Indiana

Lawsuit claims southern Indiana 5th grader died by suicide after severe bullying, sexual abuse

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2026

Lawsuit claims southern Indiana 5th grader died by suicide after severe bullying, sexual abuse

NORTH VERNON, Ind. (WDRB) — An 11-year-old girl’s parents are suing a southern Indiana school district, alleging severe bullying and sexual abuse at school pushed their daughter to take her own life.

Fifth grader Brooklyn Cook’s parents said administrators at the Jennings County School Corporation knew what was happening and failed to stop it.

Cook was often found at the Jennings County Animal Shelter, saving up her hard-earned money to feed stray cats. After the 11-year-old died by suicide last February, a memorial now stands outside the shelter with her name on it.

Jennings County Animal Shelter Brooklyn Cook memorial — A memorial stands outside the Jennings County Animal Shelter in honor of 11-year-old Brooklyn Cook, who died by suicide in February 2025. *(WDRB photo)*

“A beautiful little girl and a family that just loved her tremendously,” said Gregory Laker, who is representing the family in their wrongful death lawsuit against the school district and several staff members.

According to the lawsuit, the problem started when Cook was in fourth grade at North Vernon Elementary School, where two male students bullied her. After it was reported to administrators, the boys were removed from her class.

The lawsuit claims those same students were placed back in her classroom during fifth grade after a change in principals.

Several of Cook’s friends told a guidance counselor the boys told her to kill herself, showing them messages one of the students sent to her.

“Her friends felt like they were being disciplined every time they came forward and reported the bullying on Brooklyn’s behalf,” Laker said.

Months before her death, Cook posted a TikTok in which she said she did not want to be sexually assaulted at school anymore. An assistant teacher reported the video to administrators.

The lawsuit claims that despite the video and the reports from her friends, the boys were never removed from her classroom or disciplined, even as the bullying continued almost daily during her fifth grade year.

Cook then lost her life to suicide Feb. 17, 2025.

“The hardest thing in the world is burying your own child,” said Laker. “They had to do that with their 11-year-old daughter. Her brother lost, by all reports, his best friend in Brooklyn.”

In a statement, JCSC Superintendent Nicole Johnson said “Jennings County School Corporation is aware of the lawsuit. We strongly deny the allegations and will have no further comment on this pending legal matter at this time.”

The family contends the district’s response was insufficient and contributed to their daughter’s death.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and thoughts of self harm, the 988 crisis and suicide lifeline is available 24/7.

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Indiana

Suspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield

Published

5 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Suspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Suspects fled a Plainfield bank after it was robbed Tuesday afternoon, police say.

Plainfield Police Department was called at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday to the robbery of a bank in progress at Chase Bank, 807 Southfield Drive. That’s southwest of the intersection of Quaker Boulevard and Stafford Road/East County Road 450 South in the Hendricks County town.

Deputy Chief Ryan Salisbury of the Plainfield Police Department said detectives were working on the case.

The police department posted on social media on Tuesday night that no one was hurt in the robbery, and the suspects, who were not in custody, fled prior to the arrival of first responders.

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Indiana

Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever

Published

17 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever

INDIANAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham wants to emphasize she’s perfectly happy with the Indiana Fever. She just wishes she could be locked down longer.

Cunningham, who signed a one-year, $665,000 deal with the Indiana Fever for 2026, said on her podcast, “Show Me Something,” on Tuesday night that she was frustrated with the free agency process in the condensed offseason.

She shook her head vehemently when her co-host West Wilson asked if the contract was better than she thought it would be, then said in part, “It’s tough because I came off an injury … I’m not even going to lie to you, that’s a little, kind of, frustrating.”

Fans on social media largely took that as she did not get interest from other teams, she didn’t want to return to the Fever, or she was unhappy with the salary she got.

She shut those thoughts down on social media Monday night, then expounded on her frustrations with local media at Fever training camp on Tuesday morning.

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“I think Twitter kind of blew up last night about a comment I made on my podcast. But that wasn’t what I meant at all,” Cunningham said. “I think if you listen to the full clip, you really understand that I just wanted to be somewhere for more than one year. I’m almost 30 years old. I want to have a home. I want to get established. And I would love to get established in a place like Indiana.”

The Fever prioritized as much financial flexibility as possible this offseason because of the new EPIC clause, which allows both Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to renegotiate their fourth-year salaries up to the max with an extension. Boston’s salary was bumped to $1 million in 2025, and she will make the supermax from 2027-29. Clark is eligible to negotiate up to the max in 2027, and both Clark and Boston could be making the supermax starting in 2028.

Only Lexie Hull and Monique Billings got major multi-year deals with the Fever out of free agency. Hull signed for $765,000 in 2026 and $803,250 in 2027, per Her Hoop Stats, while Billings got $800,000 for both 2026 and 2027. Damiris Dantas is the only other player that got a multi-year deal out of free agency, but that was for the minimum cap hit of $277,500.

Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax, Cunningham returned on a one-year deal, and Myisha Hines-Allen and Tyasha Harris each signed one-year deals.

Cunningham added that she got multi-year offers from other teams, but chose to stay with Indiana on a one-year deal.

She wanted to return to Indiana, she said, because of friendships she created with her teammates and the potential they showed, even after six separate season-ending injuries on the roster. She is also closer to her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.

“When you find a group of girls who really make you fall in love with basketball games and you enjoy it, you enjoy them, not only on the court, but off the court, like, you want to hold on to that,” Cunningham said. “ … it was never about the money, it was just about the years, because I wanted to be with them. And God forbid a girl loves her teammates, you know what I mean?”

Cunningham is also coming off a major knee injury after she tore her MCL in August 2025. She was ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season and got surgery in Indianapolis, then had a six-month rehab process before she was cleared in February.

Since then, she has been ramping back up as much as possible, including playing one-on-one, three-on-three, plyometrics, and everything she does to get ready for a regular season.

Still, she said, she’ll need to actually play to get back into full basketball shape.

“Basketball shape is just different,” Cunningham said. “You can run as many suicides as you want, you can get your butt kicked however you want, but until you’re out here playing, you’re never fully going to be in game shape until you’re playing games.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

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Indiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Indiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers

CLOVERDALE, Ind. (WKRC) – Authorities in Indiana found a semi trailer loaded up with hundreds of pounds of suspected cocaine.

According to a statement issued by the Indiana State Police (ISP), 27-year-old Harmandeep Singh of Bakersfield, California was taken into custody after nearly 400 pounds of suspected cocaine were reportedly found in the trailer of a commercial truck.

Per the statement, an ISP trooper seized the suspected cocaine during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, authorities said.

The stop occurred Tuesday morning near the 37-mile marker, just east of Cloverdale, after a commercial motor vehicle was observed exceeding the posted speed limit.

Police said Singh displayed several indicators of possible criminal activity during the encounter. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, troopers discovered multiple duffel bags and cardboard boxes in the trailer containing approximately 392 pounds (178 kilograms) of suspected cocaine.

Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $9 million.

Singh was taken into custody and taken to the Putnam County Jail, where he is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.

He faces the following preliminary charges, per the post:

Possession of a narcotic drug

Formal charges will be determined by the Putnam County prosecutor.

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Indiana State Police said drug interdiction remains a priority, with troopers focusing on major highways to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the state.

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