A Kansas mother who claimed her 15-month-old son fatally choked on a meatball has been charged with his murder — an investigation that has reopened questions into the death of her two-year-old daughter, who reportedly died under similar circumstances just one year earlier.
Shanna Kay Whitton was charged on April 13 in connection with the 2025 death of Matthew Jon Whitton, according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. The charges follow an investigation into the mother’s initial claim that the toddler had choked to death.
As reported by ABC affiliate KAKE, responders were called to the Mimosa Arms Apartments in Clearwater on August 25, 2025, after receiving reports of an unconscious child.
Despite receiving lifesaving measures at the scene and further medical intervention at a Wichita hospital, the toddler died three days later. An autopsy conducted by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center later determined the cause of death to be complications from an “intentionally inflicted asphyxia event,” ruling the case a homicide.
Neighbors and police were skeptical of Whitton’s story from the start.
A neighbor, Heather Lambert, told KAKE that the mother’s story regarding the food involved was inconsistent.
“First, she told people it was a meatball from spaghetti with sauce,” Lambert said, “then SpaghettiOs with sauce in it.”
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter told KSN that investigators did not believe the choking account provided by the mother either.
The investigation also revisited a fire that occurred at the family’s residence on July 26, 2025.
Investigators determined the fire had started in the child’s bedroom while he was inside and concluded the fire had been set intentionally, according to the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.
Whitton was originally arrested in October 2025 on arson-related charges and has remained in custody on a $500,000 bond.
Following the presentation of new findings by detectives earlier this month, the case was amended to include charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and aggravated child endangerment.
Sheriff Easter said in a statement that cases involving the death of a child were “especially difficult.”
“These investigations take time because we have a responsibility to get them right,” Easter said. “Our detectives are committed to putting the pieces together and being a voice for children who can’t speak for themselves.”
The investigation remains ongoing and is looking into previous incidents involving Whitton, according to police.
“The Sheriff’s Office can confirm additional incidents involving Shanna Kay Whitton, Matthew Jon Whitton and another deceased child are part of this ongoing investigation,” a statement by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said. “All incidents remain part of an active investigation.”
According to a newly released autopsy report, Whitton’s two-year-old daughter, Gypsy Rose Whitton-Marley, died in July 2024 in an incident that was initially ruled an accidental choking, KWCH reported.
The report stated that Gypsy Rose was eating grapes while Whitton was in the restroom and was found unresponsive upon her return. Although the 2024 death was ruled an accident, the report noted that several people had raised concerns regarding “medical child abuse,” formerly known as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy.
Records also revealed multiple previous emergency calls involving Gypsy Rose, including an incident where she was found unresponsive near a plastic bag just one day before the fatal choking event.
Whitton is scheduled to appear in court on May 7.
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