The renewed inquiry follows a homicide finding in the death of 15-month-old Matthew Jon Whitton.
CLEARWATER, Kan. — Investigators are reviewing the earlier death of a Kansas girl after her mother was charged with first-degree felony murder in the asphyxiation death of the girl’s younger brother, authorities said.
The renewed scrutiny involves Gypsy Rose Whitton-Marley, who died in July 2024 at age 2 after a reported choking incident involving grapes. Her death was initially ruled accidental. Less than 14 months later, her 15-month-old brother, Matthew Jon Whitton, died after an emergency call at the same family’s Clearwater apartment. Their mother, Shanna Kay Whitton, now faces murder, child abuse, child endangerment and arson charges in Matthew’s death.
Authorities have not charged Whitton in Gypsy Rose’s death, and officials have not said the earlier ruling has changed. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has said only that additional incidents involving Whitton, Matthew and another deceased child are part of an active investigation. That statement came after prosecutors amended Whitton’s pending arson case on April 13 to add charges tied to Matthew. The sheriff’s office said any new facts will be sent to the district attorney. The careful wording leaves the public record in two places at once: one child’s death is now charged as homicide, while the earlier child death remains under review.
Gypsy Rose’s case had been described as a choking death. Local reports said she was eating grapes while Whitton was in the restroom and was found unresponsive when Whitton returned. Records later cited by local news described other emergency calls involving the girl, including a report that she was found unresponsive near a plastic bag one day before the fatal incident. Another record involved a fall from a couch when she was eight weeks old. Those details have not resulted in announced charges, but they became newly important after Matthew’s death was ruled a homicide rather than a food choking.
Matthew’s emergency happened Aug. 25, 2025, at Mimosa Arms Apartments in the 700 block of East Janet Street. Deputies, Clearwater police, EMS crews and firefighters were called at about 7 p.m. for an unconscious child who had reportedly choked on food. Officers found Matthew not breathing and began lifesaving efforts until EMS and fire personnel arrived. He was taken to a Wichita hospital in extremely critical condition and died Aug. 28. The initial report sounded similar in broad outline to the account given after Gypsy Rose’s death: a young child, a food obstruction and a sudden collapse.
The autopsy separated Matthew’s case from that first account. The Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center conducted the autopsy Aug. 31 and issued the final report Jan. 14. Authorities said Matthew died from complications of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy caused by an intentionally inflicted asphyxia event. The manner of death was homicide. Local reports said no food or food particles were found in his airway. Prosecutors later alleged Whitton blocked Matthew’s nose and mouth, impeding his normal breathing or blood circulation. Whitton is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The official homicide finding also brought renewed attention to a fire at the family’s apartment one month before Matthew stopped breathing. On July 26, 2025, a fire started in Matthew’s bedroom while he was inside, investigators said. Fire officials concluded the fire was intentionally set. Several apartments in the building were occupied. Whitton was arrested Oct. 9, then charged Oct. 15 with six counts of aggravated arson and two counts of arson. She remained jailed on those counts while the death investigation continued. The arson allegations later became part of the amended case that also includes Matthew’s death.
The family history now sits at the center of the investigation. Officials have described an extensive medical history involving the children, and local reports said records raised questions about whether repeated incidents reflected poor caregiving or medical child abuse. The sheriff’s office has not publicly adopted a final conclusion on that question. It has not released a full timeline of every prior call, hospital visit or report. Still, the death of one child in 2024, a bedroom fire in July 2025 and the death of another child in August 2025 now form the factual chain investigators are publicly willing to acknowledge.
Neighbors gave the case another layer after Matthew died. One neighbor said Whitton’s account of the food changed, first describing a meatball with spaghetti sauce and later SpaghettiOs. Another said Matthew was taken out on a gurney and never came back home. Those remarks do not prove the criminal charges, but they show how the explanation of a choking death spread through the apartment complex before investigators announced the autopsy findings. They also show why the case drew public attention after the homicide charge: the story that residents heard at first was not the one authorities later said the medical evidence supported.
The court case against Whitton is pending in the 18th Judicial District Court in Sedgwick County. The case number listed by the sheriff’s office is SG-2025-CR-002006. Prosecutors amended that case after detectives presented their findings April 3. The added counts include first-degree felony murder, abuse of a child, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated arson in connection with Matthew’s death. The existing arson charges from October remain part of the broader prosecution. Whitton remained in custody on a $500,000 bond, and her next hearing was scheduled for May 7.
Sheriff Jeff Easter said the investigations take time because officials have a duty to make sure they are accurate. His office has not given a date for when the review of Gypsy Rose’s death will be finished. It has not said whether prosecutors are expected to receive another package of evidence before Whitton’s next hearing. The district attorney’s office also has not publicly described what charges, if any, could follow from the review of the earlier death.
As of May 6, the public record shows one homicide prosecution, one prior accidental death under renewed review and a pending court date on May 7. The next step is expected to come in Sedgwick County court while detectives continue work on the wider investigation.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.