time.”
Stewart sentenced Daly to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. “It’s going to be in the hands of the parole board to determine, based on everything about you … whether to grant you parole or not. I’m not going to foreclose that possibility, but I want you to know I certainly thought about it. It’s just very hard to articulate what it must be like to be in your shoes.”
Daly still faces charges in federal court and in Wyoming over the alleged kidnapping.
