BREAKING NEWS

Elizabeth Shannon Whittle, Avondale woman convicted of shaking her quads, released from prison

Richard Ruelas and Scott Craven, The Republic | azcentral.com
Elizabeth Shannon Whittle, who was accused of shaking her quadruplet infants, left the Western Regional Parole Office in Phoenix on Sept. 15, 2016, after serving time at an Arizona State prison.

Elizabeth Shannon Whittle, who had been accused in the late 1990s of shaking her quadruplet infants violently enough to break bones, detach retinas and cause brain damage, was released from prison Thursday morning after serving a 17-year sentence.

She walked out of a state parole office in Phoenix shortly before 9:30 a.m. She had been taken there from the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville, where she had been serving her sentence. 

Whittle was met by her mother, Anita, and her daughter, Ericka.

"I have nothing to say at this time," she said as she got into a vehicle.

Whittle, 42, had been originally sentenced to 172 years behind bars following her 1999 conviction. But the validity of that trial was questioned following her conviction. In 2005, Whittle reached a plea deal with prosecutors that drastically reduced her sentence.

She will be under state community supervision, akin to parole, for just over two years, essentially serving the final 15 percent of her sentence under watch by a state corrections officer. If she violates the terms of her release, the clemency board could vote to send her back to prison.

Whittle was convicted of 13 counts of child abuse against her four children, who became known as the Avondale Quadruplets.

Children placed into foster care

Her four babies were placed in foster care after the abuse was first suspected. They were eventually adopted by foster families. All are 18.

One of the four was initially left blind and deaf by the abuse, but that boy, Brandon, has since regained sight and hearing, according to his father.

The other three, Hannah, Matthew and Michael, are thriving, showing no lingering effects from the violence. None refer to Whittle as their mother. They say their moms and dads are the loving parents who adopted them when they were 3 years old. 

The families who have raised the children know each other, and the four have grown up spending time together. 

Hannah Nelson said Thursday that she was angry about Whittle's release. "I have a lot of emotions I need to go through, but it is what it is," she said. "We can’t do anything about it.”

Matthew Reed also said on Thursday that he felt conflicted about Whittle's release. “I have a lot of emotions," he said, "different feelings.”

Matthew said his religious convictions help him reconcile his feelings on whether Whittle had a just punishment. “If God wants her out now, I have to accept that,” he said.

Michael Reed said of Whittle: "She missed out. I don't know what else to say."

Detectives assembled case

Police spent six months assembling a case strong enough to arrest Whittle. Detectives concluded, despite any physical evidence, that Whittle was responsible for the abuse because she was the primary caregiver during the weeks doctors said the babies had been injured. Her then-husband, Anthony Perez, was arrested and accused of doing nothing to stop the abuse and protect his children.

Elizabeth Shannon Whittle leaves the Western Regional Parole Office in Phoenix after serving time at an Arizona State prison on Sept. 15, 2016.

Whittle’s pregnancy and the quadruplets’ birth had received much media coverage in Arizona. Donations poured in to the couple following a front-page story in the Arizona Republic that told of the couple’s plight. The couple were of limited means and had conceived the children naturally, if unexpectedly.

At the time, the nation was transfixed with the story of Iowa septuplets, seven children born to an Iowa couple, the result of fertility treatments. Whittle, according to court records, had told her state social worker she wanted to contact the media, hoping for similar treatment.

The couple lived in a one-bedroom apartment in a duplex in Avondale. Whittle and Perez shared the bedroom with the four infants. Whittle also had a 6-year-old daughter, Ericka, who has Down syndrome. Also in the apartment were Whittle’s brother and her mother, Anita.

In March 1998, one of the couple’s babies was treated for possible meningitis after a doctor discovered blood in his spinal fluid. A month later, that child was back in the hospital. Relatives had noticed his head had swelled.

The baby was having seizures. Physicians at the hospital found broken bones and blood on his brain. Doctors suspected abuse.

The other three children were examined days later. Doctors found they also had broken bones and skull fractures, the suspected results of shaking.

Whittle told police investigating the abuse that she had been diagnosed as being manic-depressive, but had stopped taking her medication because she felt better.

That August, a psychologist talked with Whittle to determine how she handled the stress of the quadruplets. His conclusion: “It is difficult to imagine a young (woman) less prepared for conventional parenthood, let alone these extraordinary circumstances.”

Sentenced to 172 years in prison

That October, police and prosecutors presented a case before a grand jury. They determined Whittle was the primary caretaker during the time frame when the infants were injured.

But in court, Whittle’s attorneys painted a picture of a chaotic and cramped one-bedroom apartment and suggested anyone could have been the culprit, including Whittle’s 6-year-old daughter.

Montini: No…17 years behind bars is NOT enough for child abuse

A jury convicted Whittle of 13 counts of child abuse. Whittle was sentenced in 1999 to 172 years in prison.

Perez, whom she married in February 1998, just after the quadruplets’ birth, was convicted of not seeking medical attention for his children. He was released from prison on that count in 2004.

Six years after her conviction, Whittle filed a motion to have her original trial set aside. The motion for post-conviction relief, filed by attorney Jason Kalafat, outlined arguments that Whittle’s trial attorneys, Norman Katz and Jay Bloom, had a conflict of interest because while representing Whittle, they also helped Perez with child-custody issues.

Prosecutors, faced with the strong possibility that a judge would order a new trial, one they would retry with old evidence, struck a plea deal.

In August 2005, Whittle pleaded guilty to a single count of child abuse and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, dating back to her original 1999 conviction.

Now adults, Avondale quads are determined to move on, 'be something bigger than this'

In 2008, the Board of Executive Clemency voted to reduce Whittle's sentence by four years. Gov. Janet Napolitano denied that request.

In 2012, the clemency board voted that Whittle be released. Gov. Jan Brewer denied that request.

Perez, meanwhile, was finding himself the subject of arrest warrants for probation violations. An officer said he found Perez with methamphetamine in 2013. He was arrested on suspicion of auto theft in 2014.

In January, Perez pleaded guilty to the auto-theft charges and was sentenced to three years in state prison.

Whittle filed for divorce from Perez in 2015. Perez did not appear in court to contest it. Whittle's divorce was granted by default in 2016.

Whittle had refused a request for an interview this week sent through prison officials. She also did not seem glad to see a reporter and photographer on Thursday morning as she left state custody.

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