A 35-year-old Bethel woman was indicted on manslaughter and drug charges after she allegedly injected her father with heroin at an Anchorage apartment in September 2014.
Bethel police took Shannon Cooke into custody April 3 after she was indicted March 26, according to a statement from the state Department of Law. If convicted of manslaughter, she could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The charges stem from Sept. 29, 2014, when the Anchorage Police Department responded to a medic call at an apartment on LaTouche Street. Police were initially told Cooke found her father, 56-year-old Thomas Tungwenuk, unresponsive after he had consumed heroin, the DOL said. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
The state, however, now alleges that Cooke was the one who gave her father the drug. In addition to manslaughter, she was also charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. Both of the charges are felonies.
“Cooke is alleged to have provided heroin to her father and injected him with it,” a DOL statement says. “The State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Tungwenuk died from acute combined effects of heroin and alcohol.”
Cooke’s initial bail was set at $20,000 plus a third-party custodian. She has a hearing in Anchorage scheduled for May 13, according to Dan Shorey, assistant district attorney.
–This is a developing story.