1-month-old Illinois baby died due to ‘cocaine intoxication’

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A one-month-old boy had enough cocaine in his body that it was the “immediate” cause of death.

Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Grayson Luncsford also suffered from heat stress, dehydration, malnutrition, and neglect as he said on Sept. 16, just a few hours after the boy was found dead.

At the time, Harwood had said the boy had been dead for a while and had suffered due to being in a hot car for too long.

Luncsford has been at the county jail since then. She was indicted Tuesday on charges of murder and endangering the life and health of a child. She faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted.

Just after 7 p.m., Sept. 16, Peoria police were called to the 2400 block of North Peoria Avenue on a report of a dead baby. That’s near the intersection of East Archer Avenue.

A relative pulled the child out of the vehicle but he had already died, said Harwood, who estimated the baby had been dead for a few hours. At the time, he said the cause of death was dehydration and hyperthermia.

But toxicology testing indicated “that the presence and quantity of cocaine in the baby’s system were significant enough to conclude that cocaine intoxication was the IMMEDIATE cause of death.

Even without the presence of cocaine, heat stress, dehydration, malnutrition, and neglect were also terminal conditions, the coroner said.

The mode of entry of the cocaine into the infant’s system remains under investigation by the Peoria Police Department and the Peoria County Coroner’s Office, Harwood said.

This story will be updated.

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