A woman accused of absconding with her 11-month-old son from Wyoming and later shooting and killing him in New Mexico pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday afternoon.
Madeline Daly, 35, made a brief appearance late Monday afternoon with her attorney before Grant County District Judge Thomas Stewart. She waived a formal reading of charges she’s facing that include felony first-degree murder and abandonment of a child resulting in death.
Daly’s attorney, Tyler McCormick, entered the plea of not guilty on Daly’s behalf.
She’s currently being held without bond at the Grant County Detention Center in Silver City, New Mexico, after a judge ruled last week she will remain in custody as her case makes its way through the courts.
If found guilty, Daly faces either life imprisonment with parole after 30 years or life with no possibility of parole. Though first-degree murder is classified as a capital felony, New Mexico repealed the death penalty in 2009.
Federal charges are also potentially pending for Daly following an investigation and she still faces a felony in Wyoming for custody interference after fleeing with her child.
Fleeing From Wyoming
The murder and resulting charges stem back to Wyoming when Daly absconded with her child, Basil, in defiance of court orders.
The boy’s father, Jake Stoner of Kilgore, Nebraska, reported him missing after Daly skipped a custody court hearing at which point Stoner was granted emergency custody and a federal warrant was issued for Daly’s arrest.
Her last known address was Ten Sleep, Wyoming, where she had been staying at an RV park.
Daly was on the run for about five weeks until a tipster traced her to a RV park near Silver City, New Mexico. As officers converged on Daly to negotiate a release of the child, she ran and hid inside a neighboring RV that did not belong to her.
During the course of negotiations, Daly allegedly shot and killed Basil, later telling detectives she was not sure why she shot him. She also reportedly turned the gun on herself but officers intervened
She later said in an interview with detectives that shooting her son was preferable to letting Stoner and his family have custody, court documents state.
No Bond For Daly
Daly had asked judge Stewart to be released on bond while she awaited future court proceedings, which was denied by the judge.
In a fiery response, Grant County District attorney, Mark Abramson said that given the “outrageous circumstances” of Daly’s actions she should be held without bond.
Abramson further argued that the safety of Stoner and his family was potentially in danger by Daly given the personal circumstances surrounding the alleged murder of their child.
Judge Stewart agreed that there was reasonable concern for the court to infer that the Stoners may be in danger should Daly be released.
Daly did not respond to a request for an interview delivered through a detention center administrator.
Stoner, likewise, declined to comment on the advice of his attorney. He told Cowboy State Daily that Basil has been returned to Nebraska where he is planning his funeral for Feb. 7 as he makes plans to bury the boy on his family ranch.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
