Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services’ Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Update: On July 13, 2026, Lee Cooksey pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 10, 2026.
Original story (published Jan. 31, 2025): Last year, an 8-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was found unresponsive in a dirty home on a pallet next to her five siblings in the living room where the family slept before her parents called 911.
This year, those parents were arrested and charged with neglect resulting in the death of their daughter. Their initial hearing is set for Feb. 4.
On May 1, 2024, at 2:08 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to a home in the 3600 block of North Capital Avenue on the city’s northside for a report of an unresponsive 8-year-old. When officers arrived, Lee Cooksey came outside carrying his daughter, Gwendolyn Cooksey. One officer began doing CPR on the child.
Lee Cooksey told police his daughter had a medical history of seizures, and voiced concerns of her swallowing something, due to always putting things in her mouth.
He said he caught her putting something in her mouth earlier that day, but also said he hoped she hadn’t got into any drugs. The officer had a body-worn camera that captured this statement.
Gwendolyn was taken to Riley Children’s Health, where she died hours later.
The Marion County Coroner’s Office confirmed Gwendolyn’s medical history of seizures related to her having cerebral palsy but also noted the girl’s parents were negligent in her care and treatment.
According to court documents, a crime lab technician collected a purple shirt with vomit on it and black pants from Gwendolyn’s body bag. A pathologist conducting an autopsy noted purple mottling and foam in the girl’s lungs, something seen in overdose cases. The pathologist also looked for bite marks on the child’s tongue, a common injury in seizure patients, but did not find any.
At the home, detectives noted in a probable cause affidavit that the space was “very dirty” and cluttered.
Each sibling was interviewed by detectives
On May 2, 2024, detectives interviewed each of Gwendolyn’s siblings. She had a 13-year-old brother, an 11-year-old brother, two sisters her same age and a 6-year-old sister. They all referred to her as “Destiny,” court documents said.
Her 13-year-old brother said the family had just gone to bed after eating spaghetti and the children were on their pallets. That’s when the boy saw his father try to wake Gwendolyn up and the family was scrambling around the room to try and find a phone. While she was taken to a hospital, he and his other siblings were taken to a friend’s house.
When asked about his sister having needed medicine, the boy said his parents changed their mind about giving it to her a little over two years ago. He only reported seeing her take a liquid medicine one time.
He also told police he does online and home-schooling because his dad “didn’t trust people.”
An 11-year-old brother relayed the same information about the events that happened the night Gwendolyn died. His mother told him she had a seizure. He didn’t know what grade he was in or who his teacher was.
An 8-year-old sister said Gwendolyn had previously told the family that she didn’t feel good before they all went to sleep. She drew a picture of the medicine that she said was in the home but told police they never get sick so they don’t take medicine.
Another 8-year-old sister recounted how her father was screaming and asking the children what was wrong with “Destiny” and they said they didn’t know.
Both of the sisters told police they hadn’t been to a doctor since they were younger.
Her 6-year-old sister was too afraid to talk to police.
What happened to Gwendolyn?
According to the probable cause, at the hospital, Lee Cooksey and Gwendolyn’s mother, Brittany Warr, said Gwendolyn had not taken her medication for a year or more and said the 8-year-old was “allowed to set boundaries on her care.”
Gwendolyn behaved normally until the evening of her death when she complained about being tired. The parents told police she had been found chewing paper after she had walked the family dog down an alley. The father took the paper away so she couldn’t swallow it.
Everyone went to bed, but the father woke up and noticed Gwendolyn didn’t look right, he later told police, according to court documents. He started to pick her up and she was limp. 911 was called, and her father attempted CPR. He carried her outside when he heard sirens and police took over.
Warr told police the kids went to bed around 10 p.m. before she and Lee Cooksey dozed off in the dining room.
They woke to find their daughter on her side and not breathing. She had orange vomit on her shirt.
She confirmed drugs could have been in the house and Gwendolyn could have ingested cocaine or weed. The mother told police she doesn’t do drugs.
Cooksey ultimately decided he did want to speak to a detective.
Detectives got search warrants for the parents’ phones that showed evidence of the family buying and selling narcotics. They also learned the family has a prior history with DCS for allegations of drug use and physical abuse.
Gwendolyn’s autopsy report stated the 8-year-old’s cause of death was due to acute fentanyl intoxication and the manner of death was accidental.
Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formally Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Father pleads guilty after 8 year old dies of fentanyl
Reporting by Jade Jackson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Jade Jackson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
