A shocking family custody dispute over an infant ended in the murder of 11-month-old Basil Stoner in the United States. His 36-year-old mother, Madeline Veronique Daly, admitted that she killed the child inside a trailer in New Mexico because she did not want him to end up in his father’s custody, later telling investigators that she believed what she had done “was worth it.”

Daly had taken Basil from Wyoming and transported him to New Mexico, violating a court order that had temporarily awarded custody of the child to his father.

The father, Jake Stoner, told investigators that he had last seen his son on September 28.

The 36-year-old later told police that she had left with the child because she “was not going to allow her then-eight-month-old baby to travel back and forth from Nebraska to Wyoming twice a month.”

They located her after she applied for a job

Authorities managed to locate Daly on December 23, 2025, at a trailer park near Silver City, New Mexico.

According to the case records, the woman had applied for a job in the area, and during the background check an active arrest warrant was discovered against her for the abduction of the child.

When police arrived at the location, they saw the 36-year-old running inside a trailer. Law enforcement officers surrounded the vehicle, while proceedings were simultaneously underway to obtain a warrant that would allow them to enter.

A short time later, a gunshot was heard.

Police entered the trailer and found Basil fatally wounded by a gunshot from a 9mm handgun. According to the evidence included in the case file, the child had been shot in the face.

Daly then attempted to turn the weapon on herself, but police managed to restrain her and arrest her.

“Jake can’t take Basil”

After her arrest, the 36-year-old told investigators that she believed her actions had kept her son “safe.”

When asked what she thought when she saw police approaching the trailer, she reportedly replied: “Jake can’t take Basil.”

At the same time, she made claims—which have not been verified—that the child “would be in danger and sexually abused” if she came out of the trailer with him.

She also claimed that the father “never wanted to have anything to do” with Basil, either financially, physically or emotionally.

According to the arrest warrant, Daly also told investigators that she considered what she had done “worth it,” since that way the father and his relatives on his side of the family would never be able to have the child.

She pleaded guilty to first-degree murder

Madeline Veronique Daly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Monday, August 24, before a court in Silver City, New Mexico.

The judge accepted the terms of the plea agreement, but scheduled a separate proceeding for sentencing so that he would have more time to review the case.

The 36-year-old faces a sentence of life imprisonment, the maximum penalty provided in New Mexico for first-degree murder.