A 5-year-old girl named Elizabeth Shelly was killed last week, and her body was found shortly after the murderer was convicted.

Shelley’s uncle, Alex Whipple, is said to have taken her home and killed her last week. Police and authorities remained in search of the body for five days, but they found no luck until Wednesday. Her body was found hidden under trees and foliage after Whipple had told his lawyer the whereabouts of the body, according to Utah Police Chief Gary Jensen.

In exchange for removing the death penalty from Whipple’s conviction, he provided the location of the body hours after he was charged. Elizabeth’s family was eternally grateful to law enforcement for locating the body.

Whipple, 21, has been charged for earlier crimes before Elizabeth’s disappearance. He was charged with child kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and desecration of a body. According to documents of the Cache County Court, Whipple had been drinking and playing video games with Elizabeth’s mother the night before Elizabeth’s reported disappearance.

Court documents also claimed that investigators of the murder later found a dismantled and bloody knife that was missing from the mother’s kitchenware, a PVC pipe with partial blood palm prints, and the skirt Elizabeth had worn stained with blood. The blood on Whipple’s clothing had then been linked to Elizabeth in a DNA test.

The motive for Elizabeth’s murder remains unknown. However, convictions against Whipple are currently underway as investigators continue to search for more evidence. Child kidnappings and murders are still postulated in our world, and how children are taught to react in dangerous situations is what matters most.

“It’s probably the parents’ fault most likely because they have to be responsible watching the kids and they have to teach their kids not to get themselves in dangerous situations,” said Jimmy Sokoli, a student at WHHS.

However, the circumstances in Elizabeth’s case are unlike most others. Most kidnappings or murders involve a complete stranger and are out of the blue, so it is up to the parents to teach their children to never trust anyone and to always be wary as they grow older.