Elmore County man found guilty in death of his son

Kristopher Matthews/Courtesy: Elmore County Jail

An Elmore County jury has found a man guilty in the death of his two month old child.

Elmore County District Attorney CJ Robinson said the jury found Kristopher Matthews guilty of Aggravated Child Abuse, which is a Class A felony and punishable by 10-99 years.

Officials say Karson Matthews was born in July 2018 weighing 6 pounds and 2 ounces. He was taken to the Elmore County Hospital in September 2018 weighing substantially less.

An autopsy determined Karson’s cause of death to be negligence and the manner of death to be homicide.

In an interview with law enforcement, Kristopher Matthews admitted to having never taken Karson the doctor after being released from the hospital after his birth. And he claimed he never personally fed his child.

An Elmore County jury convicted Shirley Matthews, Kristopher’s wife, of the same charges in July of 2024, and she was sentenced to serve 20 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections.

“Evil is real,” said Robinson. “Society can attempt to sugar coat evil in any variety of ways, but there is no excuse or justification I am willing to accept for starving an infant to death and refusing to seek medical treatment as they wither away. Just as fundamental human beings, we have to be better than that.”

Kristopher Matthews will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Amanda Baxley on September 18, 2025.