At sentencing, Madeline Daly spoke about the son she killed as the court imposed punishment that could keep her imprisoned for decades.
SILVER CITY, N.M. — Basil was 11 months old, loved being outdoors and had become the center of a custody battle crossing several states before his mother killed him in a New Mexico RV two days before Christmas, according to court records and accounts presented during her prosecution.
On Sept. 28, a New Mexico judge imposed the legal consequence of that killing, sentencing Madeline Veronique Daly to life in prison for first-degree murder. Daly had pleaded guilty a month earlier, removing any question that a jury would have to decide about who killed the child. Judge Tom Stewart ruled that she may be considered for parole only after serving at least 30 years. The hearing brought the case back to Basil and his surviving family after months of proceedings focused largely on warrants, charging decisions, custody orders and the circumstances of Daly’s arrest.
Daly spoke about Basil before Stewart announced the sentence. She described a happy, curious child who enjoyed the outdoors and acknowledged that her own conduct could not be excused. She apologized to Basil’s father, Jake Stoner, who followed the proceeding remotely, according to local court reporting. Stoner submitted a written statement through prosecutors, but the statement was not read aloud. Stewart listened to Daly but made clear that expressions of remorse did not alter the facts that had brought her before the court.
The hearing presented a stark contrast. Daly spoke about loving and protecting Basil, while the conviction before the court established that she deliberately killed him. Prosecutors had previously cited investigative statements in which Daly claimed she feared the boy would be harmed if he were turned over to Stoner or members of his family. The reviewed records do not establish those accusations as fact. They were Daly’s assertions. A Wyoming court had instead granted the father emergency custody and ordered that the child be placed with him.
The conflict over Basil’s custody predated the killing by months. Stoner had been seeking a larger role in his son’s life, according to court reporting. Daly failed to appear at an Oct. 21, 2025, proceeding in Wyoming, and the judge awarded Stoner temporary emergency custody. When Basil was not surrendered, he was reported missing. The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office later obtained a felony warrant related to custody interference and began looking for Daly, who had left the area with the child.
For weeks, the search produced no public resolution. The sheriff’s office did not issue an Amber Alert because officials said they lacked information showing that Basil was in the kind of immediate danger required by the alert system. They continued searching and said they would pursue leads. By then, Daly and the infant had traveled to New Mexico. She reached Grant County, an area of mountain communities, forest land and remote properties east of Silver City where she had work connections.
Daly’s effort to find employment ultimately exposed her location. Reporting based on court documents said a prospective employer conducted a background check and learned of the Wyoming warrant. Authorities were notified. On Dec. 23, 2025, Grant County sheriff’s deputies went to a rural property along Highway 15 where Daly had been staying. Prosecutors said Daly took Basil into a motorized RV when deputies arrived. Officers surrounded the vehicle, tried to get her to surrender and worked to obtain a search warrant.
A gunshot from inside the RV ended those efforts. Deputies immediately entered and found Basil wounded by a 9 mm handgun. They detained Daly following a struggle and tried to get the baby to emergency medical personnel. He died from the injury. Court reporting said a detective also disarmed Daly as she held the gun near herself. Authorities secured the scene with assistance from other agencies, and the case was turned into a homicide investigation handled by the Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Daly was charged with first-degree willful and deliberate murder and intentional child abuse resulting in death. In January, Stewart ordered her held without bond. He cited the gravity of the case and concerns about safety. For the next several months, Daly remained jailed while prosecutors and her defense prepared for trial. The evidence described publicly included the custody order, law enforcement observations at the New Mexico property and statements investigators said Daly made after the killing.
A trial ultimately became unnecessary. Daly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Aug. 24. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the child abuse count, and Stewart accepted the plea. The agreement converted what had been allegations in a pending criminal case into a murder conviction based on Daly’s own admission of guilt. Stewart did not immediately pronounce sentence. He scheduled another hearing and said he wanted more time to review the record before deciding the remaining sentencing issues.
First-degree murder carried a life term, leaving the principal question at the Sept. 28 proceeding focused on the possibility of eventual parole. Stewart said he had considered whether Daly should be denied any opportunity for release. He ultimately allowed the normal possibility of parole consideration after 30 years. That does not create a right to freedom at the 30-year mark. It gives a future parole board authority to review the case and decide whether release is appropriate after the required minimum period has been served.
Prosecutor Joseph Silva told the court the crime had affected people beyond Daly and the immediate family, including officers and emergency workers who responded to the RV. District Attorney Norman Wheeler made a similar point after the sentence, saying the case had left a deep impact on relatives, the community and first responders. Those personnel had arrived because of a warrant arising from a custody dispute. Within the span of the operation, they were instead trying to save a mortally wounded infant.
The father was largely absent from the public sentencing record by choice or circumstance. His written statement was given to the judge rather than read to the courtroom, leaving the details of his response private. Earlier reporting had traced his efforts through the courts to obtain and exercise custody of Basil. The emergency order granted him custody before Daly disappeared with the boy, but he never received the child under that order. The New Mexico killing permanently foreclosed the outcome the Wyoming court had directed.
Questions remain about whether Daly will face an additional prosecution in Wyoming for conduct that occurred before Basil’s death. Wyoming had issued the warrant that led New Mexico authorities to her, and officials were reported to have retained the ability to pursue that matter separately. The New Mexico life sentence does not itself adjudicate a Wyoming custody-interference or kidnapping allegation. No final resolution of such a separate case was found in the materials reviewed through Oct. 17.
The murder case itself has reached judgment. Daly is in the New Mexico prison system under a life sentence and will have no opportunity even to seek parole consideration for three decades. Basil, whose custody had been fought over in hearings, court orders and interstate searches during much of his short life, died Dec. 23, 2025. The sentencing closed the principal New Mexico prosecution but left his death as the central fact behind every legal proceeding that followed.
Author note: Last updated October 17, 2026.