Child, 12, Dies Of Heroin Overdose, Joliet Mom Lands In Will County Jail For 2024 Death: Joliet Police Reveal

JOLIET, IL — Back in 2024, Joliet Patch broke the news of the death of 12-year-old Mya King, who died from ingesting heroin. At the time, although Joliet police arrested her mother on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, she was released from the Joliet police custody and was not initially charged in connection with her daughter's death.

That changed over the weekend.

Will County Jail logs show that the Joliet Police Department arrested 37-year-old Colette Bancroft on Saturday, and the criminal charges appear to link her to the death of her 12-year-old daughter. Her charges are listed as involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment involving a death and two counts of possession of controlled substances. The jail lists the dates of the offense as being April 14, 2024, which lines up with the time of Mya King's death.

On Monday morning, Joliet Police spokesman Dwayne English issued his follow up news release on the extremely high-profile case from a couple years ago. He noted that Joliet Police detectives continued their investigation into the 2024 drug related death of a 12-year-old victim, obtaining and reviewing medical records, toxicology findings, and additional evidence.

"As part of this review, detectives learned that fentanyl was present in the victim’s system at the time of her death," English announced. "Following a review of the additional evidence by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office,
detectives obtained an arrest warrant on November 5, 2026, for the victim’s mother, (Colette) Bancroft, 37, Lockport, on charges of involuntary manslaughter, felony endangering the
life or health of a child, and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance."

English said the detectives placed Bancroft into custody on November 7, 2026, at a McDonald’s restaurant in Lockport. She was processed at the Joliet Police Department and transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Bancroft is listed as being on the court calendar for the Monday morning call in Courtroom 405, which often numbers 40 to 50 defendants on a Monday.

More than two and a half years ago, English told Patch that at around 8:24 a.m. on a Sunday, Joliet police went to the house in the 1500 block of East Washington Street for an unresponsive juvenile. Officers found the 12-year-old girl in the bedroom on the second floor.

Officers immediately provided medical assistance, including CPR and the deployment of Narcan, until the arrival of Joliet Fire Department paramedics.

It was believed that the 12-year-old victim ingested an unknown amount of suspected heroin and fentanyl, English said at the time.

The child was originally discovered to be unresponsive by her mother, Bancroft, and others in the home called 911. Officers said Bancroft and her daughter shared the bedroom where the 12-year-old was found. Joliet police recovered suspected heroin and fentanyl from Bancroft’s purse in the bedroom, and she was placed into custody without incident, according to English.

Mya King was rushed to Silver Cross Hospital by the Joliet Fire Department. Shortly thereafter, she was transferred to Ann and Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where she died shortly after 5 p.m. three days later, according to police.

"This case remains under active investigation as detectives and evidence technicians continue to process information and evidence pertinent to this case," English said in 2024.

Bancroft's jail mugshot now lists her address as being in Lockport in the 14500 block of Archer Avenue.

Back in 2024, Joliet Patch reported that Melissa King, Mya's aunt who lives in Lockport, was organizing a GoFundMe.

"Baby girl was only 12. This was so unexpected and devastating to the family," King posted. "I don't want to go to much into details, but it was an overdose off heroin mixed with fentanyl. Why is still the question. Was it an accident was it on purpose, we will never know!! but what I do know is she was always full of life around us. "