A heartbreaking case in Peoria, Illinois, has taken a shocking turn after it was revealed that a one-month-old baby, initially thought to have died from being left in a hot car, actually died from cocaine poisoning.
The Peoria County Coroner’s Office announced Tuesday that baby Grayson Lunsford had lethal levels of cocaine in his system, which was determined to be “the immediate cause of death.” In addition to cocaine intoxication, the baby had also suffered heat stress, dehydration, malnutrition and abandonment, according to the coroner’s findings.
On September 16, Peoria police were called to the scene after reports of an unresponsive baby inside a U-Haul van. Grayson had been found by a family member and was not breathing. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene, according to Fox2Now.
An autopsy revealed that the baby had been deceased between 12 and 24 hours before being discovered. His mother, Andrea Lunsford, 26, was later arrested and charged with murder and endangering the life of a child. She has been held in the Peoria County Jail since her arrest.
Investigators are still working to determine how the cocaine entered the baby’s system. On the day of Grayson’s death, witnesses reported seeing the U-Haul truck parked for hours with the windows up, further complicating the tragic circumstances surrounding the case.
According 25NewsNowLuncsford’s father told authorities that his daughter had been calling him “all day” the day of the incident, asking for money for gas. When he refused, she sent him a text warning: “You know the baby can overheat and die. Please let us help you.”
Luncsford reportedly admitted to investigators that he had a “$20-a-day crack habit.” He also admitted that, on the day of the tragedy, he had propped Grayson’s bottles on the car seat, hoping the baby would “feed himself,” according to the outlet.
In the days before Grayson’s death, the Department of Children and Family Services had attempted to contact Luncsford over concerns about the boy’s well-being. Records show the agency had made several visits to his home as recently as Sept. 6, just 10 days before the tragedy, after identifying “a substantial risk to a child,” it said. WCIA.
Luncsford’s troubling history with children’s services dates back to 2021, when her eldest child was born and both mother and baby tested positive for cocaine. That child was later adopted after Luncsford lost his parental rights in 2022, according to court records.
Luncsford, who has a history of criminal charges including aggravated assault, was scheduled for a court appearance on Oct. 17, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for Oct. 9, it said. 25NewsNow. If convicted, she faces up to 100 years in prison.
This tragic case has shocked the local community, raising concerns about child neglect, substance abuse, and vulnerabilities in the child welfare system.
