Elmore County woman found guilty of starving two month old son to death

An Elmore County woman has been convicted of starving her two month old son to death. District Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit C.J. Robinson released a statement saying a jury has found Shirley Matthews guilty of Aggravated Child Abuse (a Class A felony, punishable by 10-99 years) which caused the death of her two-month-old son, Karson.

Karson Matthews was born in July of 2018, weighing 6 lbs. 2 ounces. In September of 2018, he
was taken unresponsive to Elmore Community Hospital weighing 4 lbs. 13 ounces. 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, Shirley admitted to having never taken Karson to the doctor after being released from the hospital after his birth.

She claimed to be feeding him regularly and thought he would eventually gain weight. However, the jury heard overwhelming medical testimony about the child’s malnourished condition which led to his death. Karson’s father, Kristopher Matthews was indicted for the same charges as his wife Shirley and his case is still pending.

District Attorney CJ Robinson said, “It is never easy to try cases on behalf of innocent children who senselessly suffer because of the choices of the adults who are supposed to protect and love them. This week we sat with the families of three victims who lost their lives (two were children) and all three deaths were completely avoidable. I am proud of
the work of my prosecutors and staff who had to endure long days combing through medical evidence and horrific photos to seek justice for these families.  As for the aggravated child abuse case, the infant starved to death, plain and simple. No rhyme, no reason, never taken to a doctor, no underlying medical condition. He was just simply neglected until he died. Evil is real. Society can attempt to sugar coat evil in a 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. We imagine these types of things happening in third-world countries when people have no resources and no avenues for help. But there is absolutely no reason this should happen in Elmore County today. Certainly, we expect a parent do more for their child, but really for anyone… when it comes to just being a human, we are better than that.”

Sentencing for Shirley Matthews is set for September 19, 2024.