Pattern of life-threatening incidents revealed in Clearwater children’s autopsies
A coroner’s report in the death of a 15-month-old Clearwater boy reveals several potentially life-threatening incidents, frequent hospitalizations and concerns about the care he received before his August 2025 death, which investigators are now reexamining as a homicide.
Shanna Kay Whitton of Clearwater was charged earlier this week with first-degree felony murder, in addition to other counts related to child abuse and arson.
Matthew died from complications of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy — brain damage caused by lack of oxygen or blood — resulting from an “intentionally inflicted asphyxial event,” according to his autopsy.
On Aug. 25, 2025, Whitton called 911 to report that her 15-month-old son, Matthew Jon Whitton, was choking on a meatball. He was taken to a hospital, where, on Aug. 28, he was declared brain dead, his autopsy describes. His death was ruled as a homicide.
The medical record contradicts Whitton’s claim that the one-year-old choked on a meatball. No food was removed from Matthew’s airways before EMS arrived, according to history given to medical personnel, and nothing was found or removed from his airway during resuscitation attempts or during his hospitalization.
“No food bolus, or even food particles were identified in Matthew’s airways during autopsy,” the medical report read. “The medical records indicate that ‘his clinical course is not consistent with brief choking event’, I concur with this statement.”
It wasn’t the first time the toddler had been hospitalized. The deputy coroner-medical examiner listed multiple occasions in which Matthew reportedly stopped breathing or suffered serious injury while in his mother’s care, according to Department for Children and Families, law enforcement and medical reports referenced by the coroner.
For example, in a three-month period from August 21 to October 27, 2024, Whitton called 911 at least three times for Matthew; five major events believed to have affected Matthew’s health and safety were documented by the coroner during this period. These include two incidents in which Matthew was dropped — once at home and again in the hospital while Whitton was feeding him — as well as two separate hospitalizations over breathing concerns.
In his 15 months of life, Matthew had been hospitalized at least five times, including immediately after birth for respiratory distress syndrome, which required intubation. Other incidents include multiple 911 calls for falls and head injuries, an asphyxial episode linked to unsafe sleeping conditions, a reported near-drowning in a bathtub and multiple emergency calls for breathing issues or hypothermia.
Also included in the coroner’s report were summaries of medical emergencies involving Matthew’s sibling, Gypsy Rose Whitton-Marley. From August 11, 2022, until Matthew died in August 2025, there were roughly a dozen documented major events between Matthew and his 2-year-old sister that resulted in 911 calls and hospitalization.
Autopsy findings in the death of Gypsy Rose
Gypsy Rose, who was identified in her obituary as Jolene Naomi Whitton, was Matthew’s older sister. She died in 2024 after choking on grapes, which were removed from her airway by first responders, her autopsy read.
While her death was ruled an accident, investigators have since noted similarities between the siblings’ histories, including repeated emergencies occurring while under their mother’s supervision. In a news release published earlier this week, the Sheriff’s Office said it is taking another look at her death.
In Gypsy Rose’s autopsy, the medical examiner noted that three days before the two-year-old died, she was hospitalized after sleeping with a blanket, and possibly a plastic bag, over her face.
Concerns before the children’s deaths
Matthew’s autopsy indicates that multiple people, including medical professionals and others involved with the family, had previously questioned Whitton’s ability to safely care for her children.
The family had an extensive history with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, the medical system, and law enforcement, the autopsy read. The report describes “repeated documented concerns” about parenting decisions and safety.
“There were concerns raised by more than one individual regarding whether these repeated incidents were result of incompetent parenting versus what was formerly Known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, now referred to as Medical Child Abuse,” the autopsy read.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the deaths of Shanna’s two children. Detectives plan to present further findings to prosecutors as the case develops.
