The same Clearwater apartment is central to arson allegations and a later fatal asphyxiation case.
CLEARWATER, Kan. — A fire in a toddler’s bedroom one month before his death is now part of a murder case against his mother after prosecutors amended an arson prosecution to include homicide charges.
Shanna Kay Whitton, 31, was already jailed on arson counts when Sedgwick County prosecutors added charges tied to the death of her 15-month-old son, Matthew Jon Whitton. Authorities say Matthew died after an intentionally inflicted asphyxia event, not a reported food choking. The case connects two calls to the Mimosa Arms Apartments in Clearwater: a July 2025 bedroom fire and an August 2025 medical emergency that ended with the child’s death.
The first call came July 26, 2025. Investigators said a fire started inside Matthew’s bedroom while he was in the room. Fire officials later concluded the fire had been intentionally set. Several apartments in the building were occupied, a fact that shaped the seriousness of the arson charges. Whitton was arrested Oct. 9. Six days later, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office charged her with six counts of aggravated arson and two counts of arson. The case was filed in the 18th Judicial District Court under SG-2025-CR-002006, and Whitton remained in custody.
The second call came Aug. 25. Deputies, Clearwater police, EMS crews and Clearwater firefighters were sent to the same apartment complex in the 700 block of East Janet Street at about 7 p.m. for an unconscious 15-month-old child who had reportedly choked on food. Officers found Matthew not breathing and began lifesaving efforts. EMS and fire personnel took over care, and Matthew was transported to a Wichita hospital in extremely critical condition. He died there Aug. 28. At that point, the case involved both a recent suspected arson and the sudden death of the child who had been inside the room where the fire began.
The medical examination took the investigation beyond the first choking report. An autopsy was conducted Aug. 31 at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center. The final report, issued Jan. 14, 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 foreign object was found in the child’s airway. The amended complaint later accused Whitton of blocking Matthew’s nose and mouth in a way that impeded normal breathing or circulation. Whitton has not been convicted.
The gap between the August death and the April murder charge reflects the work investigators said they had to complete. Detectives reviewed the medical findings, the original emergency account and the July fire. On April 3, they presented findings about Matthew’s death to the district attorney. On April 13, prosecutors amended the arson case to add first-degree felony murder, abuse of a child, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated arson. Sheriff Jeff Easter said cases involving children are difficult and said detectives had to put the pieces together carefully.
The arson allegations are not a side issue in the amended case. Authorities say the July fire placed Matthew in danger before he died the next month. The aggravated child endangerment count is tied to that claim, and the fire’s location in the child’s bedroom gives prosecutors a direct link between the earlier apartment incident and the later homicide case. Investigators have not publicly released a full fire report. They also have not said what ignition source was found, who else was home when the fire started or how Matthew was removed from danger.
Residents at the apartment complex later described confusion over what happened in August. A neighbor said Whitton told people the boy choked on a meatball, then described a different food. Another neighbor said Matthew was taken away on a gurney and did not return. The comments capture the early understanding of the emergency before the autopsy finding became public. For the prosecution, the core question is not only what Whitton said, but whether the medical and investigative evidence can prove the charged acts. For the defense, the unanswered public questions include what alternative explanations may be raised in court.
The case widened after authorities confirmed they were reviewing additional incidents involving Whitton, Matthew and another deceased child. That child was identified in local reports as Gypsy Rose Whitton-Marley, Matthew’s older sister. She died in July 2024 after a reported choking on grapes, and her death was initially ruled accidental. Records cited by local reports described earlier emergency incidents involving the girl, including one in which she was found unresponsive near a plastic bag. Authorities have not announced charges in her death. The review remains active, and officials said new facts will be presented to prosecutors if they are uncovered.
The legal path now runs through Sedgwick County court. Whitton remained jailed on a $500,000 bond after the homicide counts were added. Her next court hearing was set for May 7. Prosecutors will have to prove the elements of the murder, abuse, endangerment and arson charges. The evidence is expected to involve medical findings, fire investigation conclusions, first responder accounts and witness statements about what happened at the apartment. The pending case also leaves room for further filings if detectives bring prosecutors more information from the broader review.
The timeline is unusually compressed in one place: a July fire in the boy’s bedroom, an August emergency call for the same child, an October arson arrest, a January homicide finding and an April amendment adding murder. Each stage changed the meaning of the one before it. What began publicly as separate events now appears in one criminal case that alleges danger before death and intentional asphyxia after a reported choking.
Whitton remains charged but not convicted, Matthew’s death is listed as a homicide and the prior death of his sister remains under investigation. The next scheduled public step is Whitton’s May 7 court hearing.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.