Title : Utah man who 'murdered five-year-old niece' appears in court as family prepares to lay body to rest
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Utah man who 'murdered five-year-old niece' appears in court as family prepares to lay body to rest
Utah man, 21, accused of murdering his five-year-old niece appears in court as her heartbroken family prepares to lay her body to rest
- Alexander Whipple, 21, appeared in court in Cache County, Utah, on Monday
- He is charged with capital murder in the death of his niece Lizzy Shelley
- Lizzy's family was not in court as they are preparing for her funeral on Tuesday
- The five-year-old went missing from her home in Logan on the night of May 25
- Whipple became the prime suspect as police carried out a five-day search
- The suspect was charged in Lizzy's disappearance last Wednesday
- He led investigators to where her body was buried about a quarter mile from her home after striking a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty
Alexander Whipple, 21, appeared in court on Monday (above) to face capital murder charges in the death of his five-year-old niece Lizzy Shelley, who was found dead near her home in Logan, Utah, on May 29
A Utah man accused of murdering his five-year-old niece appeared in court to face capital murder charges as the victim's family prepares to lay her body to rest.
Alexander Whipple, 21, wore an emotionless expression with his prison-issued jumpsuit as he faced a judge in Cache County Court on Monday, less than one week after he led police to the dirt-covered body of Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Shelley, just yards from her home in Logan.
He has been charged with aggravated murder, a capital offense, as well as first-degree felony child kidnapping, third-degree desecration of a human body, and two counts of obstruction of justice.
Lizzy's heartbroken family did not attend the hearing on the eve of the youngster's funeral being held Tuesday.
They have urged anyone who attends the Tuesday afternoon service to bring wildflowers, noting: 'Lizzy loved to pick flowers.'
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A funeral for slain five-year-old Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Shelley (pictured) will be held on Tuesday, less than one week after her body was found about a quarter-mile from her home
Whipple is facing charges for aggravated murder, child kidnapping, desecration of a human body and obstruction of justice. He appeared emotionless as he faced a judge in Cache County Court on Monday, less than a week after he led investigators to Lizzy's corpse
Video courtesy of FOX 13
Lizzy was last seen at around 2am on May 25 while Whipple was staying at her home.
She was reported missing the next morning after her family awoke and found that both she and her uncle were gone and the front door was wide open. Whipple quickly became the number one suspect in her disappearance.
The girl had been missing for five days before Whipple was charged in her disappearance last Wednesday.
Prosecutors struck a deal with the defendant under which they agreed not to seek the death penalty against him if he led them to Lizzy's body.
The corpse was found buried under leaves and debris in a wooded area about a quarter-mile from the home where she was last seen.
Whipple is seen above in a booking photo taken after he was arrested on May 26, the day his niece was reported missing
Cache County Attorney James Swink said that recovering Lizzy's remains was essential to bringing her family closure.
'As mothers know even better than fathers, not to have the body of your child, you just can't cope with that,' Swink told the Salt Lake Tribune. 'You can't get your head around that.'
The prosecutor promised to do everything in his power to ensure that Whipple spends the rest of his life in prison.
'We need to protect the family and our community from that individual,' Swink said. 'And that's what we will do.'
Police found Whipple walking alone in a rural area near Hyrum a few hours after she was reported missing.
He had a metal baseball bat tucked into his back pocket under his jacket, and was carrying a pipe, suspected marijuana and an unopened can of beer.
The 21-year-old was arrested and taken to a police station. When he was left alone in an interrogation room he allegedly began licking his 'filthy' hands covered in cuts.
Whipple, who had been drinking with his sister Jessica, Lizzy's mother, the night before, allegedly told detectives that alcohol makes him 'black out' and sometimes he does 'criminal things.'
He alluded frequently to 'how evil the world we live in is,' as he talked about his struggles as a child, according to court documents.
Lizzy's blood was found on the wristwatch and hooded sweatshirt Whipple was wearing, the documents state.
Her blood was also on a broken knife found on the campus of a charter school near her home. The knife was the same brand as one that was missing from her family's kitchen.
Investigators also found a piece of PVC pipe with a partial palm print in a red substance believed to be blood. The print matched Whipple's hand, the charges state.
The teal skirt Lizzy was wearing when she was last seen was recovered 'hastily buried' with traces of blood some 50 yards away.
The community gathered for a candlelit vigil on the steps of the Historic Cache County Courthouse on Saturday, where Lizzy's heartbroken mother was comforted by her fiance Detrich Black.
Family spokesman Jill Parker read a statement on the mother's behalf thanking the local community for their help in looking for her 'caring and giving' daughter.
It read in part: 'There are no words to express the sadness and the heartbreak we feel today. This did not end the way we wanted it to.'
Lizzy went missing the night of May 25 at her Logan home. Her body was found four days later
Lizzy's heartbroken mother Jessica Whipple is seen breaking down in tears at a vigil held in honor of her daughter on Saturday in Logan, Utah
Jessica Whipple is comforted by her fiance Detrich Black at Saturday's emotional vigil
After the arrest, Whipple's grandfather said that his grandson had a difficult childhood but had never shown violent tendencies.
'I would never, ever in a million years have thought he was capable of harming such a cute little girl,' Bill Whipple said. 'I knew he was a thief, but I never labeled him as a murderer.'
The suspect's mother walked out on the family when he was young, leaving his father to raise three children alone while he worked as a truck driver.
As a teenager, Alex spent time in foster homes and did not graduate from high school.
Whipple's defense attorney, Shannon Demler, described his client as 'very emotional' and 'not in a very good mental state.'
'He's very broken down,' Demler told Fox 13 Now. 'He's very remorseful.'
The attorney claimed that Whipple came forward with information about the location of Lizzy's body out of concern for the family.
'He knows he's done something that was terrible, unjustified and could never be fixed,' Demler said.
'We talked about it in depth and just felt it was appropriate that his family knew the location so they could put that part behind them… Not only that, there was a lot of people out searching for the body and things and I think it was just time to put that to sleep.'
Investigators are pictured near the site where Lizzy's body was recovered last Wednesday
Demler said Whipple did not provide a motive for what he described as the man's 'inexcusable' act against his niece and speculated that mental illness could be to blame.
'I don't know if there's a reason why other than possibly mental illness,' the lawyer said. 'You know, it's not like a five-year-old girl would do something that would justify someone doing this to her, but I think the answer is going to be in the mental illness of my client.'
Demler said he expects Whipple to undergo multiple psychiatric evaluations as his case winds through the court system.
He is currently being held without bond.
In 2016, Whipple was convicted of assaulting his roommate in an incident of domestic violence, according to court records.
The same year, Whipple was arrested after police said he stole his neighbor's car and drove under the influence of alcohol. In that incident he led Utah High Patrol on a 40-mile chase that ended with authorities spiking the tires of the car, court documents show.
Whipple was sentenced to prison in March 2018 but his term was suspended, and he was instead ordered to serve 180 days in jail and five years of probation.
Whipple's grandfather said that his grandson had a difficult childhood but had never shown violent tendencies. The 21-year-old high school dropout is pictured in a Facebook photo
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