Alex Whipple, suspected in the disappearance of his 5-year-old niece, Elizabeth Shelley, appears on video feed in the 1st District Court in Logan Tuesday, May 28, 2019, as he is arraigned on six misdemeanor charges unrelated to the missing girl.
LOGAN – Cache County prosecutors on Wednesday, added new charges in their case against Alex Whipple, the 21-year-old man accused of killing his niece, 5-year old Elizabeth Shelley.
“The Cache County Attorney’s office has received additional evidence from the Utah State Crime Lab,” a news release states. “This information led to the filing of two additional charges.”
Those charges are rape of a child and sodomy upon a child, both first degree felonies.
The news release stated prosecutors are still awaiting more information from the Medical Examiner’s office, including a cause of death.
Shelley’s body was found last Wednesday after Whipple’s defense attorney said Whipple told them where the body was. The 5-year old had disappeared from her home on May 25th. Whipple was arrested only a few hours later, but Shelley’s body was not found for several days.
Whipple already faces several counts, including aggravated murder and child kidnapping. He is in jail on no bail. Another hearing is set for June 24th.