Pregnant mother and toddler found dead in Idaho home: ‘Devastating’

A 33-year-old woman and her infant son were found dead in their Idaho home on Wednesday, Idaho State Police said Thursday.

U statement on FacebookShoshone County Sheriff Holly Lindsey said her office received a report of a death May 17 at a home in Wallace, Idaho. Officers responded to the home just before 8:30 p.m. local time, where they found the bodies of Elizabeth Lawley and her unnamed son, who was just two years old, with gunshot wounds. CBS News affiliate KREM reported that Lawley was “several months pregnant.”

According to Lindsay, the preliminary investigation into the “devastating” case “indicates that Lawley likely killed her son and then committed suicide.”

No motive was given for Lawley’s alleged actions.

KREM reported that Idaho State Police are assisting the sheriff’s office with the fatality investigation. The KREM Sheriff’s Office said they are awaiting more information from the medical examiner.

Lindsay said there would be no further information about the case.

“As sheriff, it is my responsibility to share the news with the citizens of Shoshone County, but I cannot in good conscience cause the family any more pain by reporting this incident, so this will be our final comment regarding this tragedy,” she said.

Lindsay said she had never seen the sheriff’s office “so gloomy” or “so devastated” as they were during the investigation.

“Today has been an extremely difficult day for the family, for our office and for this community. And I can only imagine what the family is going through,” she said.

She ended the news release with a personal call to residents.

“Maybe I’m just sleep deprived, but I can’t stop thinking about how precious life is,” Lindsay wrote. “Kiss your spouse, hug your kids, call your parents, siblings to talk to them – don’t take any of this for granted…not even for a minute. Stay safe and take care of each other.”

Carrie Breen

Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reports focus on current events, breaking news and the use of psychoactive substances.