In a quiet home on the east side of Joliet, Illinois, the life of a young girl came to a tragic and perplexing end. Twelve-year-old Mya King was found unresponsive by her mother, Colette Bancroft, in the bedroom they shared on a Sunday morning in April 2024. A call to 911 brought first responders to the scene, who immediately began life-saving measures, including CPR and administering Narcan, a medication designed to reverse opioid overdoses.
Mya was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to a children's hospital in Chicago, but she succumbed to her injuries three days later on April 17th.
The initial investigation into Mya's death led authorities to believe she had ingested a fatal combination of heroin and fentanyl. This suspicion arose after officers discovered the suspected narcotics inside her mother's purse, which was located in the same room where Mya was found. Consequently, 35-year-old Colette Bancroft was taken into custody and charged with possession of a controlled substance. She was later released with a notice to appear in court. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was also notified of the incident.
As the investigation continued, the circumstances surrounding Mya's death became less clear. A report from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office in the fall of 2024 introduced a layer of complexity to the case. While Mya's initial urine screen at the hospital tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, subsequent postmortem toxicology reports on her blood came back negative for all substances. Due to these conflicting results, the medical examiner could not definitively confirm a drug overdose as the cause of death. As a result, both the cause and manner of Mya King's death were officially ruled as undetermined.
Despite the medical examiner's findings, the Joliet Police Department has stated that the investigation into Mya's death remains active. Detectives are continuing to work with the Will County State's Attorney's Office to piece together the events that led to the young girl's untimely passing. As of late 2024, formal charges beyond the initial possession charge had not been filed against Colette Bancroft in connection with her daughter's death. The questions surrounding how and why Mya died linger, leaving a community and a grieving family searching for answers.
