Madeline Daly found herself locked in a bitter custody battle with her son’s father, Jake Stoner, during the fall of 2025. After a court granted Stoner custody, Daly fled Wyoming with their young son Basil. Daly and Basil disappeared on November 16, 2025, and police didn’t learn of her location in New Mexico until December 23.
When local law enforcement arrived to speak with Daly, she allegedly barricaded herself inside an RV and fatally shot her son. After police apprehended her, Daly reportedly confessed to killing 11-month-old Basil, saying it was “worth it” to keep the baby from Stoner.
Daly took extreme measures to keep Basil from his father.
According to court documents obtained by the Cowboy State Daily, Daly told Detective Lt. Jason Jordan of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico that she would do whatever it took to keep Basil away from Stoner and his family. She apparently planned to shoot herself after shooting her toddler, but police intervened before she could. Daly told investigators she fled to keep her son “safe.”
She claimed Basil “would have been in danger and molested if she had stepped out of that trailer.” She also alleged that Stoner “never wanted anything to do with Basil, financially, physically, emotionally ever.”
Police found Daly after she applied for a job in New Mexico.
Jordan stated in the affidavit that the owner of a local business conducted a background check on Daly and found something unusual. The owner reportedly “was going to hire Madeline, but before making that decision did some investigating of his own and saw that Madeline was currently wanted in Washakie County, Wyoming, for kidnapping.”
The business owner contacted the sheriff’s office, and deputies located Daly and Basil shortly afterward.
Daly had a devastating story for police.
The 35-year-old reportedly ran toward the RV where she and Basil had been living after deputies spotted her. Following her arrest, she reportedly told police, “I saw the sheriffs, and I knew my time was up.”
She told investigators that, in that moment, all she could think about was keeping Basil away from Stoner. When investigators asked why she did it, Daly allegedly told police, “F–k it, it’s worth a shot,” and killed her son.
The mother pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
According to his obituary, Basil passed away just shy of his first birthday.
“Basil was born on January 8, 2025, in Worland, Wyoming. His father, Jake, was as proud as can be to finally have the son he always wanted. He was a happy and alert child. Never missing a thing. Basil was happiest outdoors and loved watching animals, and he really liked blueberries,” the passage reads.
Per a news release from the Silver City, New Mexico District Attorney Norman R. Wheeler, Daly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges. She faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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