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Dead infant found in baby drop-off box in Idaho

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Dead infant found in baby drop-off box in Idaho


A dead newborn baby girl was found in a baby drop-off box in Idaho on Oct. 13, police said this week.

The infant was removed from the box at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot “within a minute” after a medical team responded to an alarm notifying them that a baby had been placed there.

Upon removal, they realized the infant had been dead long before being placed in the baby box, according to a news release on Monday from Safe Haven Baby Boxes on Facebook.

Idaho law allows unharmed and healthy infants to be surrendered to the baby boxes. Because this infant was already dead before being placed in the box, she was not a legal surrender.

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Safe Haven Baby Boxes provide a secure and anonymous way for parents to safely surrender their newborns. But anonymity is only allowed when an infant is surrendered completely unharmed, said Safe Haven Baby Boxes Founder Monica Kelsey.

“We are heartbroken,” she said. “Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and providing all information we possess to local authorities. When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”

The parent’s identity is now known to police, according to a video update Kelsey posted to Facebook on Thursday.

“It is not because there’s cameras on these boxes, there is no cameras on these boxes,” she said. “It was either old fashioned police work or she stepped forward.”

The Twin Falls and Blackfoot police departments are both investigating.

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“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and community affected by this loss. The health and safety of our community’s children remain our top priority,” the Twin Falls Police Department stated in a Monday press release.

52 infants have been legally surrendered at Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2017, the organization said. Each infant has been adopted, the organization says.

There is only one Safe Haven Baby Box in Idaho.



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Idaho

Idaho AG warns Idaho renters about growing scam targetting home seekers

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Idaho AG warns Idaho renters about growing scam targetting home seekers


Photo: Margaret Carmel/BoiseDev. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is warning renters to be on the lookout for a scam that’s becoming more common in fast-growing housing markets like Idaho. Attorney General Raúl Labrador issued a warning Tuesday about scammers creating fake rental listings to take advantage of Idaho’s fast-growing housing market and renters moving in […]



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Bond revoked for indicted Idaho mother

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Bond revoked for indicted Idaho mother


PAYETTE — A Payette mom’s bond was revoked Tuesday after she was charged with suffocating her twin children earlier this month and is believed to pose a danger to the life of her newborn child.

The case, which has drawn national headlines, concerns Andrea Renee Shaw, a 23-year-old Payette mother who in May 2025 said her 18-month-old fraternal twins died the same day, after receiving routine childhood vaccinations. In January, Shaw joined as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with several other plaintiffs claiming vaccine injury or death.

Kennedy, who now serves as secretary of Health and Human Services, is no longer part of the group after taking on the cabinet position, as was reported by the Associated Press.

In Idaho, the twins’ deaths prompted a 14-month investigation by the Payette County Sheriff’s Department. On June 29, the investigation yielded a grand jury indictment of Shaw on two counts of first-degree murder by suffocation. If convicted, Shaw can be punished by up to life in prison or the death penalty, and the court would have the ability to order the penalties be served consecutively, or back to back.

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Tuesday’s arraignment at the Payette County Courthouse was primarily attended by Shaw’s relatives and members of the media. Payette County Judge Kiley Stuchlik, who serves Idaho’s Third Judicial District, presided.

A key consideration for Stuchlik on Tuesday was a request from Joseph Filicetti, the legal counsel for Shaw, to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $100,000. Filicetti said this would allow for Shaw to care for a newborn girl, who, according to court documents, was born by caesarean section on June 25, four days prior to Shaw’s grand jury indictment.

State prosecutors objected to the motion for bond reduction, noting at hand was a potential death penalty case and asserting, unlike her husband, Shaw’s story repeatedly changed during questioning. Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duke said releasing Shaw would ultimately put the newborn’s safety at risk.

“That child is the most at risk. We do not think she should be allowed to be anywhere near any children, let alone her own children,” Duke said.

Stuchlik decided to revoke bond entirely, stating Shaw posed a “risk of safety” to the newborn child that was not known to Stuchlik or prosecutors when the $2 million bond was initially set.

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Also for consideration Tuesday was a request to have grand jury transcripts of witness testimony provided to prosecutors and defense counsel to prepare their respective cases.



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Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort

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Idaho is home to the nation's first DarkSky Reserve. Now it's home to the nations first DarkSky Certified Resort


Photo: Courtesy Sun Valley Resort Idaho is already home to the nation’s first DarkSky Reserve. Now, Sun Valley Resort is adding another first. The resort has become the first in the United States to earn DarkSky Certified Resort status through DarkSky International’s Approved Lodging Program, recognizing the resort’s efforts to reduce light pollution and protect […]



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