Investigators say an autopsy found no food blocking the boy’s airway after an earlier report that he had choked.

CLEARWATER, Kan. — A Kansas mother has been charged with first-degree felony murder after authorities said her 15-month-old son died from intentionally inflicted asphyxia, not from choking on food, at a Clearwater apartment last summer.

Shanna Kay Whitton, 31, is accused in the death of Matthew Jon Whitton, who was found unconscious Aug. 25, 2025, at the Mimosa Arms Apartments in the 700 block of East Janet Street. The case now ties together a medical finding, an earlier apartment fire and a wider inquiry into incidents involving Whitton and another deceased child. Whitton is presumed innocent unless convicted in court.

The case began as an emergency call about a child who had reportedly choked while eating. Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies, Clearwater police, EMS crews and firefighters arrived at about 7 p.m. and found Matthew not breathing. Officers started lifesaving efforts before medical crews took over and brought him to a Wichita hospital in extremely critical condition. Matthew died Aug. 28, three days after the call. Sheriff Jeff Easter later said child death cases require investigators to “get them right,” describing the work as slow because detectives had to piece together medical records, witness accounts and fire evidence.

The autopsy changed the direction of the investigation. The Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center conducted the autopsy Aug. 31 and issued its final report Jan. 14. Authorities said the cause of death was complications of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy caused by an intentionally inflicted asphyxia event. The manner of death was ruled homicide. Local reports said investigators found no food or foreign object in Matthew’s airway, including at the scene, at the hospital or during the autopsy. That finding undercut the first account that the child had choked while eating and moved the case from a medical emergency into a criminal investigation.

Detectives also reviewed a July 26, 2025, fire at the same apartment, one month before Matthew stopped breathing. Investigators said the fire started in Matthew’s bedroom while he was inside. Fire investigators concluded it was intentionally set, and several apartments in the building were occupied at the time. Whitton was arrested Oct. 9 on arson-related counts, and prosecutors charged her Oct. 15 with six counts of aggravated arson and two counts of arson. Those charges were filed in Sedgwick County District Court under case number SG-2025-CR-002006. She remained jailed after that arrest as detectives continued examining the boy’s later death.

On April 3, detectives presented findings about Matthew’s death to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. On April 13, prosecutors amended the existing case to add one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of abuse of a child, one count of aggravated child endangerment and one count of aggravated arson tied to Matthew’s death. The amended complaint accused Whitton of blocking the child’s nose and mouth and impeding normal breathing or blood circulation. It also accused her of placing Matthew in danger during the July fire. The charges do not end the investigation, and officials said more facts could still be sent to prosecutors.

The reported food account also drew attention from neighbors. One neighbor said Whitton first told people the boy choked on a meatball from spaghetti, then gave a different account involving SpaghettiOs. Another neighbor recalled seeing Matthew taken away on a gurney and said he never returned home. Those accounts are not the same as the medical finding, but they became part of the public picture after authorities said the choking explanation did not match the autopsy. Officials have not said whether any neighbor will be called as a witness or whether additional statements will appear in later court filings.

The investigation also reached back to the death of Whitton’s 2-year-old daughter, Gypsy Rose Whitton-Marley, who died in July 2024. Her death was initially ruled an accidental choking after she reportedly ate grapes. Local reports said newly released records showed earlier emergency calls involving the girl, including a hospital visit after she was found unresponsive near a plastic bag and another report involving a fall when she was an infant. Authorities have said incidents involving Whitton, Matthew and another deceased child are part of the ongoing investigation. They have not announced charges in Gypsy Rose’s death.

The case has put the small Clearwater apartment complex at the center of a layered investigation. Clearwater sits southwest of Wichita, and the Mimosa Arms Apartments became the site of both the July fire and the August medical call. The first incident brought arson investigators. The second brought EMS crews, police and sheriff’s detectives. By April, the same court case had grown from an arson prosecution into a homicide case. The sequence matters because prosecutors are not treating the two events as isolated. The child endangerment and arson allegations now help frame what authorities say happened before Matthew died.

Whitton remained in custody on a $500,000 bond after the arson arrest and after the homicide counts were added. Her next court appearance was scheduled for May 7 in Sedgwick County. The hearing is expected to focus on the pending criminal case, though the investigation into other incidents remains active. Prosecutors have not publicly laid out all evidence they may use, and authorities have not said whether they expect more charges. The defense position was not clear from the available public reports.

The sheriff’s office said detectives will continue sending any new facts to the district attorney. As of May 6, the case stands as a pending first-degree felony murder, child abuse, child endangerment and arson prosecution, with a court date set for May 7.

Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.