Involuntary Manslaughter Defendant From Joliet Wins SAFE-T-Act Hearing, Regains Her Freedom From Judge

JOLIET, IL — Will County Judge Amy Christiansen, the overwhelming choice of Will County's voters in last week's election against Plainfield Republican JohnPaul Ivec, has ruled in favor of Joliet's involuntary manslaughter defendant Colette Bancroft, ordering her release from the Will County Jail in connection with the 2024 death of her 12-year-old daughter, Mya King.

Joliet police booked Bancroft into the county jail at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7. These days, she lives on Lockport's Archer Avenue.

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Judge Christiansen issued her ruling on Thursday. The Will County State's Attorney's Office had filed a petition to detain Bancroft under the SAFE-T-Act, but after hearing the evidence, Judge Christiansen ordered the defendant's release.

However, Bancroft will not be allowed to roam the community under her own free will.

Judge Christiansen imposed a number of significant restrictions upon the woman who stands charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the life of a child and two counts of possession of controlled substances. Joliet Patch broke the story of Bancroft's arrest by the Joliet police force over the weekend, prompting other news outlets to pursue the story as well.

On Thursday, the judge ordered Bancroft to be placed under electronic monitoring and remain under 24-hour, seven day a week home confinement unless it involves a medical emergency or for attending religious services. Bancroft must undergo periodic drug testing and she is to have no contact with minor children, the judge's order instructed.

Bancroft will be responsible for getting herself back to the Will County Courthouse for her preliminary hearing on Nov. 19.

According to the prosecution, Joliet officers Hall and Olevara responded to the Bancroft family's house in the 1500 block of East Washington Street at 8:24 a.m. back on April 14, 2024, after learning of an unresponsive juvenile. Mya King was one month shy of her 13th birthday.

The victim's 21-year-old uncle guided the officers through the rear entrance of the house, indicating he woke up and went into the bathroom and heard his aunt, Colette Bancroft, yelling and crying. He then saw Mya foaming at the mouth and not responding, prosecutors said.

The officers found the kitchen filthy and messy, and the house smelled of cat urine, prosecutors said. Joliet police saw dirty dishes and laundry littered on the floor and dirty human and animal tracks covering high-traffic areas of the floors. Rooms smelled and contained grime, feces and clumps of dog hair and cat hair all over, plus a dirty litter box, prosecutors revealed.

Old towels were used to soak up water from a broken water pipe, and clothes and other items were piled on top of each other inside the Bancroft house, according to court documents. The officers found Mya unresponsive in a second-floor bedroom that the adolescent child shared with her mother. Mya was reportedly unresponsive, drooling and had blood on her face. One officer administered Narcan twice, but Mya showed no signs of consciousness, court records state.

Eventually, Mya was taken to Silver Cross Hospital. When Bancroft was asked if her daughter took any drugs, she answered no, prosecutors said.

Before leaving for the Joliet police station, "Bancroft stated she was an active drug user, she uses heroin. Bancroft said she last used heroin that morning around midnight and went to bed," court files show. "She said she had heroin in her purse but did not know if Mya went into her purse or what she may have taken. The purse was at the foot of the bed in their bedroom."